Date:  Thursday, February 14, 2013

Contact: Heidi Sause, WSDOT Communications, 360-905-2057 (Vancouver)

WSDOT contractor crews complete landslide repairs near Ridgefield

RIDGEFIELD – Relief is in store for Ridgefield drivers who have seen a month of dump trucks, delays and single-lane traffic on State Route 501. Crews will wrap up emergency landslide repairs and restore the highway to two lanes of free-flowing traffic on Friday, Feb. 15.

The Washington State Department of Transportation closed the eastbound lane of SR 501 on Jan. 9 after a landslide damaged a section of shoulder and left the guardrail hanging in space.

WSDOT and emergency contractor Tapani Underground Inc. began work to stabilize the slope below the highway on Jan. 18. Crews excavated 420 dump-truck loads of loose soil and debris and placed 8,000 tons of rock to better support the hillside.

Crews are wrapping up work to rebuild and pave the eastbound lane of SR 501 and reinstall a 120-foot section of guardrail that was loosened by the slide. Both directions of the highway will be fully open to traffic by 6 p.m. Friday.

During the next two weeks, drivers will encounter short-term, single-lane closures on SR 501 while utility companies reinstall overhead lines that were relocated during repair work.

Repairs are being funded through state highway maintenance and preservation funds, and are estimated at $500,000. 

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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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