WA Gov. Ferguson declares emergency over White River Bridge closure

KING COUNTY, Wash. - Washington Governor Bob Ferguson on Wednesday declared an emergency over the closure of White River Bridge, which was severely damaged after a semi-truck crash last week.

On Aug. 18, a semi-truck crashed into the bridge, damaging several support beams and blocking traffic in both directions. State transportation officials have since shut down the bridge while they evaluated it for repairs.

According to Ferguson, those repairs could exceed $2 million, and work needs to be done fast to fix a bridge he describes as a "critical lifeline" to the communities around Enumclaw and Buckley.

Ferguson declared a local state of emergency in King and Pierce counties, and is directing state agencies to "do everything reasonably possible to […] recover from the incident." The state aims to seek federal reimbursement for the emergency repair costs.

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