Project of the Week - WSDOT breaks ground on a new US 2/US 97 interchange in Peshastin
The intersection of Stevens and Blewett Pass highways, now controlled by a stop sign, is being replaced with an interchange so US 97 traffic will pass under US 2, eliminating T-Bone crashes and reduce rear-end collisions. |
On Monday, April 7, construction gets underway for a new interchange where the Stevens and Blewett Pass highways intersect in Chelan County. This $21.6 million Nickel project addresses safety and mobility challenges identified in the 2002 US 2/97 Safety Corridor Study. The "Big Y intersection" between Cashmere and Leavenworth is a high accident location – the scene of seven fatalities since 1995.
WSDOT hosted a ground breaking ceremony on April 3rd to kick off the
US 2/97 Peshastin East Interchange project. Crews have already removed several acres of orchard, a fruit stand, a gas station and a mini storage, as well as relocated utility lines, since right-of-way acquisition was completed last October. One of the first things motorists will see being built is a temporary roadway. Once this roadway is completed crews can build the new overpass bridges. When the bridges are done and US 97 is relocated under US 2, that temporary roadway will become the on and off ramps for the north side of the interchange. Drivers will be using the new interchange by October, but the project won’t be complete until the summer of 2009.
A temporary traffic signal is being installed at the existing Big Y intersection of US 2 and US 97. As work begins, the speed limit drops from 50 to 35 through the work zone to protect motorists and the construction crew. This project has also been chosen as a test site for a pilot project that uses automated traffic safety cameras to enforce work zone speed limits. The project also includes two transit bus pullouts with sidewalks to a reconstructed Park and Ride lot, an orchard equipment under-crossing and other improvements to the connecting county road system.
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Maintenance and Operations Feature - Crews along the Columbia Gorge keep an eye out for rocks and motorist safety
The watchful eyes of WSDOT Maintenance crews along SR 14, spotted an unstable cliff. Loose rocks, some as big as mini-vans, were brought down safely. |
This past winter, severe rain and cold weather caused a small rockslide on SR 14 west of the White Salmon River bridge (milepost 54). WSDOT's Bingen Maintenance crew cleared the slide and observed that there could be more instability on the cliff. They contacted a WSDOT Geotechnician who confirmed the observation.
WSDOT initiated an emergency contract for rock scaling and hired a contractor to perform the work, with maintenance crews providing traffic control and equipment for clean up. The project began on March 17 and took two days to complete. Crews removed many dangerous rocks from the face of the cliff, improving motorist safety along this stretch of SR 14. Worker safety was paramount throughout the project. WSDOT took the lead on safety, conducting safety meetings and “tailgate safety briefs,” involving every agency working on the project.
Rock fall is common in the Columbia River Gorge, and WSDOT conducts “regular rock patrols” just to keep the road clear, said Maintenance Supervisor Don Morby. Even though rock fall is common, projects like this are not, “but they are becoming more so each year. We had three such projects in the last two years” that required immediate attention, said Morby.
Though it keeps them busy, there is a benefit to the number of rockslides cleared each year: the rock itself. “Some of the rocks that come down are perfect for use elsewhere in Maintenance, such as shoulder buildup or washout areas, so we will typically stockpile that rock for future use, which saves us money in the long run,” said Morby.
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Update of projects under way
US 2 Creston - Contractor crews will begin resurfacing work April 9 on a section of US 2 in Lincoln County. The work will be underway through the town of Creston then continue 15 miles to the east to Rocklyn Road. Crews will grind out the existing roadway surface and pave it with a new layer of asphalt. In Davenport, 12th Street (SR 28) will be repaved from the railroad tracks to Morgan Street (US 2). In addition the project includes an asphalt seal and illumination work in the Telford Rest Area parking lot. The project should be fully completed by late June, depending on the weather. Wet, cool conditions may cause delays to the paving operations on this project.
