Date:
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Contact:
Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
Chris Damitio, Project Engineer, 360-788-7403 (Bellingham)
BELLINGHAM – Crews will start closing lanes on Guide Meridian (SR 539) one hour earlier in the evenings north of Bellingham to do more work during daylight hours.
Crews will close lanes at 8 p.m. starting Wednesday, Aug. 1 between Horton Road and Ten Mile Road. This will continue for the rest of the summer while crews work nights.
Closing lanes earlier will allow crews to do more work during daylight hours and more work each night.
“We’re extending the work hours so that we can get more work done each night and increase safety for crews,” said Jeff Peterson, WSDOT chief project inspector.
WSDOT does not expect delays for drivers to significantly increase by closing lanes at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.
“We’ll keep a very close eye on delays and backups,” said Peterson. “If delays increase significantly, then we will go back to closing lanes at 9 p.m.”
WSDOT also warns that nighttime construction noise may increase in the next couple weeks while they install new waterlines under the roadway. Crews will use saws to cut the asphalt roadway and backhoes to dig trenches for the new waterlines.
This work is unavoidably noisy. WSDOT will do everything possible to minimize noise during construction, including: using quieter vehicle warning alarms; turning off equipment when it’s not being used; and muffling generators.
This work is part of a larger $61 million project to widen the Guide Meridian and improve safety for drivers. For more project information, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr539/i5_access/Horton_Tenmile.
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