Severe Storms in Washington Sink Sections of Floating Bridge

Sections of a closed interstate highway bridge across Lake Washington sank Sunday after a round of stormy weather, and engineers said the rest could collapse at any time.

About one-third of the 1 1/2-mile-long floating bridge across the lake sank, another piece sank about five hours later, and other sections appeared to be breaking loose, witnesses said. No injuries were reported.

The four-lane bridge, which parallels the new Interstate 90 bridge that opened last year, was being rebuilt to serve as eastbound lanes for the roadway across the lake.

State transportation engineers and police closed the new seven-lane bridge, which carries an average of about 110,000 vehicles a day, out of concern loose pieces of the old bridge could damage it.

The new bridge’s anchoring cables, which stretch under the old span, were damaged by the collapse, a state Transportation Department spokesman said.

The old bridge floats on the water like a ship anchored in place and has flotation chambers that can be pumped out.

The bridge was not the only casualty of Washington’s rough weather.

Record rains, high winds and rampaging floodwaters on major Washington rivers chased more than 2,000 people from their homes.

One man was feared drowned when he drove past a barricade and into the floodwaters of the Snoqualmie River near Duvall, about 15 miles east of Seattle, police said. The man’s wife and daughter were rescued.

At least 2,125 people were evacuated in six counties, Red Cross and local officials said. The Red Cross had 20 emergency shelters in operation, spokeswoman Hope Tuttle said.

“My state is falling apart on me,” Gov. Booth Gardner lamented after a helicopter tour of the region. Gardner added a dozen counties to five others for which he had sought federal disaster aid to recoup from severe floods two weeks ago.

The most severe flooding appeared to be about 40 miles northeast of Seattle, east of Monroe in Snohomish County, where some houses were completely under water from the Skykomish River.

Water poured through a 150-foot break in a dike at 16-square-mile Fir Island, which was about three-quarters under water.