Date:
Friday, March 21, 2008
Contact:
Jeff Adamson, North Central Region Communications Manager, Wenatchee, (509) 667-2815, (509) 669-8778 Cell. E-mail: adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov
Bob Romine, Project Engineer, Wenatchee, (509) 667-2880, E-mail: rominer@wsdot.wa.gov
For more information, visit the project web page
WENATCHEE -- The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is closing State Route 28 near Rock Island Dam for four days over Spring Vacation to stabilize a rock slope above the highway. The closure is necessary for the third phase of this $8.5 million project that started in 2002. More potentially dangerous rock will be removed during the closure, then later this summer, steel nets will be installed over the western-most part of the slope. Traffic disruptions during that phase will be minimal.
The four day continuous closure begins on Friday, March 28th at 9 p.m., until Wednesday, April 2nd at 5 a.m. WSDOT has implemented an extensive notification system to help drivers plan ahead for this closure, including newspaper and radio advertisements, roadside electronic message signs and highway advisory radios as well as news releases, web page and 5-1-1 telephone messages.
It takes about a half-hour to drive between East Wenatchee and Quincy. While the highway is closed, drivers will have to use alternative routes through Waterville and Ephrata or Blewett Pass and I-90. Both routes add 90 minutes or more to the trip. Visit the project web page for maps. An average of 6,500 to 6,900 vehicles per day travel past Rock Island Dam. In an effort to reduce the number of days the roadway is closed, the contractor is being offered an incentive for early completion.
In 2002, the first phase of the slope stabilization project blasted rock from the eastern-most portion of the 300-foot slope and cost $2.4 million. The second phase, in 2004, cost $2 million and constructed a large concrete wall to hold rock in place above the western-most section where phase three will take place. In December, the third phase of the project was awarded to Janod Inc. for $2.4 million, 25% under the engineering estimate.
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