SR 28 Rock Island Dam - Despite weekend snow, the crew of Janod Inc. of Quebec was able to successfully scale the unstable basalt rock from the face of the slope above SR 28 allowing the roadway to reopen at 5 p.m., April 1, 12 hours ahead of schedule. The total highway closure was necessary for the third phase of this $8.5 million rock slope stabilization project begun in 2002. By finishing this phase of the work early, Janod earns a $90,000 incentive bonus. Had the contractor failed to reopen the road by Wednesday morning, $10,000 per hour penalties would have been imposed. Later this month, crews will install rock bolts to further stabilize one portion of the slope. In August, they will return to install steel nets over the western-most part of the slope. Traffic disruptions during that phase will be minimal.
SR 522 Bothell - WSDOT hosted a kick off celebration on April 3 for the SR 522 UW College Campus Access project. This project will improve access to the UW Bothell Campus and Cascadia Community College from SR 522. This new access will relieve congestion in the city of Bothell by taking more campus-bound vehicles off city streets by 2010. These improvements will allow the campus to grow from 3,000 to 10,000 full-time students. Crews begin work on April 14.
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Announcements
WSDOT to re-bid contract for 50-car ferries
The Ferries Division of the Washington State Department of Transportation announced April 3 that it is rejecting a $26 million bid from Todd Pacific Shipyards to build a 50-car ferry. At the March 27 bid opening Todd was the sole project bidder. Its bid was higher than the WSDOT engineer’s estimate of $16.8 million.
After reviewing the bid to understand discrepancies between the two amounts, WSDOT determined that it was too high and decided not to award a contract. WSDOT engineers plan to talk with representatives of local shipyards about how the bid can be better defined before advertising again for the contract.
“Over the next several days we will incorporate lessons learned from this process into a new bid package,” Moseley said. “We are still moving forward to build the new vessel as quickly as possible, and I’m optimistic a new bid will result in cost savings over the last bid.”
WSDOT expects to re-bid the 50-car ferry contract in the next few weeks and award a contract by mid-May.
HOT lanes open this month on SR 167 between Renton and Auburn
On April 26, Washington’s first ever high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes will begin offering solo drivers a new choice for their commute on State Route 167. The SR 167 HOT Lanes Pilot Project will assess how variable tolling can help make the state’s roadways more efficient and less congested. WSDOT is converting nine miles of a pre-existing high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction of SR 167 between Renton and Auburn to a single HOT lane. With HOT lanes, drivers will have the choice to pay an electronic toll without ever slowing or stopping and escape traffic back ups when they can’t afford to be late.
There will be no toll booths. The toll will be collected by the same Good To Go! transponders currently in use on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Carpools carrying two people or more, vanpools, transit and motorcycles will continue to use the HOT lanes toll-free and do not need a transponder.
The key to HOT lane efficiency is in its fluctuating toll amount. The price increases and decrease with current traffic levels in the HOT lane to maintain the optimum amount of vehicles and the optimum lane speed for the smoothest traffic flow. Variable tolling ensures free-flow speeds virtually all the time. During the four-year pilot period, WSDOT will closely monitor and adjust the system to achieve its best performance. The department will report evaluation data to the state Legislature and the Washington State Transportation Commission.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - Wetland Replacement and Monitoring
WSDOT works to avoid and minimize wetland disturbances. When transportation projects create unavoidable wetland impacts, we enhance, restore, create or preserve wetlands to comply with the state's "no net loss" wetland policy. Since 1988, WSDOT has created 158 replacement wetland sites, totaling 890 acres. Experts agree that replacement wetlands that are actively monitored are more likely to succeed. In 2007, monitoring was initiated on 21 new replacement wetlands, totaling 149 acres. It can take years for a site to develop and become self-sustaining. WSDOT identifies and tracks wetland management activities that are intended to improve a site's performance. Activities may include weed control and planting additional vegetation. At the end of 2007, WSDOT's six regions completed 94 percent (48 out of 51) of the recommended management activities. More details on this topic can be found in the Environmental Programs Annual Update of the December 2007 Gray Notebook at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
April meetings
7, Monday, 10 a.m., Transportation Commission special meeting - conference call: The Transportation Commission will hold a special telephone meeting to review and discuss the 2008 - 2009 Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll rate proposal. The Commission is expected to approve a toll rate proposal, which will be released for public review and comment through May 27, 2008. To listen in, call: 605-772-3200 and when prompted, enter PIN number: 404317, followed by the pound (#) sign. For more information, call the Transportation Commission Office at 360-705-7070.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Weekly Report Archive
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