A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Two new bridges will be built to help pedestrians, commuters and freight move along SR 519 more safely and with less delays. |
Secretary Paula Hammond joined state and local officials, and business representatives on Oct. 23 to kick off construction on a $67 million project to improve traffic, freight mobility and pedestrian safety on SR 519 near the sports stadiums in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood.
The SR 519 project is located on S. Atlantic Street and S. Royal Brougham Way between First Avenue S. and I-5 near Qwest Field and Safeco Field. Freight and ferry traffic use SR 519 to reach the waterfront and Port of Seattle terminals, as well as a growing number of commuters heading to and from I-5 and I-90 and the stadium area. The project will boost commerce and the local economy by reducing delays for freight haulers delivering goods to markets in Washington state, across the country and around the world. A large number of pedestrians also cross SR 519 on their way to and from events at the stadiums.
As part of this project, crews will build two bridges that will eliminate the delays that drivers and pedestrians currently endure while waiting for trains to pass. The bridges include:
- A westbound off-ramp from I-90 and I-5 that connects to the existing S. Atlantic Street (Edgar Martinez Drive S.) overpass.
- A bridge for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists along S. Royal Brougham Way.
Crews also will widen the intersection of S. Atlantic Street and First Avenue S. to add turn lanes.
In the first phase of the project, completed in 2003, WSDOT built the new Atlantic Street on-ramps to I-5 and I-90 and the S. Atlantic Street overpass. WSDOT expects this final phase of the SR 519 Intermodal Access Project to be complete by mid-2010, ahead of major construction to replace the southern mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct between S. King Street and S. Holgate Street.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - Maintenance crews gear up for 2009 Hood Canal Bridge closure
Narrow shoulders on one side and the Hood Canal on the other, leaves US 101 with little room for blocked lanes. Crews are preparing now for emergencies during the coming Hood Canal Bridge closure. |
Even though the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge planned closure is still months away, crews are getting ready for increased traffic on US 101 now. Engineers expect traffic on US 101 along the Hood Canal will jump as much as 60 percent during the May-June 2009 closure of the Hood Canal Bridge - the primary highway connection between Jefferson and Kitsap counties.
WSDOT and Kiewit General are closing the bridge while crews replace the east half. During the bridge closure, it will be crucial to keep traffic flowing on US 101. To that end, WSDOT maintenance workers from several areas in the Olympic Region are preparing themselves to respond quickly and safely to major traffic incidents on US 101 and SR 3 - the primary alternate routes during the bridge closure.
At a training session Oct. 16 in Port Orchard, WSDOT maintenance workers, along with representatives from the Washington State Patrol and local fire departments, worked through various emergency scenarios that would shut down US 101 for extended periods. Participants in the full-day training session focused on the many aspects of traffic incident response, including representing the department at an incident command post; communicating in a timely manner; elevating decisions to the proper authority as necessary; and performing their work in the quickest, safest way possible.
"The value of the training is in the preparation and relationship building that occurred," Himmel said. "It was encouraging to see WSDOT, WSP and local fire all in the same room planning for emergencies. It will make all of us better able to respond when a serious incident occurs."
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Update of projects underway
US 101 Hoquiam - Inspections on the US 101 Simpson Avenue Bridge will close the bridge from 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, to 6 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 30. Traffic will detour over the nearby Riverside Bridge. During the closure crews will perform final inspections on a $9.2 million rehabilitation project which closed the bridge for 10 weeks this last spring. The bridge reopened to traffic in April with the bulk of the work being done, but miscellaneous work items remained. Contractor Rognlins, Inc. began construction in September 2007.
I-405 Bellevue/Renton - Crews working on I-405 in Renton and Bellevue have been getting the project sites ready for the upcoming wet weather by hydroseeding the ground to stabilize the soil. Crews are also using a high strength, coarse, environmentally-friendly fabric called jute matting to stabilize slopes and aid in erosion control. The jute matting is placed over the soil like a blanket which protects it from water and wind erosion, and discourages weed growth.
SR 531 Smokey Point - Crews reopened both lanes of SR 531 over Cougar Creek on Lakewood Road after finishing emergency repairs to a collapsed culvert on Oct. 23, a day ahead of schedule. The failed culvert was discovered on Sunday, Oct. 5. When the culvert collapsed, a sinkhole formed near the roadway. During the repair process, a pumping system was used to divert the creek and safely carry fish around the construction site. The contractor, Trenchless Construction, used a hydraulic ram to pound a 24-inch diameter pipe through the existing culvert. Completing this emergency repair allows Cougar Creek to flow smoothly again under the road and reduces the possibility that the creek could dam up this winter and jeopardize the highway. The emergency repair also restores fish passage under SR 531 just as coho salmon begin their winter run up Cougar Creek. WSDOT is planning to permanently fix the culvert next summer. The emergency repair cost an estimated $80,000.
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Announcements
No new settlement on the Alaskan Way Viaduct
WSDOT bridge inspection crews reported that they found no new settlement or structural damage from the Oct. 18 and 19 inspection of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. In April, WSDOT completed work to strengthen four column foundations between Columbia Street and Yesler Way that had settled approximately 5.5 inches since the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake.
“It appears that the repairs have done their job to stabilize this section of the viaduct until we begin to take it down in 2012,” said Ron Paananen, WSDOT Urban Corridors Office Deputy Director. “However, it’s important to remember that these repairs do not protect the viaduct in another earthquake.”
In addition to measuring existing cracks and settlement on the structure, crews completed maintenance work including repairing expansion joints and damaged bridge rails. WSDOT crews conduct inspections every three months to monitor the viaduct’s condition and keep drivers safe. Construction began last month to relocate electrical lines attached to the lower deck of the viaduct to prepare for taking down the southern mile of the structure in 2009. Replacing the viaduct from S. Holgate Street to S. King Street is one of six Moving Forward projects that will repair or replace about half of the Alaskan Way Viaduct by 2012.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - Bridge Risk Reduction
Earthquakes pose substantial risks to transportation infrastructure in Washington. As part of its bridge preservation program, WSDOT uses seismic retrofit of bridges to mitigate the potential risks associated with earthquakes. Under the seismic retrofit program, engineers identified 922 bridges structures in need of retrofit or replacement. Of these, 217 have been completely retrofitted, 153 have been partially retrofitted, with an additional 19 under contract. In addition, two bridges have been replaced and 13 are planned for replacement. As of June 30, 2008, 506 bridges have had no retrofit work done. The 2005 Transportation Partnership Account provided $87 million to complete projects for 172 high and moderate risk bridges in the Puget Sound area. Work has begun and is scheduled to be completed within eight years. The cost to retrofit all the remaining bridges is estimated to be nearly $500 million. More details on this topic and other key issues can be found in the June 2008 Gray Notebook at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
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October open houses, meetings and events
27, Monday, 4 - 7 p.m., Open house, SR 302 Corridor - Lakebay: WSDOT project staff will hold an open house to present changes to the SR 302 Corridor Study. A brief presentation will be made and staff will be available to discuss the project and answer questions. Location: Key Peninsula Middle School, Lakebay.
29, Wednesday, 4 - 7 p.m., Open house, SR 302 Corridor - Burley: WSDOT project staff will hold an open house to present changes to the SR 302 Corridor Study. A brief presentation will be made and staff will be available to discuss the project and answer questions. Location: Burley Bible Church, Burley.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Express Lane Archive
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