Date:  Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Contact:

Jeff Adamson, North Central Region Communications Manager, Wenatchee, (509) 667-2815, (509) 669-8778 Cell. E-mail: adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

Mike Andreini, Project Engineer (509)667-2860 andreim@wsdot.wa.gov

WENATCHEE – Washington State Department of Transportation is targeting Friday evening, Jan. 16 to reopen Blewett pass. US 97 between I-90 and US 2 has been closed since a mudslide blocked both lanes near the summit last Wednesday. As the rain and snow continued, shoulders and lanes were washed out at three other locations.

“It’s been a dozen years since years since we’ve experienced this level of damage on Blewett from a single winter storm,” said Rick Wood, WSDOT Wenatchee Area 1 Maintenance Superintendent. The pass was closed for two weeks in the winter of 1996-97 while crews rebuilt washed out lanes.

While more bad weather, equipment or personnel issues could all change the timing, “I’m confident we can meet that target,” said Project Engineer Mike Andreini, “Our contractor, Pipkin Construction, and our own maintenance and engineering crews have accomplished things I would have said couldn’t be done, four days ago.”

“These repairs are temporary,” said Acting Assistant Region Administrator Dan Sarles, “We are committed to reopening the pass as soon as possible, but drivers should expect shoulder closures and speed restrictions. It’s going to be next spring before permanent repairs of all the damage can be completed. We don’t want to subject drivers to flaggers and lane closures in winter conditions, so we won’t open until Friday when driving lane repairs are adequate to hold us until spring. When we open, it will be for two-way, unrestricted travel.”

An overflowing Peshastin Creek three miles from the Big Y junction with US 2 washed away 225-feet of the northbound US 97 lane. The roadway, shoulder and guardrail have been replaced and local traffic began using the gravel driving lane this morning allowing access four miles further south to the Ingalls Creek Lodge and Blu Shastin vicinity.

Where Ruby Creek joins Peshastin Creek five miles further south, the flood scoured out a hole around a 12-foot pipe arch, 35 feet below the pavement. The 120-foot-hole exposed about 50 feet of the pipe arch and undermined 20 feet of the pavement, dumping several sections of concrete barrier into the scour hole. Filling the huge hole with boulders and rebuilding the roadbed is about two-thirds complete.

At the Bonanza Creek Campground another five miles further south is where the initial 200-foot-wide by 6-foot-high slide of mud, rocks and trees came down. The last of the debris was cleared this morning. From there for the next two miles toward the summit, repairs are underway repairing crushed culvert ends and rebuilding washed out shoulders and a nearly 1,000-foot section of northbound roadbed that was undermined.

Yesterday we discovered that 14 miles south of the summit near Liberty, Swauk Creek created a new channel under the snow, alongside 600 feet of the highway, washing out the shoulder and exposing buried utilities including a critical cross-state fiber optic cable. Crews dammed the new channel, routing the water back into the creek, drained the flooded shoulder and will place large boulders (rip rap) when utility crews finish re-burying the cable today.

“Pipkin has been working around the clock and they’ve thrown every resource they could find into the repairs,” said Project Engineer Andreini. “They blasted rock from their own quarry when our DOT rip rap was exhausted; got a subcontractor to fire up an asphalt plant so we’ll have pavement instead of gravel when we open Friday. They’ve been better than great!”

Andreini had compliments for his fellow state workers as well.

“The maintenance crews made the repair work possible by blowing out culverts, plowing and sanding so the contractor crews could get to the damage,” Andreini said.

WSDOT engineers and maintenance techs have also been inspecting for more damage such as that found yesterday.

The repairs are being paid for under an emergency maintenance contract. The costs are not yet determined, but are expected to be reimbursed under the Federal Emergency declaration for the December and January storms.

Photos of the damage and repair work are posted on the WSDOT flickr web page: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157612297436920/

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