Date:  Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Contact:
Will Smith, WSDOT Project Engineer 509.577.1840 (Yakima)
Mike Westbay, WSDOT Communications 509. 577.1617 (Yakima)

WSDOT slows eastbound I-90 traffic near Snoqualmie Pass while helicopters place nets onto stabilized slope

SNOQUALMIE PASS – WSDOT and the contractor will conduct rolling slow-downs on eastbound I-90, three separate times today, while a helicopter lifts protective netting from the staging area (at Snoqualmie Pass) to where crews will secure it to the rock covered slope ( one-half mile west of the pass). Traffic will be delayed for about 20 minutes each flight. WSDOT engineers estimate that all helicopter flights and delays to traffic will conclude early this afternoon.

Westbound traffic is not affected by this project.

This emergency maintenance project resulted from the rockslide that took place on Monday, May 26, 2008 when several rocks (pick up truck load) fell onto two eastbound lanes of I-90 just one-half mile west of Snoqualmie Pass. Loose rocks have been removed. The installation of new cable netting will reduce the risk of rocks reaching the roadway. To learn more about this emergency safety improvement project visit the Web site.

WSDOT’s 5-1-1 hotline provides current traffic and weather information to close to 5 million callers each year. Callers also use 5-1-1 to get statewide construction, mountain pass condition, and state ferry system information, as well as toll free numbers for passenger rail and airlines. From June through December 2007 the 5-1-1 system handled 832,590 calls. Close to 60 percent of those calls came in December, the heaviest month ever recorded for the 5-1-1 system.

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