Aug. 16 — Sumner bridges are in good condition, officials say

After the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota, Sumner’s public works director prepares bridge report for council meeting

Roxanne Cooke / of the Herald

Bridges in Sumner are safe, according to a report prepared by Public Works Director Bill Shoemaker.

“They really are in pretty good shape, I believe,” Shoemaker said.

The report, presented at the Aug. 6 Sumner City Council meeting, came less than a week after the Minnesota I-35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River on Aug. 1 during evening rush hour.

Only one bridge in Sumner – the Stuck River Bridge, built in 1927 – is similar in structure to the Minnesota bridge, said Mike Dahlem, city engineer of Sumner. Both bridges are made of steel.

However, that doesn’t mean it will suffer the same fate, according to city officials.

The Stuck River Bridge, also known as the Bridge Street bridge, was rated a 47 on a 0 to 100 scale, with 100 being the highest. The rating is a summary of individual ratings of different portions of the bridge.

The city plans to take the Stuck River Bridge off the truck route by this fall because it can no longer handle more than 31 tons, Dahlem said. Most bridges can handle 35 tons.

It was also judged “functionally obsolete” for width and height, meaning it was built so long ago that it doesn’t fit current standards, which account for the larger and wider vehicles on the roads today.

Those ratings don’t mean it’s unsafe, though, Dahlem said.

Work on the bridge, which included cleaning, painting, replacing expansion joints, replacing rivets and straightening steel, was completed in 2006. It was last inspected in June of this year.

It’s inspected every other year — rather than every two years like Sumner’s other bridges — because it’s the oldest.

The Stuck River Bridge is the only bridge in Sumner inspected by the Washington State Department of Transportation because a steel bridge requires specific, expensive equipment, Dahlem said.

All other bridges in Sumner are made of concrete, inspected by Pierce County and are in good shape, Shoemaker said. Most are rated at higher than 50.

“We keep a good eye on them,” Dahlem said.

The average number of vehicles that use the Stuck River Bridge daily is 7,233. The length of the bridge is 220 feet and the driving deck is 20 feet wide. The bridge is approximately 30 feet above the river.

Reach Reporter Roxanne Cooke at 253-841-2481 ext. 314 or roxanne.cooke@puyallupherald.com.