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The State Route 169 Green River Bridge, also called the Kummer Bridge, closed for six months starting the evening of Nov. 18. Crews will strengthen its supports in unstable soils. The bridge connects Black Diamond and Enumclaw.We are drilling 55 shafts deep into the bedrock to support the bridge from land movement. (photo taken March 2009)Each shaft is four feet in diameter and drilled 45 to 90 feet into the ground. It is deep enough to reach the bedrock to have a firm foundation to support the large mass of land that is moving under the bridge. (Photo taken March 2009)About half of the shafts will be reinforced with steel and concrete. Steel cages are installed in the shafts prior to pouring concrete. (March 2009)We completed excavation in December to relieve pressure on the bridge supports. (December 2008)You can see the Green River Bridge on the right side of the photo.This summer, we had sprayed concrete over soil nails to try to control the unstable soils beneath the Green River Bridge piers. The force of the moving soil is greater than the repair work and is pushing on the bridge pier. (November 2008)WSDOT geotechnical engineer Tom Badger explained to KOMO TV's Keith Eldridge how the soil is moving beneath the SR 169 Kummer Bridge support on Nov. 18, 2008.The unstable slope has compromised the stability of the south approach to the Green River (Kummer) Bridge. Crews will expand on an earlier emergency repair by installing more soil nails and spray on concrete to stabilize the slope.A geotechnical crew drills to assess the extent of the damage in June 2008. Crews installed soil nails to stabilize the slope during an emergency repair in July 2008.Concrete was sprayed onto the soil nails and wire mesh during the July 2008 emergency repair.Crews completed interim repairs on July 3. for the long-term repair, crews will expand this soil nail wall and then install long underground drains to remove the excess water. The long-term repair will be completed by May 2009.