48-hour closure of SR21 at Bailey Bridge coming

WESTFORK – Travelers who cross the West Fork Sanpoil Bridge on State Route 21 will need to find alternate routes.

SR 21 will close for 48 hours to realign the temporary WWII-era Bailey Bridge that crosses the West Fork Sanpoil River from 12 p.m. Tuesday, July 23 to 12 p.m. Thursday, July 25. Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will move the bridge to its temporary alignment just to the east of its current position.

The realignment of the bridge, to its temporary location, is required for crews to remove and begin constructing the new permanent bridge that will span the West Fork Sanpoil River.

On April 8, 2017, the Sanpoil River changed its course and began flowing against the south roadway embankment. The embankment quickly washed away resulting in the collapse of the roadway pavement leading up to the bridge. This project will repair the stream bed, reinforce the banks and build a new bridge with a longer span and deeper foundations to keep this from happening again.