OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Transportation shouldn't let trucks with oversized loads on routes where the bridges are too small, state Sen. Mike Baumgartner said Thursday.

The Spokane Republican introduced a bill that would require the DOT to better label the height of state bridges, and refuse to issue permits to truckers whose oversized loads aren't going to fit through bridges that are too low or too narrow. It's a response to the collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River, which fell after being struck by an oversized load.

This wasn't the first time the Skagit River bridge was struck by an oversized load, Baumgartner said. The solution to the problem is not more transportation taxes to fix bridges, but better oversight so trucks aren't allowed on bridges that are too small.

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