Project of the Week - I-90 Easton Bridge opens again
Deputy Secretary Dave Dye addresses the gathering while Easton students get ready to cut the ribbon and reopen the I-90 Easton Bridge. |
Easton school children wearing bright orange safety vests joined community members, WSDOT officials and Max J. Kuney construction crews to celebrate the safe and speedy re-opening of the
I-90 Easton Bridge. Over one hundred students, parents, and community members turned out for the brief celebration under cold and snowy conditions.
“It was really fun to cut the ribbon in the snow,” said Trevor Cosumer, first grader at Easton School.
On Oct. 31, a truck carrying an over-sized load struck the eastbound span of the bridge over I-90 at exit 71. WSDOT bridge experts determined the bridge span was damaged beyond repair and crews demolished the east half of the bridge on Nov.1.
“I challenged our engineers to find a way to replace this bridge within 45 days,” said Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it was important for Easton residents. I was confident our crews could meet the challenge and they did. I’m very proud of their work.”
WSDOT and their contractor were able to re-open the I-90 Easton Bridge by Dec.15, just 45 days after the damaged span was demolished, despite freezing temperatures, snow storms and extra traffic on I-90 due to travelers avoiding flooding on I-5 in Chehalis.
WSDOT wasn’t the only one that faced challenges. When the bridge was severely damaged on Halloween morning, the community and the school had to adjust their daily routine to accommodate necessary detours. The Easton School had to reroute buses and Easton residents had further to drive for interstate access.
“The detour was only a few miles, but it makes a difference especially to the bus routes,” said Suellen White, Easton School Superintendent. “It’s going to be such a relief to have the bridge back open to traffic.”
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Incident of the Week - Maintenance Crews come to the aid of an unusual disabled vehicle
WSDOT Maintenance crews close lanes on I-90 to protect motorists from the blades of a disabled helecopter. |
Maintenance crews from Hyak were out clearing snow from Snoqualmie Pass on Saturday, Dec. 15 when they came across an unusual disabled vehicle. A helicopter had made an emergency landing on the westbound shoulder of the pass near the King/Kittitas County line.
Crews closed two lanes of I-90. Although the helicopter was on the shoulder, its rotor blades were spinning in to the lanes of traffic.
The helicopter was recently purchased in Wyoming and the pilot was attempting to deliver it to Squammish BC, Canada where the new owner is located. After several nights in Yakima, the pilot decided to take a shot at making it over the Cascade Mountains. Unfortunately, the helicopter began to overheat and experience severe icing. Remarkably, the pilot was able to safely land on the shoulder of I-90 with out injuring himself, the helicopter or passing drivers. After de-icing, the helicopter relocated to a nearby parking lot to wait for better weather.
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Update of projects under way
I-5 Everett - Crews working for WSDOT will reach a major milestone on the Interstate 5 Everett HOV expansion: placing the final bridge girder of the project. On Thursday and Friday night, Dec. 20 and 21, crews will place six, 152-foot long girders. Each 80-ton girder, weighing as much as 16 elephants, requires two cranes to lift it into place. Once the girders are positioned in their final location, crews will begin building the lanes that will carry traffic on and below the bridge. Crews expect to begin that work in January. The new bridge will carry southbound I-5 traffic. North and southbound I-5 HOV traffic headed to or from Broadway Avenue will travel under the bridge using the old left-hand Broadway exit. When the project is complete, crews will have widened or built 23 bridges using 251 girders made of 24 million pounds of steel and concrete – about the weight of 108 Boeing 787 airplanes.
I-90 Cle Elum - On Dec. 17 WSDOT and its contractor finished water system repairs and were able to open the eastbound I-90 Indian John Hill rest area near Cle Elum right on schedule. Repairs to the water system at the westbound rest area were completed on Dec. 14 and the facilities opened three days ahead of schedule. The Indian John Hill rest areas have been closed frequently for short periods of time to do temporary repairs on the water systems. The replacements and repairs being done now are more substantial and should keep the systems functioning well for many years to come.
I-405 Renton - Emergency repairs to the Thunder Hills Creek culvert damaged in the Dec. 3 storm are on schedule. Crews have been working around the clock to build a 6,000-foot pipe system to divert stormwater from the creek around I-405. The solution is a two-step process. The contractor will build a pump and pipe system adjacent to the northbound lanes to divert water from Thunder Hills Creek around I-405 via Talbot Road. To build this 6,000-foot pipe system, crews must close one lane, as there is not enough room to construct the system from the shoulder. The second part of the work will be off the road as crews drive a new culvert under I-405 to replace the collapsed section. Part two could take up to six weeks and may be very noisy. Engineers say without a functioning culvert to carry water under I-405, another significant storm could lead to more damage and possibly force WSDOT to close all lanes of I-405 for safety.
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Announcements
WSDOT extends public comment period for LATS Phase III Draft Communication Plan
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Aviation is extending the public comment period for the Long-Term Air Transportation Study (LATS) Phase III Draft Communication Plan. he draft communication plan outlines the key outreach objectives and strategies to ensure that the public is kept informed and involved throughout LATS Phase III. The comment period for the plan began on Nov. 19, 2007, and new deadline for submitting comments on the draft plan is Jan. 4, 2008.
All comments received during this period will be summarized and presented to the Aviation Planning Council for its review. The council's next meeting is scheduled for February 7, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Comments can be faxed to 360-651-6319; emailed to marveln@wsdot.wa.gov; or mailed to WSDOT Aviation, PO Box 3367, Arlington, WA, 98223.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - Annual Congestion Report
WSDOT released its latest edition of the Gray Notebook, which includes the Annual Congestion Report, on Dec. 20. The report compares 2004 and 2006 traffic data for the 38 most congested commute routes in the Puget Sound region. The average commute time during rush hours increased on 32 of the 38 routes tracked, between one minute to seven minutes longer in 2006 than two years ago. During this same time period the Puget Sound transportation system absorbed traffic from 107,000 new residents and 91,000 new jobs. More details on this topic and other key issues can be found at www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
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Upcoming January meetings
22 & 23, Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m - 5 p.m., Monthly Meeting, Washington State Transportation Commission - Olympia: The State Transportation Commission, an independent state agency, will hold its monthly meeting, which is open to the public. The Commission oversees the implementation of transportation policy and the operational plans for highways, ferries and intercity passenger rail. Location: Transportation Building, 310 Maple Park Avenue SE, Olympia, WA.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Weekly Report Archive
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