Hood River-White Salmon Bridge reopens to passenger vehicles after crash causes damage

The Hood River-White Salmon Bridge in the Columbia River Gorge reopened to passenger traffic Sunday after being damaged in a semi collision last week.

According to the Port of Hood River, the port commission approved reopening the bridge to passenger vehicles only, on the recommendation of Justin Doornink, associate vice president and Northwest region bridge leader of HDR Engineering.

Electronic tolling will be implemented, and traffic control personnel will be stationed at both entrances around the clock, according to the port.

The bridge was closed to all traffic after a crash involving a tractor-trailer caused severe damage shortly before noon Thursday. No one was injured in the crash.

About 70 miles east of Vancouver in the Columbia River Gorge, the seismically deficient bridge has had a 15 mph speed limit for years. A project will replace the narrow span with a concrete two-lane, fixed-span bridge with an attached bike and pedestrian path running side-by-side with traffic, which the current bridge lacks.

If it is not replaced, the bridge will close to truck traffic in 2030 due to safety concerns — and close to all traffic in 2040. The replacement project is about 63 percent funded after a $200 million federal grant was announced earlier this year.

More than 4.3 million vehicles cross the bridge annually. The closest alternate crossings — Bridge of the Gods and The Dalles Bridge — are more than 20 miles in either direction.

The port said a schedule for permanent repairs would be announced later this week.

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