PULLMAN, WA – Emergency repairs to a bridge will cause traffic delays at the highway junction in Colfax on Friday as motorists make their way to Pullman for Saturday’s Apple Cup football game.

A truck hit a concrete barrier on Monday last week damaging the State Route 26 bridge over the Palouse River on the North end of town. The Washington State Department of Transportation declared an emergency because of the damage on the span at the junction of U.S. Highway 195 and SR26. Crews will repair the bridge on Friday while flaggers alternate traffic through the junction near the Chevron gas station. The work and delays will start at 7:00 on Friday morning and run until 4:00 Friday afternoon.

WSDOT officials are urging motorists to not detour around Colfax on Airport Road to avoid the delays. The agency is asking drivers to refrain from using the road from the fairgrounds which leads through residential neighborhoods.

The damaged bridge was built in 1938 and is set to be replaced around 2030. That’s when WSDOT will replace the current highway junction with a roundabout.