Date:
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Contact:
Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970 (Burlington)
OAK HARBOR – WSDOT will dig into two hills that rise and fall along State Route 20 south of Oak Harbor to flatten the highway and improve visibility for drivers. The hills have been the site of numerous collisions and WSDOT wants to help prevent more of them from happening.
Crews will start digging Sunday, July 29 and will work around the clock for two weeks, from 5 p.m. Sundays to 4 p.m. Fridays. A lane in each direction will remain open to drivers during the work. Access to and from some local side streets will close. Detour routes will be posted. Drivers should watch for narrow lanes and expect minor delays.
WSDOT expects to remove about 600 truck-and-trailer loads of dirt while shaving up to eight feet from the top of the hill between 24th Street and Eagle Vista Avenue and three feet from the hill between Harbor Vista Circle and Capital Street.
Keeping both lanes open while crews flatten the highway is a change from previous plans that local residents had voted on. WSDOT originally planned to close all SR 20 lanes and detour traffic onto city streets for two weekends. However, contractor G.G. Excavation devised the new plan to keep the highway open and expedite the work.
“This is a win-win situation for drivers and us,” said Dave Crisman, WSDOT project engineer. “We do everything we can to design and build projects in a way that minimizes disruptions and delays for drivers. When the contractor suggested a different plan, we were excited to see the details and work with them to make it a reality.”
Schedule
- 5 p.m. Sunday, July 29, through Friday 4 p.m., August 3 – Crews will narrow lanes between 24th Street and Eagle Vista Avenue and work around the clock to complete the work. During the work, access will be closed at SR 20 to 24th Street and Eagle Vista Avenue. During this time, Eagle Vista traffic will be detoured to Capital Street and 24th Street traffic will be detoured to Harbor Vista Circle.
- 8 p.m. Sunday, August 5, through Friday 4 p.m., Aug 10 – Crews will narrow lanes between Harbor Vista Circle and Capital Street and work around the clock to complete the work. During the work, access will be closed to SR 20 at Capital Street and Harbor Vista Drive. During this time, Capital Street traffic will be detoured to Eagle Vista Avenue and Harbor Vista Circle traffic will be detoured to 24th Street.
Drivers are advised sign up for SR 20 e-mail updates to get the latest information on delays and possible detours on this and other SR 20 projects by going to www.wsdot.wa.gov/northwest/emailupdates.
For more project details, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR20/SidneyStreetToScenicHeights.
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