Date:
Friday, March 16, 2007
Contact:
Dustin Terpening, Communications, (360) 757-5997
Ron Morton, Maintenance Superintendent, (360) 788-2505
Maple Falls – WSDOT crews discovered a sinkhole at the Boulder Creek Bridge on Mount Baker Highway east of Maple Falls on Thursday and worked quickly to fix it by this morning.
WSDOT will build a wider, taller bridge this summer to help solve flooding problems and eliminate related hazards, improving safety and preventing delays for drivers.
A maintenance employee spotted the sagging asphalt at the east end of the bridge during a routine trip. When he pulled over to inspect the problem further, he found a 2-foot deep by 3-foot wide sinkhole hidden below a thin layer of asphalt.
"It’s a good thing we caught it when we did," said Maintenance Superintendent Ron Morton. "If somebody had hit that sucker just right, it would have been a rude awakening. Fortunately, we have crews on the road looking for problems like this. We fix hazards when we find them."
Morton said high water last weekend washed away sediment that supports the roadway, causing the sinkhole.
The Boulder Creek Bridge has a history of flooding related problems.
"It’s a problem for us every year, sometimes several times a year," Morton said. "Fortunately we’re going to tear it down this summer and build a wider, taller one in its place."
In addition to being wider and taller, the new $7.3 million Boulder Creek Bridge will have a pedestrian and bike lane, and will link to the Bay to Baker Trail.
For more detailed project information about the bridge, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR542/BoulderCreekBridgeReplacement/.
Crews discovered this sinkhole Thursday in the Mount Baker Highway near Maple Falls.
Crews dug out the hole, filled it and patched it by Friday morning.
The sinkhole developed when high water eroded the streambank where the Boulder Creek Bridge meets the Mount Baker Highway. We will build a new bridge this summer. The taller, wider bridge will prevent flooding and erosion that historically have been problems at Boulder Creek.
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