I-5 bridge collapses in NW Wash.; people in water

An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping vehicles and people into the water, the Washington State Patrol said.

The four-lane bridge over the Skagit River collapsed about 7 p.m., Trooper Mark Francis said. There was no immediate estimate of how many people were in the water or whether there were any injuries or deaths, he said.

It also was not known what caused the collapse of the bridge about 60 miles north of Seattle in Skagit County, which stretches from the North Cascades National Park to a cluster of islands off the Washington coast.

Xavier Grospe, 62, who lives near the river, said he could see three cars with what appeared to be one person per vehicle. The vehicles were sitting still in the water, partially submerged and partly above the waterline, and the apparent drivers were sitting either on top of the vehicles or on the edge of open windows.

Damage: The first pictures of the scene show that both the north and southbound lanes of the Interstate highway collapsed on Thursday evening just before 7pm

Rescue: Highway officials confirmed that passengers were inside the cars when they fell into the water

"It doesn't look like anybody's in danger right now," Grospe said.

Helicopter footage aired by KOMO-TV in Seattle showed several rescue boats at the bridge collapse scene with several ambulances waiting on the shore. One rescue boat left the scene with one person strapped into a stretcher.

A damaged red car and a damaged pickup truck were visible in the water, which appeared so shallow it barely reached the top of the car's hood.

Crowds of people lined the river to watch the scene unfold.

Two cars with passengers inside are now in the water of the Skagit River following a bridge collapse

Gov. Jay Inslee's office said he was on his way to the scene to assess the situation.

The bridge is not considered structurally deficient but is listed as being "functionally obsolete" - a category meaning that their design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders are low clearance undeeath, according to a database compiled by the Federal Highway Administration.

The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.

Democratic Rep. Judy Clibbo, who leads the transportation committee in the state House, said the bridge wasn't one that has been a focus for lawmakers.

"It isn't anything that was on our radar screen as being an issue," Clibbo said. "It is shocking that I-5 would have something happen like this."

According to a 2012 Skagit County Public Works Department, 42 of the county's 108 bridges that are 50 years or older. The document says eight of the bridges are more than 70 years old and two are over 80.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient of functionally obsolete.