Girder repair closes Issaquah's Front Street at I-90 for hours

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — WSDOT crews are set to install a new girder at the I-90 overpass at Front Street in Issaquah starting at 10 p.m. Thursday.

Workers took down the old girder Wednesday night but ran into some delays.

“We do want to apologize to drivers in Issaquah who were planning to use Front Street this morning and the on ramps and were not able to,” says Kris Olsen, spokesperson for WSDOT.

Olsen says breaking down an old girder is trickier for crews than setting in a new one.

The construction shut down Front Street in both directions along with several lanes on the I-90 overpass from 10 p.m. Wednesday until 9 a.m. Thursday. The work was supposed to be done at 5 a.m.

“When you are cutting a girder away from an existing overpass and to remove it carefully, all sorts of things can happen,” says Olsen.

A garbage truck with its boom fully raised crashed into the girder in March of 2015.  The accident caused a gaping hole that WSDOT says was an eyesore but never a safety risk.

Driver Kevin Simmons says he’s happy to finally see work being done.

“It’s really cool to see the cranes out here,” says Simmons. “It’s great that WSDOT is taking the old girder out and putting the new one in," said Simmons.

WSDOT crews say the 114-foot girder that weighs close to 100,00 pounds had to be custom made.

The work to install the new girder is set to happen Thursday night through Friday morning. Crews expect the work to be complete by 5 a.m.

Cox Media Group