Date:  Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Contact: Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970 (Burlington)

CONCRETE – Both lanes of State Route 20 should be open by 6 p.m. today after crews finish clearing a mudslide that shoved heavy concrete barriers into the middle of the highway early this morning.

A 30-mile detour will remain in place until SR 20 opens again to traffic. The detour directs traffic onto SR 530 and county roads where drivers may encounter snow or slush.

At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, crews will close one lane of SR 20 while they clear debris from a culvert and move equipment. Flaggers will direct alternating traffic through the open lane. They hope to have both lanes open again within two hours, but the work could take longer.

Maintenance crews plowing SR 20 discovered the slide about 4 a.m. A WSDOT geological technician determined that the hillside was stable and safe for crews to work beneath it. They removed 500 cubic yards of mud, or about 50 dump-truck loads.

Highway maintenance crews will continue to monitor slopes in the area.

In wet weather, slides periodically affect this stretch of highway, where about 5,000 vehicles travel daily . Another mudslide covered the highway a couple of years ago about 800 feet to the west of the current slide.

Detour:

A detour is in place that will add up to 40 minutes to trips through the area.

Eastbound - Drivers will take Concrete Sauk Valley Road to SR 530 to Rockport.

Westbound - Drivers will turn onto SR 530 at Rockport and turn right onto the Concrete Sauk Valley Road to Concrete, then get back on SR 20.

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