Date:  Friday, July 30, 2010

Contact: Bronlea Mishler, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4697 (Shoreline)
Mark Sawyer, Project Engineer, 425-649-4429 (Bellevue)

AUBURN – Work will begin next week on SR 18 near Peasley Canyon to permanently repair damage from a large landslide that closed the westbound lanes of the highway in January.

Beginning Monday, Aug. 2, crews will begin building a new, 10-foot-high, 600-foot-long containment wall along the westbound lanes of the highway to block future slide debris from reaching the roadway. The wall will extend east from the end of the existing containment wall near the truck-climbing lane.

“SR 18 is an important transportation link for commuters and freight haulers,” Project Engineer Mark Sawyer said. “This new wall will help keep the road open by catching any debris that slides in the future.”

Crews will work at night next week to restripe the roadway and create a work area. Drivers should expect narrowed lanes and intermittent lane closures as crews move concrete barrier into place.

The majority of construction will take place during the day and out of the way of drivers, as crews set steel piles and construct the wooden containment wall.

The $495,800 federally-funded emergency repair project is expected to wrap up by mid-October.

A landslide January 14 buried the westbound lanes of SR 18 under several inches of mud and debris. Crews were able to clear the slide and reopen SR 18 to traffic within five days. The westbound truck-climbing lane has remained closed since the slide. Once crews complete the containment wall, they will reopen the truck-climbing lane.

For more information, visit the project Web page at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR18/PeasleyCanyonSlide/.  

For pictures of the original slides, visit our Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157623086741799/.  

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