Project of the Week - Snohomish drivers get a New Year surprise
Crews ready a repaired section of SR 96 near Snohomish for reopening to traffic after a culvert collapsed during the December storms. |
Less than a month after flooding destroyed a section of State Route 96 (Seattle Hill Road) near Snohomish, crews reopened the repaired roadway to pleasantly surprised drivers and nearby residents on Monday, Dec. 31. Crews initially expected the repairs to take at least four to five weeks, but were helped along by good weather, ready materials and an aggressive work schedule.
On Dec. 3 maintenance crews noticed a sinkhole in the shoulder of SR 96 and immediately closed the roadway to keep drivers safe. Looking closer, they discovered that the heavy rains had collapsed a culvert and washed out the ground beneath a large section of the roadway, leaving nothing to support the remaining asphalt. With the roadway closed, drivers used Cathcart Way and SR 9 as a detour.
Wilder Construction crews working for WSDOT began repairs on Dec. 11. They worked around the clock to tear out the damaged roadway, replace the failed culvert, build two new retaining walls, and add fill material. The new box culvert, measuring 10 feet wide by five feet tall, will protect against future flooding and improve fish passage.
With some help from Mother Nature, crews finished paving the repaired section of roadway on Dec. 31 and reopened SR 96 that afternoon. Within hours, drivers were expressing their gratitude. As one resident put it in an e-mail, “Your crews were FANTASTIC. The DOT…has always been exceptional in their response and handling of issues, but this really went above and beyond.”
Project Engineer Marlin Lenssen agreed: “Our crews deserve all the credit for making this happen. We still have a few things left to finish, but we’re thrilled to be opening the roadway so quickly.” Drivers may see some single lane weekday closures over the next two weeks as crews install permanent striping and curbing, and replant some areas near the road.
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Incident of the Week - Last commute of 2007 poses challenges for IRT
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At 6:35 a.m. during the last morning commute of 2007, a semi carrying huge metal pipes rounded the corner on the ramp from westbound SR 410 to northbound SR 167 in Pierce County. Unfortunately, the driver didn’t make the curve and his truck overturned, partially blocking the ramp.
Washington State Patrol and WSDOT's Incident Response Team (IRT) member Leo Ramsey quickly responded. Ramsey provided traffic control and made sure motorists traveled in the right shoulder of the ramp to safely get around the over-turned semi until a tow truck could arrive. At 7:40 a.m., Ramsey closed the ramp to traffic so the tow truck could upright the semi. Unfortunately, the tow truck didn’t have the capabilities needed to upright a truck this size and a second one needed to be called in. Ramsey reopened the lane to traffic until a second tow arrived.
The second tow arrived at 8:11 a.m., worked on up-righting the semi, and getting the trailer it was towing attached to another truck. By 8:43 a.m., the ramp reopened to traffic, but the huge metal pipes the semi had been carrying still remained in the median. At 12:34 p.m., IRT’s Kathy Vatter and Willie Ramsey headed back to the scene to close the ramp again so the pipes could be retrieved using a large crane. The ramp closed to traffic at 1:12 p.m. and finally reopened at 2:12 p.m., making the last day of 2007 a long one for that unlucky semi-driver.
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Update of projects under way
US 97 Maryhill - A complete closure of the US 97 Biggs Rapids- Sam Hill Bridge over the Columbia River in Klickitat County began Jan. 2. The bridge will remain closed until the north and main spans of the deck can be replaced; the bridge will be reopened by Memorial Day. Then, after Labor Day, the bridge will close again for the replacement of the bridge deck on the south end of the bridge. Over the past several years, the bridge’s deck has begun to crack and deteriorate, and has worsened despite several maintenance projects. Detour routes include SR 14 to the US 197 Dalles Bridge. Another option is to cross at the I-82, Columbia River Bridge.
I-5 South Everett Freeway Station - Crews will close northbound I-5 overnight January 4 to set girders as part of the I-5 South Everett Freeway Station project. This is the third of four girder settings for the new 112th Street SE bridge. The first half of the bridge was built last year. Crews switched traffic to the new bridge in August, demolished the old bridge, and are now building the second half of the new bridge. The final girder setting, over southbound I-5, is scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 19-20. This will require a total overnight closure of southbound I-5.
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Announcements
WSF starts winter schedule on January 6
Washington State Ferries will begin the Winter Ferry Sailing Schedule on Sunday, January 6, and will continue through March 29, 2008. The winter season is traditionally a slow season for the ferry system. Hence, seasonal cuts or changes in service are made to save money. This is the fifth year in a row for these seasonal cuts, which saves the system approximately $500,000 each winter season.
During the winter, service between Anacortes and Sidney, B.C. is canceled and the International vessel goes through its annual maintenance period as well as running domestic service. The weekend schedule for the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route also changes as service is decreased from three vessels to two on Saturday and Sunday. The Anacortes/San Juan Island routes experience the most change during the winter schedule. The normal four boats will run in the San Juan Islands Monday through Friday and three boats on weekends during the winter schedule. Thus, there will be two schedules for this route, a weekday and a weekend schedule.
US 101 Simpson Avenue Bridge closes Feb. through April
Starting February 19, 2008, WSDOT will institute a 10-week continuous closure of the Simpson Avenue Bridge that spans the Hoquiam River in Hoquiam. During the bridge closure, US 101 will be detoured onto the Riverside Bridge, which will carry one lane of traffic in each direction. The detour will remain in place through the end of April 2008.
During the closure, crews will upgrade major electrical and mechanical parts that operate the bridge’s drawspan. Many of the parts are original to the 80-year old bridge and in need of replacement. The work also includes removing the original control house from the top of the bridge and installing a new control house.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - Highway Speeds
WSDOT collects vehicle speed data on a continuous basis through 147 permanent traffic recorder stations. We use data from 47 of these stations, both on Interstate and non-Interstate highways, as a sample to calculate speed statistics. Average speeds for 2006 closely tracked posted speeds in both 70-mile per hour (mph) and 60 mph zones. In 65 mph zones, average speeds were slightly slower than the posted speeds (62 mph). In 2006, 50 percent of vehicles traveled at or above the posted speed in rural Interstate, 70 mph zones. In 60 mph urban Interstate zones, 63 percent of the vehicles traveled at or above the posted speed, while in 60 mph rural zones only 58 percent did. In 65 mph zones, 33 percent were at or above the posted speeds. Vehicles speeds are monitored by WSDOT engineers for highway design speed and safety purposes. More details on this topic can be found in the Highway Safety update of the December 2007 Gray Notebook: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
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January meetings
10, noon - 2 p.m., PSRC public outreach, Destination 2040 - Seattle: The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is updating Destination 2030, its 30-year transportation plan for the Puget Sound region, and they want to get public input on issues (climate change, congestion, etc.), transportation alternatives, criteria and environmental impacts to be included in the plan. WSDOT staff for the Alaskan Way Viaduct and SR 520 Bridge project also will be available. Location: PSRC, 1011 Western Avenue, #500, Seattle.
10, 4 - 7 p.m., Toll Operations Open House - Gig Harbor: WSDOT is hosting a Toll Operations Open House to discuss topics such as: toll operations, budgeting, Good To Go! accounts, violations and enforcement, toll rate setting, and bridge construction. This event is open to the public, and attendees will have the opportunity to talk directly with the WSDOT staff involved in their topic of interest. Location: Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3510 Grandview Street, Gig Harbor.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Weekly Report Archive
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