US 12 Wishkah River Bridge repairs – another preservation tale

By: Olympic Region Communications

Aberdeen bridge gets a not-so-welcome present for its 100 ^th birthday

The century-old Wishkah River Bridge didn’t get a cake or candles when it turned 100 this spring – it got an unwelcome birthday present.

The Grays Harbor County icon was weight restricted in June, meaning large trucks like semis and others could no longer use the bridge. Vehicles over the weight limit had to detour around the bridge using US 101 and State Route 107.

When certain vehicles are restricted from using a bridge, signs are placed approaching the bridge notifying travelers. These signs were placed on US 12 near the Wishkah River Bridge after the bridge was weight restricted in June 2025. The signs were covered on July 22, after repairs were completed.

Have you ever hurt your knee or ankle and been told to keep your weight off it?

A bridge weight restriction is a lot like that. When our engineers find a problem, they may limit the amount of weight that can go over the bridge until the issue can be fixed.

The Wishkah River Bridge was given a break from heavy loads after a recent inspection showed one of its steel beams had signs of cracks and advanced decay.

One of the steel beams that supports the bridge was deteriorating.

During a 12-hour repair on Monday, July 21, crews fastened steel plates to the aging beam. Like a cast on a broken bone, the fix will help support the beam and allow the structure to hold more weight again. Once the repairs were made, bridge engineers determined the weight restriction could be removed.

Bridge crews fabricated steel supports to fasten to the corroded beam on the aging bridge. Due to the age of the structure, many of its parts must be custom made to be replaced.

Upcoming preservation work
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Wishkah River Bridge. We have a project scheduled to replace several mechanical components of the bridge that begins in 2026. This work will require a combination of nighttime lane closures and several four-day closures of the bridge. When the bridge is closed, travelers will detour either on the Heron Street bridge or via SR 107 and US 101.

We know this work can be disruptive for travelers, but we also need to balance to need to maintain and preserve our critical bridge infrastructure for future generations. We will announce lane and bridge closures in advance.

Harbor bridges
The Wishkah River Bridge is the oldest of five movable bridges on state routes in Grays Harbor County – and none of them are spring chickens. Originally built in 1925, the Wishkah River Bridge is a single leaf bascule span bridge. A bascule bridge is a type of drawbridge that moves in an upward swing to allow for boats to pass. On average, 16,392 vehicles a day cross the Wishkah River in Aberdeen using this bridge. The sign on the counterweight portion of the bridge also greets travelers to Aberdeen.

The next oldest is the 97-year-old Simpson Avenue Bridge on US 101. Each one needs preservation work that has been postponed year after year due to dwindling transportation preservation funds.

The five state-managed moveable bridges of Grays Harbor County. From top: The US 12 Wishkah River Bridge in Aberdeen is 100 years old and the US 101 Riverside Bridge in Hoquiam is 55 years old. The US 101 Chehalis River Bridge in Aberdeen is 70 years old, the US 12 Heron Street Bridge in Aberdeen is 76 years old, and the US 101 Simpson Avenue Bridge in Hoquiam in 97 years old.

Our dedicated maintenance crew who care for the bridges know most of their quirks. For instance, they can’t open some bridges for boats when it gets too hot. That’s because the bridge will get stuck open when the steel in the structure expands in the heat. Other times, the bridges surprise them by blowing a hard-to-reach fuse.

These bridge structures were state of the art when they were built, but that was 100 years ago. Keeping them moving for both boats and vehicles is becoming more challenging. The aging structures fight time, tides, temperatures and a host of challenges posed by the harsh environments.

The bigger issue

Weight restrictions on bridges may not be something you think about. But we do. Our bridge engineers across the state are constantly assessing and evaluating more than 3,400 state-owned bridges.

In Washington, we have 133 bridges that are load posted or load restricted. Each is listed as a travel alert on our website. The longer this list grows, the more challenging it is for all of us to navigate familiar routes.

Without large scale preservation projects to repaint the bridges or, in some cases, replace them, we will continue to see bridges weight restricted, load posted or closed.

While we are able to address the current issue on the Wishkah River Bridge relatively quickly, weight restrictions can often be in place for several months or years. The size of the repair and type of restriction often determines how long it takes before a fix is made. Repairs are unique to each structure.

This is a really serious issue we are facing. A quick snapshot of nearby state bridges shows the maintenance and preservation backlog:

• US 101 Simpson Avenue Bridge in Hoquiam, age 97 needs its timber approaches replaced.
• The eastbound US 12 Heron Street Bridge, also in Aberdeen, is 76-years old and needs to be replaced. We plan on replacing the bridge deck in 2026.
• SR 109 Grass Creek Bridge north of Hoquiam needs to be replaced. We performed an emergency repair in 2022 to address excessive rot in some of the bridge’s timber piles – but it’s not a permanent fix.
• SR 165 Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge outside of Carbonado was recently permanently closed after inspections revealed new deterioration of the steel supports across the 103-year-old bridge. There is no funding to remove the bridge. There is no public detour for this bridge.
• The SR 162 Spiketon Creek Bridge in Buckley closed in 2018 and reopened in 2019 with a temporary bridge structure. Funding for a permanent replacement continues to be deferred. The original bridge is 89 years old.
• SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge – this is the longest floating bridge in the U.S. in saltwater and is experiencing deterioration in the west half concrete bridge girders and beams. It also is weight restricted.

This list is a small snapshot of the bigger challenge that expands across the state. It’s a tough spot to be in. We don’t like closing highways because a bridge has failed – and we can only use funds designated for preservation to do the work.

We strive to combine careful management and schedules to maximize bridge lifespans. However, due to many years of underfunding, we simply don’t have enough funds to meet all our bridge preservation needs. Strategic investment now focuses on the “worst of the worst” bridges and pavements. We continue to communicate this growing backlog to lawmakers who shape our budget.

• This means we cannot be as proactive as we would like to fix minor needs before they become major problems.
• In many cases we’re merely slowing the rate of decay instead of proactively preserving our bridges.

You might ask what we factor when determining how to prioritize where to spend the limited preservation funds we have:

• Border bridges: Bridges that cross state lines receive added attention due to their regional importance and shared responsibility.
• Movable or floating bridges: These are often prioritized due to their complex mechanical systems and exposure to harsh marine environments.
• Lifeline routes: We work with state emergency managers to identify a network of essential state highways in areas of Puget Sound with high earthquake damage risk and the large populations. Bridges that need seismic retrofits in these areas are prioritized. This ensures we have a workable roadway network to bring in supplies and emergency vehicles in the event of a major earthquake.
• Severity of deterioration: The structural condition of a bridge plays a central role in how urgently it needs repairs or replacement.
• Risk of route closure: Bridges are prioritized if failing to perform the preservation work could lead to partial or full route closures, affecting safety and mobility (or until it can be stabilized and reopened).
• Funding: We use the list above, but the amount of funding lawmakers designate to preservation also must be factored in when deciding which work can and cannot be accomplished.

We’re glad we have a fix for the Wishkah and grateful for our crews, who pulled this together relatively quickly for all of us. We’ve learned to take our small wins whenever we can.

Commercial vehicle operators are responsible for knowing the loads of their vehicles. Additional information is found in the Commercial Vehicle Guide.

If you would like to learn more about bridge preservation, our Grey Notebook is a great resource to check out.