Date:
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Contact:
Dave Crisman, Project Engineer, (360) 848-7103 (Mount Vernon)
Dustin Terpening, Public Information Officer (360) 757-5997 (Burlington)
MOUNT VERNON - The new 2nd Street Bridge over I-5 in Mount Vernon will soon reach its full height and width. WSDOT and Mowat Construction need one more week of I-5 closures to finish removing the remaining temporary bridge supports under the bridge.
Closures
Dec. 19 and Dec. 20: crews will close all lanes of northbound I-5 from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. between Kincaid Street (exit 226) and College Way (exit 227) in Mount Vernon. Before the full closure, crews will close one lane of northbound I-5 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Dec. 21 and Dec. 22: crews will close all lanes of southbound I-5 from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. between College Way (exit 228) and Kincaid Street (exit 227) in Mount Vernon. Before the full closure, crews will close one lane of southbound I-5 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Detour
WSDOT will provide a signed detour route via Kincaid Street, 3rd Street and Freeway Drive to help drivers easily navigate around the closure. Drivers should plan ahead for the closures, allow extra time for travel, and be prepared for delays.
“Drivers may do a double take as they pass under the new bridge after we’re finished,” said Project Engineer Dave Crisman. “The bridge will look dramatically different. The wooden columns in the median will be removed, making the bridge look wider, and the wood hanging under the bridge will be removed, making the bridge taller.”
Currently, with the bridge supports in place, the height clearance over I-5 is less than 16 feet. Once it’s removed, the new bridge will have an 18 feet 7 inch height clearance over I-5. The new height clearance is more than four feet taller than the previous bridge we demolished and replaced.
WSDOT opened the new 2nd Street Bridge over I-5 to traffic on Oct. 18 after one year of construction. The new bridge is wider, taller and safer than the bridge it replaced. To see month-by-month pictures of how crews built the bridge, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/2ndst_bridgerepl/.
The $14 million project is on schedule and budget. Construction work will be complete in spring 2006. WSDOT was able to build the new bridge thanks to the Washington State Legislature who approved $12 million in funding from the 2003 Transportation Funding Package. For more detailed information about the project visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/I5/2ndSt_BridgeRepl.
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