Date:
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Contact:
Contacts: Greg Phipps, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4702 (Seattle)
MAPLE VALLEY – Today’s “DOT days of summer” highlights the biggest milestone on one of our biggest projects – State Route 18 widening between Maple Valley and Issaquah Hobart Road. During the last three years of construction WSDOT and contractor Atkinson Construction have transformed what was a narrow, winding two-lane rural highway into a modern four-lane divided freeway.
August 30, 2006
- At about 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31, crews will do two things that will significantly improve safety and keep traffic moving on SR 18.
- They will turn off the traffic signal at 244th Avenue SE – the last red light on SR 18 between I-5 and I-90
- They will shift eastbound traffic to the newly completed eastbound highway between Maple Valley and Issaquah Hobart Road and open new eastbound on- and off-ramps at the 244th Avenue SE interchange. This traffic shift means eastbound and westbound traffic will be separated by a wide median, drastically reducing the likelihood of head-on and sideswipe collision.
- In this project crews also:
- built a new bridge over SR 18 at SE 200th Street
- removed old surface street intersections at 236th Avenue SE, 244th Avenue SE, and SE 200th Street
- replaced bridges over SR 169 and the Cedar River
- improved salmon passage and habitat in Taylor Creek by replacing culverts with bridges and by realigning a 1500-foot section of the creek
- built 49 acres of wetland mitigation sites
- built an extensive network of drainage pipes and detention ponds to capture and clean highway runoff
For more information go to: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR18/AuburntoI90/MValley_IHobart
What can drivers expect into October on this project?
While the new eastbound roadway is a two-lane section, the left lane will remain closed into mid- to late September while crews remove the temporary transition roadways at each end of the project and complete grading and guardrail installation in the median. Drivers can then expect weekday single lane closures through the length of the project into October as crews complete stormwater pond and wetland mitigation site work alongside the highway.
After the traffic switch drivers will travel on a single westbound lane while crews remove temporary transition roadways, pave a final layer of asphalt and place new striping. We expect to open the second westbound lane in mid-October.
What’s next for the “DOT days of summer”?
Through mid-September, WSDOT will count down the “DOT days of summer,” highlighting key milestones for important WSDOT projects.
Why this is such a busy time for WSDOT? August and early September have a lot of things going for them. They’re consistently the driest times of the year, days and nights are warmer, and humidity is lower, which makes painting and paving easier as the products adhere better.
Take a look at our construction calendar. Click on a day or a specific project to learn more about road work near you: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Construction/calendar.
WSDOT currently has nearly 400 active construction projects underway around the state thanks to the 2003 and 2005 funding packages approved by the Washington State legislature.
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