BUCKLEY, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Transportation shut down the White River Bridge after discovering damage early Saturday—and the bridge could be closed for days or longer.
Major repair work is scheduled to begin Monday on the bridge that connects Buckley to Enumclaw.
About 20,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.
"Right now we're facing the worst of our nightmares,” said Pat Johnson, Buckley’s mayor.
Just minutes before her conversation with KIRO 7 Sunday night, she said an ambulance was turned away at the road closed signs that would have otherwise crossed the White River Bridge.
The patient inside was in critical condition and the ambulance was re-routed to Puyallup.
"Four miles away in Enumclaw sits a hospital that we cannot access,” said Johnson.
KIRO 7 met frustrated commuters, too, who couldn't believe the White River Bridge on Highway 410 was closed.
"This means I have to go an hour. It's going to be an hour to go back right now,” said Joy Stramer.
WSDOT tells KIRO 7 that crews need to remove lead paint, which requires them to scrape it and contain it so it doesn't fall into the river and harm the water and wildlife.
Crews will also use heating tools to shape some of the bent portions of the bridge back in place.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the mayor's name.
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