Man In Mental Health Crisis Climbs Columbia River Bridge In Coulee Dam

A major bridge across the Columbia River that connects Grant and Okanogan Counties was closed for several hours on Thursday after a man climbed to the top of its trussing.

The Grand Coulee Star reports the incident began at around 1:15 p.m. when the man was experiencing a mental health crisis.

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The Grand Coulee Bridge (also known as the Columbia River Bridge), which provides a vital transportation link between the towns of Coulee Dam and Grand Coulee, was shut down, along with a portion of State Route 155 (SR-155) due to the man's actions.

The man was reportedly known to police and is "not fond" of them, according to Coulee Dam Police Chief Paul Bowden, so a crisis intervention team from the Colville Confederated Tribes was called in to try and talk the man down.

After several hours in the nearly-triple-digit heat and with no water, the man was finally coaxed off the top of the bridge by a Nespelem Valley Electric employee in a bucket truck.

The Star reports the worker was acquainted with the man and was brought to the scene to give him water and a cell phone so he could communicate with crisis counselors, but the man opted to come down in the basket of the bucket truck instead.

The bridge and portions of SR-155 which had been closed, reopened shortly before 6 p.m.