View entire map The project began at Mile Post 0.76 and ends at Mile Post 1.55 on SR 28B in Douglas County
View entire photo Goodfellow Bros. crews installing the new stormwater sewer pipe at 27th and Empire on March 12th.
View entire photo The existing canal crossing will be extended.
View entire photo. SR 28 when construction was complete.
Project Facts
- This project added a new structure over the canal to accommodate the widening.
- WSDOT partnered with Douglas County on a shared storm drainage facility in the project.
- This project provided left turn lanes on SR 28 for 5 county roads.
Project was complete August 9, 2007.
This project was the featured WSDOT "Project of the Week" in the Weekly Report of August 17th.
The WSDOT Project of the Week - SR 28 Project Includes Construction "Firsts"
A 500-foot stormwater pipe drilled underground and an irrigation bridge replaced in a matter of hours - not days - were some of the “firsts” experienced by WSDOT’s North Central Region. These occurred during a safety improvement project that
extended a center turn-lane and added new lighting to address a high accident corridor. SR 28 (Sunset Highway) is a major corridor through East Wenatchee near the Columbia River in Douglas County and this was one of a series of projects to relieve congestion and improve safety on this busy route.
With the widened roadway, a new stormwater system was required. Typically, a retention pond is built along the right of way. In this case, even purchasing the adjacent 15-acre apple orchard wouldn’t meet the volume/absorption requirements. WSDOT already owned property below the highway along the river where a retention pond would work. Getting the stormwater to the site, however, presented a situation as unpleasant as tearing out 15-acres of orchard. The cut to install the two-foot pipe would have to be 40-feet deep and 100-feet wide, destroying orchard land, backyards and garages. Instead, new hydraulic directional drilling equipment was used to lay the pipes underground. In previous projects, it had been used for boring underground to place utilities under some highways, but nothing of this scale had been tried on a WSDOT project. Crews used a 506-foot bore to place the 24-inch pipe under that valuable agricultural and residential property. At $440 per foot, the $225,000 price tag still compared favorably with the undesirable alternatives. The system was also designed to accommodate the future expansion of Sunset Highway to five lanes.
Another potentially controversial element of the $2.7 million project involved replacing a major canal crossing. With 18,000 vehicles a day on the route, the local contractor committed to a plan that closed the highway entirely for one weekend. With flaggers and well publicized detours, crews completed the work 18 hours early reopening the highway at noon on Sunday. Extensive public outreach before and during construction, including neighborhood meetings produced very few complaints to the project office during the five months the work was underway.
This Safety Improvement project extended the two-way left turn lane on SR 28 from 31st Street, for 3/4 of a mile to Hadley Street.
Why is WSDOT
extend a two way left turn lane on SR 28?
This section of SR 28 has been designated as a High Accident Corridor (HAC). Nearly 15,000 vehicles travel through the project area daily. The majority of accidents here were rear enders caused by left turning vehicles at intersections and residential driveways.
The End Result
This project constructed a two way left turn lane from 31st street to Hadley street. This project also added illumination and a storm water system.
Project Benefits
The new two way left turn lane improves safety by:
- Providing a storage area for traffic waiting to turn at county road intersections and driveways.
- Decreasing congestion by moving vehicles waiting to turn, out of the through lanes.
What is the project timeline?
This project was advertised for private contractor bids on October 23rd, 2006. Contract # 7223 for $2,731,907.03 was awarded to Goodfellow Bros. Construction of Wenatchee on December 22nd. Construction started March 2nd, 2007 and was complete on August 9th.
Public Involvement
Your thoughts and opinions are important to us. If you have any comments or concerns contact the project engineering office listed below.
Environmental Protection
All environmental laws and guidelines were followed. A storm sewer pipeline was installed to transport highway runoff to a treatment pond and all areas of disturbed roadside were restored to the designated roadside character.
The following are procedures, documentation or permits required for this project:
- NEPA (CE) - National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
- SEPA (CE) - State Environmental Policy Act of 1971.
- BA - Biological Assessment, Federal Highway Administration/EPA
- TESC - Temporary Erosion Control Plan, FHWA/EPA
Please visit the
WSDOT Environmental
Services Web site for more information.
Increasing safety is one of our priorities
Constructing the two way left turn lane and providing illumination provides a safer roadway for the traveling public.
In addition to the safety benefits of the project itself, a traffic control plan to protect motorists during construction and a work zone safety plan for the crews on the site was in effect as part of the contract.
Will this project impact tribal resources?
No impacts were identified. An archeologist was assigned to monitor the project during construction. WSDOT seeks to address the concerns of tribal nations using the process outlined in section 106 of The National Historical Preservation Act and the WSDOT Tribal Consultation Policy adopted in 2003 by the Transportation Commission as part of the WSDOT Centennial Accord Plan.
Financial Information
A $2,731,907.03 contract was awarded to Goodfellow Bros. Inc. on December 22nd, 2006.
This project is funded through the following sources:
- Pre-Existing Gas Tax - $4.12 million
- Total funding from all sources - $4.12 million
- For project schedule and updates, please see the Quarterly Project Report
How can I get more information?
Contact:
Kevin Waligorski, Project Engineer
WSDOT North Central Region
P.O. Box 98
Wenatchee, WA 98807
Phone: (509) 667-2860 or toll free (888) 461-8816
E-mail: waligok@wsdot.wa.gov
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