WSDOT - I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Rockslide

5:00 p.m. Thursday, October 20

I-90 Snoqualmie Pass rockslide repairs done; all three westbound lanes open
The emergency rock slope repair project took 27 days to complete. The contractor installed a total of 45 rock bolts(five to forty feet long), 7 rock dowels and 22 drain holes. The project installed approximately 9000 square feet of rock protection fencing to replace fencing that was removed for repairs. A total of 1500 tons of rock and debris was removed from the project. The cost of the rock slope repair project is just over $1 million.

WSDOT geotechnical experts have assessed the recent work in the rockslide area, and will continue to monitor this area, as well as many other areas throughout the state. Currently over 2500 unstable slopes are being monitored on the statewide inventory.

WSDOT wants to thank all westbound travelers who changed their travel plans and avoided westbound Snoqualmie Pass since Sep. 11. Using alternate routes helped to avoid delays during the rockslide repair.

Scarsella Brothers General Contractors worked with WSDOT construction engineers, traffic engineers, maintenance superintendents, public information officers, radio operators and technicians to find ways to move traffic through the work zone in the safest and most efficient manner. Electronic message boards were brought in, cameras were adjusted to show the work site, additional incident response vehicles were on call and better communications of conditions on I-90, US 2, and US 12 were developed. Long delays were avoided when an additional temporary left lane was paved through the work zone.

The weather is changing, so it's time to prepare for winter driving conditions. WSDOT continues to recommend that drivers stay on top of changing conditions using the variety of traffic tools the department has in place on the web and throughout the passes. Highway advisory radio and the 511 traveler information line will update pass conditions as needed including wait times, weather conditions and incidents. The electronic message signs will also be another good source of information. For more winter driving information visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/winter/

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Tuesday, October 18

Work nearly complete

• All rock bolting, rock face stabilization, and drain hole work is complete.
• The temporary rock protection fence has been removed.
• All work on the permanent rock protection fencing is complete.
• All rock debris has been hauled off the project.
• The paving on the 10' shoulder has been completed.

This week, traffic safety drums will be used to delineate the work area as WSDOT resets the concrete barrier to the original location. Traffic will be shifted to the two right lanes while the temporary striping is removed and permanent striping is re-painted. The temporary widening will be removed. Traffic is scheduled to have full and unrestricted use of all three lanes by this weekend, October 22-23.

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10:00 a.m. Monday, October 17

Rock bolting work complete
All rock bolting and rock face stabilization work is complete. Crews are currently dismantling the temporary rock protection fence. The contractor, Scarcella Brothers, will begin hauling off the rock debris later today and it is expected to be completed by early Tuesday.

WSDOT Maintenance crews will begin the shoulder repair on Tuesday and begin to reset the concrete barrier.

Scarcella will be removing the temporary lane widening on Thursday.

All three lanes are tentatively scheduled to be opened up to traffic by this weekend, October 22-23.

9:00 a.m. Friday, October 7

Crews make progress.
As of this morning, 35 of the 50 rock bolts and dowels are in place. Work still to be done includes; 8 more bolts, 7 more dowels - to hold the rock slabs in place, 18 more drain holes - to let moisture escape from behind the rock slabs, removal of debris, slope netting, replacing concrete barrier and removal of temporary left lane. Estimating several more weeks until all three lanes are open to through traffic.

2:00 p.m. Thursday, October 6

Bolt installation continues; contractor drilling drain holes to improve stability
The contractor continues to install rock bolts into the face of the slope. Bolt installation and load testing on the new bolts are complete in two sections of the project. The contractor is also drilling 2.5 inch diameter drain holes at various locations on the rock slope. These drain holes will be 20'-40' deep and will improve stability and increase safety. When the rock bolting and drain holes are complete, the contractor will reinstall the chain link mesh as an additional safety measure.

2:00 p.m. Thursday, September 29

25 of 50 bolts installed
Work continues, and 25 of the 50 bolts needed to secure the rock slope have been installed. WSDOT wants to thank all westbound travelers who changed their travel plans and avoided westbound Snoqualmie Pass last weekend. Comparing Sunday Sep. 25, 2005 to the 4th Sunday of Sept. last year, 22% (5,877) less vehicles took westbound I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass.

WSDOT continues to recommend that drivers monitor traffic conditions using highway advisory radio, electronic message signs and the 511 traveler information line. We will update pass conditions as needed including wait times and incidents. Drivers will find this information at key decision points like I-90 in Ellensburg, US 2 in Peshastin or on I-82 in Yakima.

8:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 27

Bolt installation continues; traffic flowing smoothly
The contractor is making good progress on the work of installing and load-testing over 50 bolts and dowels, from five to forty feet long. This morning the project engineer reports that eighteen bolts are installed and load-tested, three more are installed and curing before load-testing, and twenty-six bolts and dowels remain to be tested. Once the rock bolting is completed in the area of the rockslide, the contractor will begin bolting the rock face adjacent to the slide area. At the same time trucks will begin hauling off the many tons of rock on the shoulder and ditch.

Traffic has been moving smoothly past the work site after the contractor and WSDOT widened the left shoulder late last week to provide room for two lanes to pass through the project area.

3:00 p.m. Monday, September 26

Oversize load restriction eased
WSDOT revised the oversize load restriction from 14 feet wide to 16 feet wide due to the additional lane, which opened on Friday.

10:00 a.m. Friday, September 23

Second lane to open at noon today
A second westbound lane of I-90 will open at around noon today. Westbound motorists traveling over Snoqualmie Pass are reminded to check for conditions through the work zone before they travel. The additional lane will not eliminate the potential of delays but will improve the situation and help keep delays to a minimum.

12:00 p.m. Thursday, September 22

Left shoulder widened to help keep traffic moving
In order to keep traffic moving as smoothly as possible, WSDOT and the contractor, Scarsella Brothers General Contractors, are widening the left shoulder in the work zone of westbound I-90, two miles west of the summit, to provide a second lane through the restricted area. The work to build the foundation and pave the second lane will start at 10 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, and be open to traffic on Friday, weather permitting.

Periodic rolling slow downs will cause intermittent delays. The speed limit will be reduced through the work zone. Maintaining that reduced speed will be important to avoid rear-end accidents. An additional lane will not eliminate the potential of delays but will improve the situation and help keep delays to a minimum. An oversize load restriction is still in effect. Loads over 14 ft. wide will be prohibited and must take an alternate route.

10:00 a.m. Thursday September 22

Rockslide repair work continues
Rockslide repair work continues and so do lane restrictions on I-90. After close study of the rockslide and the surrounding area, WSDOT Assistant Chief Geologist Tom Badger, recommended the emergency contract include a potentially dangerous slope on the uphill side of the slide that caused the death of three women Sunday, Sept. 11, 2005. The initial repair called for 25 rock bolts to be inserted and grouted into the granite face to secure the rock slide area before clean up of the 500 cubic yards (approx.1000 tons) of slide debris can be removed. Additional rock bolts are required to secure the slopes either side of the slide area. The granite is hard and thick and drilling is slow. At this point, about ten of the 50 rock bolts needed have been installed.

Scarsella Brothers General Contractors are working with WSDOT construction engineers, traffic engineers, maintenance personnel, public information officers, radio operators and technicians to find ways to move traffic through the work zone in the safest and most efficient manner. Electronic message boards have been brought in, cameras have been adjusted to show the work site, additional incident response vehicles are on call and improved communications of the conditions on I-90, US 2, and US 12 are being developed.

5:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 20

WSDOT thanks drivers for their help
WSDOT thanks all travelers who changed their travel plans and avoided westbound Snoqualmie Pass last weekend. Motorists still waited in backups Sunday afternoon and evening, but the delays were less than expected. On Sunday 17,873 vehicles traveled west over Snoqualmie Pass, which was a one third reduction in the expected volumes for a typical September Sunday. Traffic data from the other mountain passes shows significant increases in traffic volumes, while I-90 showed a corresponding decrease in volumes.

5:00 p.m. Monday, September 19

Crews installing slope stabilizing bolts
Work continues on the emergency rockslide repair project on westbound I-90 just west of the summit of Snoqualmie Pass between Exit 53 and Exit 47. Scarsella Brothers of Seattle is drilling the rock face and installing fifty to sixty 1-1/8 inch steel bolts from five to thirty feet in length to stabilize the slope. To install the rock bolts, the contractor will first drill a hole to the proper depth, place the steel bolt and then seal the bolt with cement grout, polyester resin, or a combination of both. WSDOT anticipates installing the rock bolts, and removing the hundreds of tons of rock at the base of the rock face could take several weeks.

