Date:
Friday, September 02, 2011
Contact:
Denys Tak, WSDOT project engineer, 1-800-545-1393 (Kelso)
Heidi Sause, WSDOT communications, 360-905-2057 (Vancouver)
KELSO – Six weeks of detours start on Tuesday, Sept. 6, for drivers heading to Talley Way and Coweeman Park Drive from westbound State Route 432. This is the last round of ramp closures and detours for drivers at the Longview Wye, which has been under construction since January 2010.
Starting at 7 a.m., crews from Northwest Construction, Inc. will close the ramp from westbound SR 432 to Coweeman Park Drive and Talley Way. The closure will allow crews to remove the existing ramp and complete construction on three new ramps in the northwest corner of the interchange.
When the work is complete, drivers headed from southbound Interstate 5 to westbound SR 432 and Talley Way, and from westbound SR 432 to Talley Way will have dedicated ramps and no longer have to merge with traffic at the interchange.
“Currently, three directions of traffic funnel onto a single stretch of SR 432,” said Denys Tak, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) project engineer. “The new ramps will eliminate several merges and reduce conflicts between weaving traffic.”
Crews expect to complete the new ramps in mid-October. In the meantime, drivers can use alternate interchanges or follow a signed detour to reach their destinations.
The detour will add approximately three minutes and 1.6 miles to drivers’ trips. If drivers choose to detour, they will:
- Merge onto westbound SR 432
- Take the exit to Dike Road
- Turn right onto Frontage Road
- Follow the off-ramp under the highway
- Remain on the loop ramp to reenter eastbound SR 432
- Take the exit to Talley Way
This work is part of a WSDOT project to improve safety and increase traffic flow at the Longview Wye. The $35 million project is funded primarily through the 2005 gas tax and is on schedule for completion in spring 2012.
See the project in progress by visiting WSDOT’s Flickr site.
Hyperlinks within the news release:
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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 511.
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