Date:
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Contact:
Bart Gernhart, WSDOT Southwest Region Engineer, (360) 905-2012
Sylvia Ross, WSDOT Communications, (360) 852-2537
CHEHALIS – Sooner than expected, Lewis County residents will enjoy a widened Mellen Street underneath I-5, announced the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The Mellen Street Improvement Project will widen Mellen Street underneath I-5, add designated turn lanes, and an extra travel lane in each direction, providing a faster, easier ride for motorists.
The project sounding board, composed of city and county community leaders, chose to postpone the Mellen Street interchange reconstruction, until funding is available to relocate the interchange slightly to the south and thus meet the cities’ long-term needs. Meanwhile, WSDOT proposed this improvement project at Mellen Street that will yield significant cost savings and near-term benefits to the community.
This project should have minimal impacts on the businesses situated along Mellen Street. Additional lanes will alleviate the back-ups onto I-5 and provide faster emergency access to the hospital. Finally, this design when approved by Lewis County, City of Chehalis and City of Centralia would allow the connection of Louisiana Road to Airport Road over the Airport Road dike, alleviating congestion at Chamber Way.
Excavation and new retaining walls underneath the I-5 bridge will make room for the additional outside lanes, allowing the inside lanes to become designated left-turn lanes. Better yet, these improvements will happen about a year sooner than the originally considered reconstruction option and the construction will take about half as long.
“The community loves the results of similar improvements on Harrison and Chamber Way, and these improvements to Mellen Street will provide even greater benefit in numerous ways,” said Ted Shannon, Centralia City Councilor.
“This project promises to be even more effective and efficient than the improvements at Harrison and Chamber Way,” added Bart Gernhart, WSDOT Southwest Region Engineer. “It is the best bang for our buck.”
“This improvement at Mellen Street is the critical step to allow us to connect Louisiana up and over the Airport dike to Airport Way,” noted Chad Taylor, Chehalis City Councilor. “The connection will help us alleviate the congestion at Chamber Way.”
Construction on the Mellen Street Improvement Project is set to start in no later than 2009 and last approximately 8 months.
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Editor note: for an electronic design of the Mellen Street Improvement Project, please contact Sylvia Ross at 360-905-2058.
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