2:00 p.m. Sunday, September 18

Motorists use alternate routes; help keep traffic moving
On Sunday at approximately 1:25 p.m. motorists traveling too slow through the work zone started backups on westbound I-90. WSDOT advises motorists planning to travel this afternoon and evening on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass to be careful to maintain a safe speed through the work zone to avoid causing rear end accidents and long delays.

Traffic begins to back up Sunday afternoon as more travelers head west

11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 17

Repairs and westbound I-90 restrictions continue
Westbound I-90 continues to be restricted to one lane just west of the summit as WSDOT and the contractor work seven days a week on emergency repairs to stabilize the rock slope that gave way early last Sunday morning, killing three women. Today Scarsella Brothers construction is scaling the rock slope and performing controlled blasting to break up the largest of the rock slabs that fell this past week. A number of the rock slabs are too large and heavy to remove from the site until they are split into smaller pieces.

During controlled blasting activities today, WSDOT will restrict traffic through the work zone using a "rolling slowdown." WSDOT officials warn of significant traffic delays for westbound travelers on I-90 this weekend.

WSDOT expects the worst backups on Sunday. If Sunday travelers don’t use alternate routes or postpone their westbound travel, traffic will back up from mid-morning through the evening hours. WSDOT traffic engineers predict westbound travelers crossing Snoqualmie Pass on Sunday could wait in backups several hours. “Half of the normal westbound Sunday travelers have to be gone from I-90 or we will have a major breakdown of the system,” cautions Don Whitehouse, regional administrator for WSDOT in Yakima.

11:00 a.m. Thursday, September 15

Rock catching fence installation underway
WSDOT officials warn of significant traffic delays for westbound travelers on I-90 this weekend. Westbound I-90 is limited to one lane west of the summit as Scarsella Brothers construction performs emergency repair work to stabilize the rock slope that gave way early Sunday morning, killing three women.

The current plan is to finish installing the 12-foot high rock fence, send rock scalers to areas above the slide and 150 yards on either side of the slide to pry off loose material, then send a powerful machine to pound the rock wall to get anything else that is left. Once that’s done, Pacific Blasting of Vancouver B.C. will insert 20- to 40-foot long pins to bolt remaining rocks in place. Then crews will truck out more than 600 tons of granite that’s come from the slide.

Wednesday, September 14

Oversize loads restricted on I-90
An oversize width restriction of 14 feet is in effect on westbound I-90, from the Summit of Snoqualmie Pass to milepost 47 near the Tinkham Road interchange. There is no detour route for oversize loads in this area. All loads wider than 14 feet mst use an alternate route.

Tuesday, September 13

Boulder falls on I-90
At approximately 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 12, 2005 a boulder, estimated to weigh 10 tons, broke loose, skidded down and bounced onto the shoulder of westbound I-90 several miles west of the summit. Fortunately, no traffic incident resulted. This comes after a rock fall slide, in the same vicinity, caused three fatalities on Sunday, Sept. 11. To ensure the safety of the traveling public, WSDOT closed two of the three lanes of I-90 westbound between mile post 52 and milepost 50.

WSDOT Chief Geologist, Steve Lowell and Assistant Chief Geologist Tom Badger announced that Scarsella Brothers will serve as the general contractor and Pacific Blasting will be the subcontractor charged with the work to secure the slope and remove the rock.

The first order of business will be to make the worksite safe for traffic and workers by installing a moveable rock fall fence made of heavy chain link on steel plates. The fence will be 12 ft. high and 160 ft. long. The temporary fence will work as a backstop to catch debris and keep rocks from entering the traffic lane during the repair work.

The second order of business will be to drill deep holes into the rock wall and install 20 - 40 ft. long bolts. The bolts will squeeze the rock slabs together as if in a vise. The third order of business will be to remove the 600 tons of rock from the ditch and shoulder. The final task will be to remove the rock fall fence, reinstall the concrete barrier near the shoulder and open all lanes to traffic.

WSDOT officials anticipate traffic congestion due to restricting traffic to one lane in a three lane section of I-90, 2 miles west of Snoqualmie Pass summit. WSDOT recommends westbound travelers consider alternate routes. It is important to note that going too slow through the work zone can be as dangerous as going too fast. We encourage travelers to maintain a safe speed, in step with the flow of traffic in front and behind their vehicles. The reduced speed limit in the work zone is 45 miles per hour. The far left lane will remain open to through traffic.

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I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Rockslide - Franklin Falls