A weekend accident caused structural damage to a bridge over the Nooksack River at Ferndale.

Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo told KGMI ( http://is.gd/nUP70R) the bridge will be closed for the foreseeable future.

It's the primary route for hundreds of workers at the BP Cherry Point and Phillips 66 refineries and the Alcoa Intalco Works Aluminum Smelter. It's also used to reach Lummi Reservation lands and the Silver Reef Casino.

Traffic has been detoured since Saturday when a truck pulling an excavator crashed into the bridge.

It was the second accident in the region Saturday that damaged a bridge. An SUV bent steel beams on the northbound Highway 529 bridge over the Snohomish River between Everett and Marysville. The Transportation Department told The Daily Herald that bridge should reopen Tuesday.

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Information from: KGMI-AM, http://www.kgmi.com/