Date:
Friday, July 27, 2007
Contact:
Mike Westbay, WSDOT Communications, (509) 728-4712 (Yakima) Alissa Bateman, WSDOT Communications, (360) 600-2081 (Vancouver)
Alice Fiman, WSDOT Communications, (360) 705-7080 (Olympia)
WHITE PASS – Due to a US 12 closure approximately five miles west of White Pass, drivers can expect heavy traffic on eastbound I-90 today and westbound I-90 Sunday.
Possible US 12 alternate routes include I-90 Snoqualmie Pass, SR 410 Chinook Pass, SR 14 and Oregon’s I-84. Please note SR 410 is closed to commercial vehicles.
WSDOT and the contractor have been working on stabilizing the rock slope on US 12 near White Pass since the second week in July. This work consists of bringing large rocks down from the slope onto the highway and then loading them into trucks and hauling them away from the site.
Wednesday afternoon, during a routine 20-minute construction closure, a huge rock was loosened, but wouldn’t break loose as planned. Efforts to bring the rock down safely took longer than anticipated, and WSDOT geotechnical engineers have determined the slope above the roadway isn’t stable enough for drivers to safely pass through the work zone.
WSDOT then closed a 13-mile section of US 12, from the White Pass summit to the junction of SR 123, Wednesday. The roadway will reopen when WSDOT geotechnical engineers believe the area is safe for traffic. Reports today indicate the roadway could reopen Monday.
Three lowboy semi-trailers will bring “Rockzilla” and its 80-foot arm to White Pass today. The crane will be assembled Saturday at the site along US 12 where unstable rocks the size of refrigerators need to come down from the hillside. Crews estimate they will begin removing rock Sunday.
Currently there is no detour around the work zone, but drivers traveling westbound can access all recreation areas including the White Pass summit. Drivers traveling eastbound will find the road closed at the junction of US 12 and SR 123.
WSDOT is communicating with local businesses and crews installed detour information signs at the US 12/16th Ave. interchange near Naches, at the US 12/SR 410 junction, along US 12 and along I-5 in Southwest Washington.
Eastbound drivers seeking to enter Mt. Rainier National Park can do so from the Stevens Canyon Road entrance, just north of US 12 on SR 123. SR 123 is closed from Stevens Canyon Road to the SR 410 junction due to a washout.
To learn more about this project, please visit the project Web page at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/US12/WhitePassSlopeStabilization/
What can drivers do?
Give ‘em a Brake: We do our best to make work zones safe for the workers and drivers by making work zones visible with orange signs, cones, barrels, electronic messages, amber strobe lights and reflective clothing. Drivers need to do their part to help keep everyone safe on our highways by staying sober, awake, alert, keeping both hands on the wheel, eyes on the roadway, obeying speed limits and directions from flaggers. Please "Give 'em a Brake" by going slow through the construction zone. Remember, more motorists are injured in work zone collisions than construction workers.
Know before you go: visit WSDOT’s Web site
• Visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/ before you leave
• E-mail alerts - Sign up for one of several e-mail alert lists to get notice of upcoming construction closures delivered to your inbox
Know on the road
• 5-1-1 - This driver information phone line provides traffic, incident and closure information
• Overhead and roadside electronic signs note emergency and incident alerts
• Highway advisory radio - Yellow signs with flashing lights alert drivers to tune into radio frequencies airing construction updates
< Back to News Home