Date:  Friday, December 12, 2008

Contact: Patty Michaud, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)
Dave Lindberg, WSDOT Project Engineer, 425-814-7104 (Redmond)

INDEX – Following through on a commitment to make US 2 safer, WSDOT announced today that in 2008 crews finished six safety and preservation projects on US 2 between Monroe and Stevens Pass.

Yesterday, crews working for WSDOT finished permanent repairs to a section of hillside under US 2 just east of Index.

“In 2008 we invested more than $13.5 million to preserve the roadway and improve safety for everyone who uses US 2,” said Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation. “We started work in the spring with a roadside safety improvement project and we’ve pushed hard all year long to complete this work.”

Drivers on US 2 this summer saw crews working on projects from Monroe to Stevens Pass. In addition to the slide repair project, crews:

• installed more than 40 miles of rumble strips and high-visibility striping between Monroe and the pass
• repaved three miles of the highway west of Skykomish 
• stabilized the hillside beneath the highway near Sunset Falls 
• relocated a Community Transit bus stop in Sultan to improve pedestrian safety 
• removed potential hazards from the side of the highway and installed guardrail near Skykomish

One of this summer’s most significant safety improvements was the $3.9 million project to install more than 40 miles of centerline and shoulder rumble strips between Monroe and Stevens Pass. Rumble strips help reduce serious crossover and run-off-the-road collisions by alerting drivers that they are leaving their lanes. As part of the project crews also added recessed high-visibility striping to make the roadway more visible to drivers at night and in bad weather.

In the final project of the year, crews built a steel and wood wall to stabilize the hillside under the highway to permanently repair US 2 east of Index. This week they finished laying the base layer of pavement and temporary striping. With the roadway restored to its original alignment, crews can remove the temporary speed limit reduction that was in place since November 2006.

“We’ll come back in the spring to finish paving and permanent striping, but the road is now open to traffic in its original alignment,” said Project Engineer Dave Lindberg. “Drivers deserve credit for their patience during all of our work this year.”

What’s next for US 2?

WSDOT engineers are designing a $10 million safety improvement project scheduled for construction in 2010. The Legislature included the funding for safety improvements between Monroe and Gold Bar in the 2008 supplemental budget. Engineers are working with the community to develop potential improvements, such as two-way left-turn lanes and changes to key intersections.

In October 2007, Gov. Chris Gregoire, Secretary Hammond and local officials announced a US 2 Traffic Safety Corridor partnership with local communities to raise awareness for drivers, improve critical safety needs and increase enforcement. Part of the project included more than $1.7 million in federal funding for the corridor rumble strip project and $1.5 million from Snohomish County to install high-visibility striping.

For more information on WSDOT’s US 2 projects, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/US2/DriveSafe/2008Construction.htm.

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