Editing Index, Washington (section)

===Transportation===
[[File:Wes Smith Bridge 03.jpg|thumb|right|The Wes Smith Bridge, opened in 1999, connects Index to [[U.S. Route 2 in Washington|U.S. Route 2]]]]

Index is located {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} northeast of [[U.S. Route 2 in Washington|U.S. Route 2]] (US{{nbsp}}2), which connects [[Everett, Washington|Everett]] to the Skykomish Valley and [[Stevens Pass]]. The town is connected to US{{nbsp}}2 by Index–Galena Road,<ref name="Times-Guide"/> which continues northeast into the [[Wild Sky Wilderness]]. A flood in November 2006 washed out a section of the road beyond Index at [[milepost]] 6.4.<ref>{{cite news |last=Haglund |first=Noah |date=January 15, 2018 |title=Work on damaged Index-Galena route could begin in 2019 |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/work-on-damaged-index-galena-route-could-begin-in-2019/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=March 2, 2019 |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043518/https://www.heraldnet.com/news/work-on-damaged-index-galena-route-could-begin-in-2019/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The road was reopened in November 2023 after a three-year repair project that relocated sections to higher ground and added new [[culvert]]s and bridges. The project cost $29 million to complete and was mostly funded by the federal government.<ref name="Herald-Beyond"/><ref name="Herald-GalenaRd">{{cite news |last=Hansen |first=Jordan |date=November 5, 2023 |title='The best day in 17 years': Locals revel in Index-Galena Road reopening |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/the-best-day-in-17-years-locals-revel-in-index-galena-road-reopening/ |work=The Everett Herald |accessdate=December 22, 2023}}</ref>

The town's bridge over the North Fork Skykomish River is the Smith Bridge, a {{convert|265|ft|m|adj=mid}} [[tied-arch bridge]] that carries two lanes of 5th Street to Index–Galena Road. It opened in September 1999 and was the first tied-arch bridge in Snohomish County, with a height of {{convert|65|ft|m}}. The Smith Bridge replaced the earlier Index Bridge No. 122, a [[timber bridge]] that was constructed in 1918 and only carried one lane of traffic.<ref name="Herald-Bridge1999"/> The old bridge had been moved {{convert|30|ft|m}} from its original site in April 1998 to be used during construction of the new bridge;<ref name="Herald-Bridge1998">{{cite news |last=Moriarty |first=Leslie |date=April 27, 1998 |title=Bridge relocation draws a crowd at Index |page=B1 |work=The Everett Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-bridge-relocation-draws/164813520/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=February 5, 2025}}</ref> the relocated bridge was also closed entirely for several days in October 1998 to prepare for flood control measures, leaving Index with only a winding gravel road to connect to the rest of the world.<ref>{{cite news |last=Moriarty |first=Leslie |date=October 8, 1998 |title=Index readies for bridge work |page=A1 |work=The Everett Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-index-readies-for-bridg/164813567/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=February 5, 2025}}</ref>