A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Despite the rain, local officials and community members celebrated the opening of a new on-ramp in Mason County. The ramp provides a safer, more efficient connection between SR 3 and US 101. |
Drivers no longer need to turn left across high-speed traffic to get from State Route (SR) 3 to northbound US 101 near Shelton. A new on-ramp opened Nov. 12, following a ribbon-cutting event.
“This new ramp significantly improves safety for Mason County drivers,” said state Rep. Kathy Haigh, one of the more than people who gathered in the rain to help celebrate the opening of the new ramp. Rep. Haigh, along with Mason County Fire Chief Bob Burbridge and Lieutenant Smeland from the Washington State Patrol all touted the project's safety benefits. The new ramp provides a safer and more efficient way to enter northbound US 101 by eliminating the need to cross busy southbound lanes. The SR 3 connection to southbound US 101 (toward Olympia) remains the same.
Crews from Tri-State Construction of Bellevue began work on this $3.8 million project in May and completed the project on time and on budget. The project is funded by the 2005 gas tax package.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - November rains bring flooding and slides across western Washington
The Cowlitz River flowed onto US 12 near Randle, prompting WSDOT crews to close the highway for motorists’ safety. This was one of more than a dozen highways closed this week due to flooding or slides. |
WSDOT Maintenance crews throughout western Washington had their hands full this week putting up signs and barricades as heavy rainfall caused rivers and streams to overflow their banks and loosened soil and rocks from slopes above the highway.
Crews restricted travel or closed sections on a dozen highways due to water over the roadway in Clallam, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Pacific, Pierce, and Wahkiakum counties. Crews worked around the clock clearing or monitoring mudslides and rockslides in four locations including SR 169 near Black Diamond and SR 410 near Enumclaw in King County, SR 107 near Montesano in Grays Harbor County, and SR 11 near the Skagit/Whatcom county line.
WSDOT reminds motorists to check their route before they go at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/Update, which is updated as conditions change. Travel information is also available by calling 5-1-1.
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Update of projects under way
I-5 corridor, King & Snohomish counties - On Nov. 10 WSDOT kicked off a two-year project to improve 19 bridges on I-5 from Tukwila to Lynnwood. Crews will upgrade the bridges to current seismic standards, reducing the risk of serious damage during an earthquake. Six of the bridges are located in Tukwila and 13 are located in Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. Crews will make improvements to enhance the stability of the bridge columns and girders to help protect against catastrophic bridge failures.
SR 16 Olalla - The daily commute on SR 16 took a new shape Monday Nov. 10, for drivers traveling westbound at Burley Olalla Road in Kitsap County. Over the weekend crews successfully shifted mainline westbound SR 16 traffic onto a temporary detour and dropped the speed limit to 40 mph. The detour and speed-limit reduction remains in place until the new SR 16 bridges are complete. Work is part of a $24.3 million safety project that eliminates the last at-grade intersection on SR 16 where traffic crosses the median. When complete in fall 2010, two new bridges will carry SR 16 traffic over Burley Olalla Road.
SR 25 Stevens County - Crews have completed paving nearly 27 miles of SR 25 from Bossburg Road to Canada north of Colville. The project repaired deteriorated pavement and restored the roadway surface on this international trade route. Drainage and guardrail improvements were also made.
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass - WSDOT has completed its geotechnical drilling work for the 2008 season. For the past two months, WSDOT briefly slowed traffic on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass as helicopters delivered special drill equipment to crews collecting rock core samples on the slopes above the highway. Earlier this summer, crews also conducted exploratory drill work on the highway and in Keechelus Lake. Using the samples of rock gathered over the past season from deep in the mountain, design engineers can safely plan construction of new slopes cut into the rock above the interstate. WSDOT will also use drilling results to determine the size and depth of bridge foundations in and around Keechelus Lake.
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Announcements
Chuckanut Drive to remain closed for several weeks near Bellingham
Boulders the size of cars crashed down onto SR 11 (Chuckanut Drive) near Bellingham on November 10. |
A three-mile section of Chuckanut Drive (SR 11) will remain closed for several weeks after a rockslide Monday, Nov. 10, sent boulders the size of cars tumbling onto the road south of Bellingham. It’s one of the biggest rockslides to happen on Chuckanut Drive in the last decade. Fortunately no one was injured or hurt since WSDOT Maintenance crews had closed the road the previous day when they noticed movement on the hillside above.
Crews moved equipment into place on Nov. 12 and began stabilizing the hillside above Chuckanut Drive on Nov. 13. The work will take several weeks to complete and the road will remain closed from mileposts 11 to 14 for the duration of the work. The first step in stabilizing the hillside will be to knock down any loose rock and debris above the slide area. To protect the area from further slides, crews will also bind remaining rocks to stable bedrock in the hill with long rock bolts, then cover it with spray-on concrete. WSDOT hired Granite Northwest of Bellingham to stabilize the hillside.
Bids opened for contract to build new 64-car ferries for Port Townsend/Keystone route
WSDOT opened bids on Nov. 13 on a contract to build up to two new 64-car vessels for the Port Townsend/Keystone route. The Ferries Division received one bid from Todd Pacific Shipyards to build the vessels, which are based on the Island Home design.
Bids were solicited for construction and delivery of one or two 64-auto ferries. Todd’s proposed bid price is $124,450,559.00 for two vessels and $65,487,328.00 for one vessel. The WSDOT engineer’s estimate is $95,943,865.00 for two vessels and $49,452,894.00 for one vessel.
“While I appreciate Todd Shipyards’ responsiveness, I am disappointed that there is only one bid,” said David Moseley, Assistant Secretary, WSDOT Ferries Division. “We will identify all viable options before making a decision.”
WSDOT will evaluate the bid over the next few days to ensure it meets contract requirements before making an award recommendation.
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November open houses, meetings and events
17, Monday, 3 - 7 p.m., 520 Tolling Implementation Committee meeting, Mercer Island: Your opinion will help shape how tolling is implemented in the 520 corridor. The 520 Tolling Implementation Committee is holding a series of public events where you can bring your comments, questions, and ideas about tolling options. Location: Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E. Mercer Way, Mercer Island.
18 & 19, Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Washington Transportation Commission meeting - Olympia: The Transportation Commission, an independent state agency, will hold its monthly meeting. Agenda items for this month include reports on a ferry-user survey, long-term ferry funding, climate change as it relates to transportation and cable median barrier. A public comment period is scheduled for Wednesday at 3:20 p.m. Location: Transportation Building, 310 Maple Park Ave. SE, Olympia.
19, Wednesday, 3 - 4 p.m., Ribbon cutting, US 2/US 97 Peshastin East Interchange - Peshastin: WSDOT will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate project completion for the new US 2/US 97 Peshastin East interchange. Construction of the new interchange increases safety by eliminating the at-grade intersection. Interchange ramps will allow traffic to reach highway speeds prior to merging with the through traffic. The interchange will also allow safer crossing for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Location: Big Y, US 2/97 intersection, east of Peshastin in central Chelan County.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Express Lane Archive
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