Date:
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Contact:
Leon Winger, Kelso Area Engineer, 360-442-1341
Jilayne Jordan, Public Information Officer, 360-905-2078
CHINOOK - The current round of archeological work taking place at the US 101 Station Camp project site west of the Astoria-Megler Bridge in Pacific County was completed on Wednesday, September 14, and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will begin construction of the highway realignment portion of this project on Monday, September 19.
The US 101 Station Camp project is a joint multi-agency project lead by the Washington State Historical Society, and involves WSDOT, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the National Park Service. The highway realignment part of the project will shift US 101 north by 275 feet from its current alignment near the church. This will help improve safety on this section of US 101, and allow for expansion of the Station Camp unit of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on the south side of the highway. Once complete, the 9-acre riverfront Station Camp park will serve as an important historical stop along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Construction of the park expansion will likely begin in late winter 2005 or early spring 2006.
During the highway realignment portion of the project, crews also will install a drainage system and guardrail, and conduct paving and other work. Construction on this project will occur during the day, Mondays through Fridays with minimal impacts to the traveling public. Most of the work will occur off-site with the exception of two culvert installations and the final connection of the new highway alignment. In those instances, there will be single lane closures with flaggers and up to 20-minute delays. There will be no lane closures on weekends, on holidays or after 12 p.m. on the day before a holiday. Weather permitting, the highway realignment part of the project will be complete in spring 2006. The highway realignment contract was awarded to Ostrander Rock and Construction Co. Inc., of Longview, Wash. last year after they submitted the winning bid of $1,119,760.
Advance warning signs will be placed ahead of the construction area, and motorists are asked to observe and adhere to the posted speed limits when driving through any work zones. It’s a fact that motorists are more likely to be killed in a highway work zone accident than a construction or maintenance employee. In Washington, 12 motorists are killed for every WSDOT employee killed and 214 motorists are injured for every WSDOT employee injured. It’s also a fact that traffic law violation fines are doubled inside work zones when workers are present (RCW 46.61.527).
For weekly updates on this and all other state construction-related impacts in the region, please visit the WSDOT Southwest Region Weekly Travel Advisory Web page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/southwest/Travel/. It is updated every Friday for the following week’s impacts. For more information about the highway realignment portion of US 101 Station Camp project, please call WSDOT’s Kelso Area Engineering Office toll free at: 1-800-545-1393.
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