Bill tightens rules for truck permits

SEATTLE — A week after the Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge collapse, the first bill has hit the Washington Legislature to restrict where overheight trucks may go.

Senate Bill 5944, introduced Thursday by GOP state Sen. Michael Baumgartner, would deny travel permits to a load higher or wider than the minimum clearance on its route.

On May 23, part of a drilling platform on a southbound truck struck about 10 overhead crossbeams, causing a bridge span to fall into the Skagit River. The load was estimated at 15 feet 9 inches, but the edge of the right lane has only 15 feet 6 inches of clearance, and even less over the right guardrail. So the truck needed to be in the left lane to cross safely.

This same bridge was dented by a truck hit last fall, and statewide there have been 59 known hits on highway bridges from 2010 to 2012, says the state Department of Transportation.

Baumgartner criticized elected officials and interest groups who point to the collapse as a reason for new gas taxes. The Skagit bridge was not earmarked for replacement in the House Democrats’ $8.4 billion transportation plan this spring, nor has the Republican-controlled Senate proposed doing so. “This bridge collapse had nothing to do with gas taxes. It’s just common sense that DOT shouldn’t be issuing permits for trucks that are bigger than the bridges they cross,” he said.

State DOT spokesman Lars Erickson said the agency hasn’t had time yet to study the bill or hear from the trucking industry about possible effects.

Baumgartner’s bill would require warning signs on bridges with less than 16 feet of clearance.

The bridge-height information is available for truckers to study when they apply online or in person for permits, Erickson said.