Date:  Monday, December 15, 2008

Contact: Travis Phelps, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4472 (Seattle)

Today WSDOT begins a year of unprecedented outreach for the upcoming construction season. Traditionally, we officially kick off our construction season in March or April and we consider it wrapped up by mid-October. Nothing about the 2009 season will be traditional or easy.

The 2009 construction season begins in February and runs through October. It affects every major road in the greater Seattle area. It will affect nearly every driver who lives, works or drives through Central Puget Sound.

Our infrastructure is old and it needs to be repaired before it becomes dangerous. Cracked pavement can be a hazard. Failing expansion joints can lead to the collapse of a bridge. We are working to fix these roads now before the situation gets any worse.

Big projects

The biggest projects will replace broken concrete panels on I-5 between the Boeing Access Road and the King/Snohomish county line, repair uneven pavement on I-5 between the Ship Canal Bridge and 145^th Street and replace expansion joints on the I-90 floating bridge.

Other projects that will hit commuters include:

• repaving SR 520 in Redmond.
• rehabilitating the Battery Street Tunnel.
• building a new connection between I-90 and the south end of the Viaduct over Royal Brougham.
• widening I-405 in Renton and Bellevue
• applying a test section of quieter pavement in South Bellevue on I-405
• closing the Hood Canal Bridge in May and June
• multiple paving projects on I-5 in Snohomish County

WSDOT has launched a new construction Web site for this construction season to help drivers plan ahead and stay on top of the closures. It is www.wsdot.wa.gov/construction/2009. The Web site is comprehensive and detailed and delivers construction schedule information as well as options to avoid the traffic jams.

Why now?

WSDOT must repair the failing roads before we begin next year’s mega-projects: the Viaduct and the replacement of the SR 520 floating bridge. Existing roads must be able to handle thousands of extra vehicles every day during these construction projects. This is the best time to fix these roads.

What should I do?

If there is one thing we would recommend, we would say – go to the Web site and check it out. There are so many closures and so much information, it’s difficult to grasp all of our work. If you still have questions, you can always contact us at wsdotconstruction@wsdot.wa.gov.

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