Truck Balancing Atop Guardrail Closes Deception Pass Bridge

PHOTO BY MIKE SIEGEL/THE SEATTLE TIMES

A truck leans on the railing edge of the Deception Pass Bridge

after wind gusts up to 70 mph blew the truck on its side.

Truck Balancing Atop Guardrail Closes Deception Pass Bridge

By Seattle Times staff

A tractor-trailer that blocked traffic on the Deception Pass Bridge between Oak Harbor and Anacortes for six hours has been cleared, according to the State Patrol. The bridge was closed when the tractor-trailer truck ended up dangling off the bridge.

The truck went up onto the guardrail shortly before 7 a.m. and had been balancing there, in danger of falling over the side of the bridge and into the water, said Lance Ramsay, spokesman for the Washington State Patrol.

Authorities didn't immediately try to right the truck because of high winds. When the winds died down a bit, the truck was righted by tow trucks.

Transportation officials declared the bridge structurally sound and were working to repair the damaged guard rail, he said. When the tractor-trailer went over the guardrail, it collided with a small pickup, which came to rest under the cab of the tractor-trailer.

The tractor-trailer was going south on Highway 20, crossing the bridge about 7 a.m. when it began swaying. Its cab fell on its driver side and slid atop a guardrail in the northbound lane. The small truck then hit and slid underneath it. “When the driver looked out the window, all he could see was water, 180 feet down,” Ramsay said.

Neither driver was seriously injured in the collision. The driver got out the passenger side door to safety. The driver of the pickup was brought to Whidbey General Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Saturday, January 31, 2004 - Page updated at 12:45 A.M.