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Senate hearing spotlights economic and safety toll of Fairfax (SR 165) bridge closure as lawmakers weigh emergency powers for WSDOT
Summary
Witnesses and local officials told the Senate Transportation Committee that deferred maintenance left the 105‑year‑old Fairfax Bridge unsafe, severing access to Mount Rainier’s Carbon River corridor; SB 5987 would declare an emergency and give the transportation secretary temporary waiver authorities to restore SR 165 access.
Senate Transportation Committee members heard testimony January 27 that the permanent closure of the Fairfax (Carbon River) Bridge on State Route 165 has produced immediate safety, economic and public‑access harms for gateway communities and visitors.
Mayor Jamie Piloli of Wilkeson told the committee the bridge’s failure was foreseeable after “nearly 20 years of inspection reports documenting advanced corrosion” and that the closure has cut off a town of about 500 residents from routine commerce, emergency routing and access to Mount Rainier National Park. “This failure was not sudden,” Piloli said, “and waiting is and was no longer an option.”
Melissa Littleton, a government‑relations specialist for Pierce County, told lawmakers that deferred maintenance and aging design were factors in several recent bridge incidents in the county. Littleton said preservation and modernization are both required: “When we delay preservation and maintenance, we increase the likelihood of…
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