Date:
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Contact:
Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, (360) 757-5997 (Burlington)
Chris Damitio, Project Engineer, (360) 788-7400 (Bellingham)
ACME – WSDOT crews are nearly finished repairing one problem area on State Route 9 just north of Doran Road in Whatcom County. Now they will focus their efforts on a second, smaller problem area a half-mile to the south.
“SR 9 will be closed both north and south of Doran Road now,” said Project Engineer Chris Damitio. “We’re having the same problem to the south, the soil is heavily saturated and it’s moving. We’re going to dig it out and replace it with more stable material."
Crews will dig out a section of highway 100 feet long by 20 feet deep to remove heavily saturated soil and replace it with more stable material.
WSDOT closed SR 9 north of Doran Road on Feb. 7 after saturated soil beneath the road sloughed, causing the road to sink; opening a 300-foot long crack. The same thing is happening to the south, but on a smaller scale. Both areas have been a chronic problem for years. Asphalt patches will no longer fix the problem.
“We’re going to continue to work during daylight hours, seven days a week to finish both sections,” said Damitio. “We’re fairly optimistic that we can get all SR 9 lanes open by March 6th.”
There is no local detour around the closures. Local residents living in the immediate vicinity will have access to their homes. Drivers must use I-5 to detour around the closure. Southbound drivers can connect to I-5 from SR 9 using SR 542 near Deming. Northbound drivers can divert to I-5 using SR 20 near Sedro-Woolley.
Whatcom County Public Works placed weight restrictions on Bowman Road, Saxon Road, Lay Road, Innis Creek Road and Maleng Road; all county roads within the vicinity of the SR 9 closure.
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Drivers can now get real time traffic and weather information by dialing 5-1-1 from most phones. This new traveler information system builds upon the highly successful Washington State Highway hotline that managed 4.6 million calls each year. Callers can also use 5-1-1 to get statewide construction, mountain pass condition, and state ferry system information, as well as toll free numbers for passenger rail and airlines. TTY users can call 1-800-833-6388.
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