Date:  Saturday, April 09, 2011

Contact: Abbi Russell, WSDOT Communications, 360-905-2058 (Vancouver)

Expect daytime single-lane traffic and delays through late April

STELLA – The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will reopen State Route 4 near Germany Creek Road (milepost 50) at 7 p.m. today, a few days earlier than expected. Both lanes of the highway will be open through Monday morning.

Crews return Monday to begin repairing wire mesh on the hillside and reconstructing protective rockfall fencing

Drivers can expect single-lane traffic and delays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Both lanes of SR 4 will be open at night and on weekends.

Work is expected to be complete in late April.

WSDOT closed SR 4 the morning of Tuesday, April 5, when a landslide blocked the highway and more debris threatened to slide.

Geotechnical engineers assessed the slope and determined that a large section high above SR 4 was unstable and could come down at any time. A subsequent, smaller mudslide about 400 feet to the west of the original slide confirmed the instability of the hillside.

WSDOT hired Scarsella Brothers Inc. of Seattle under a $350,000 emergency contract to perform clean up and excavation.

Contractor crews began working Thursday, and ended up removing approximately 120 dump-truck loads of mud, rocks and debris from the highway and the overhead slope.

Drivers can stay up to date by visiting WSDOT’s Travel Alerts Web page and by calling 5-1-1 or 1-800-695-ROAD.

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WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news  for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1.

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