Date:  Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Contact: Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-661-7903 (Burlington)
Marco Foster, Engineering Manager, 360-757-5991 (Burlington)

BELLINGHAM – Shortly after repaving a 2,000-foot stretch of Mount Baker Highway (State Route 542) near Britton Road on Tuesday, July 21, bumps appeared in the pavement. The bumps are only about ¼ inch in height, but are noticeable.

While the bumps are an annoyance to drivers, they are not a safety hazard. Crews will remove the bumpy asphalt and repave it again in three weeks.

Engineers believe that the material used to seal cracks in the existing roadway expanded because of the hot weather and pushed up into the new asphalt, creating the bumps.

The original roadway was built with concrete panels and was eventually paved over with asphalt. Prior to repaving on Tuesday, crews sealed cracks in the existing asphalt with a commonly used slurry mixture of sand, concrete and asphalt.

This repaving work is part of a larger $3.56 million contract that will repave nearly 17 miles of Mount Baker Highway between Bellingham and Kendall. For more project details, visit the project page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR542/BrittonToCoalCreek/.

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