Date:
Monday, June 18, 2007
Contact:
Travis Phelps, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4470 (Seattle)
Drivers should plan ahead as nightly closures of the westbound US 2 Ebey Island trestle and bridge begin tonight and continue through early October.
During the nighttime closures, westbound US 2 will be closed from SR 204 to 50th Avenue SE as crews work to repair 136, 40-foot long girders. Drivers will detour via 20th Street SE, SR 9, US 2 and 51st Avenue SE.
Closure schedule
Sunday through Thursday - 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Saturday - 8 p.m. to 9 a.m.
To prepare for the closures, crews paved eastbound 20th Street SE under the trestle, built staging platforms underneath US 2 and sand blasted rust, dirt and loose concrete from the girders. Now they are ready to start repairing the girders using a carbon fiber mesh that is also used on jet liners.
Once the carbon fiber mesh is in place, crews will use hand trowels to apply concrete over the exposed steel. Although all of the work takes place underneath the viaduct and bridge, crews must close the road to ensure the carbon fiber and concrete cure properly. Vehicles traveling overhead would generate vibrations that would cause the carbon fiber and new concrete to bend and flex and ultimately weaken.
The viaduct and bridge are part of the busy US 2 corridor that is used by more than 37,000 vehicles per day. The almost 40 year-old structures are showing signs of wear from water that has leaked through the joints over the years, leaving cracked concrete and corroded steel on many of the girders underneath the trestle.
Visit the project Web page for further information and project updates.
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