A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Project of the Week - WSDOT opens additional lanes on the first of four improvement projects along I-5 in Lewis County
Crews opened a new lane in each direction of I-5 in Chehalis, nearly a year ahead of the original construction schedule. Above, a design-visualization of what the project will look like when completed in 2009. |
Drivers on I-5 in Lewis County will have a safer, speedier trip Friday evening when crews open an additional lane in each direction between Rush Road and 13th Street, south of Chehalis.
WSDOT is opening the new lanes ahead of the original fall 2009 project completion date. The new lanes are part of the $51 million I-5, Rush Road to 13th Street project that widens I-5 and builds a new interchange at LaBree Road. The four-mile section is the first in a series of four projects to be completed along an 18-mile stretch of I-5 from central Lewis County to south Thurston County. The improvements planned through the corridor are designed to support economic development, increase safety and reduce congestion.
“We’re well into implementing our plan for addressing congestion and safety along the I-5 corridor with this project, and the widening currently underway from Maytown to Grand Mound,” said Paula Hammond, Transportation Secretary. “These projects are important to the local communities, but also to keep freight and our economy moving.”
Crews will begin opening the new lanes around lunchtime on Friday and expect to have both directions completely open in time for the evening commute. Additionally, the speed limit will revert back to 70 mph through that four-mile stretch of widened freeway.
Work began in April on the second project, which widens an eight-mile stretch of freeway and improves on-ramps and off-ramps in Thurston County. Those improvements are expected to begin finished by summer of 2010. All four projects are scheduled to be completed in 2014.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - WSDOT temporarily closes SR 410 (Chinook Pass), SR 123 (Cayuse Pass), and SR 20 North Cascades Highway
This shot of SR 410 Chinook Pass taken in spring this year, shows the steep terrain along the highway. Maintenance crews closed the pass for motorists safety, prior to expected stormy weather. |
The season's first major winter storm, which called for up to three feet of snow, high winds and colder temperatures in the north, central and southern Cascade Mountains – prompted WSDOT to temporarily close Chinook Pass and Cayuse Pass at noon Thursday, Dec. 11. SR 20, North Cascades Highway was also temporarily closed just before midnight, Dec. 11.
The gates at Morse Creek on SR 410 (five miles east of the summit) closed temporarily, as were the gates on SR 410 at Crystal Mountain Boulevard (eight miles northwest of the summit). SR 123 (Cayuse Pass) within Mount Rainier National Park was closed temporarily from the SR 410 junction to Stevens Canyon Road (five miles north of the junction of US 12 and SR 123). SR 20 was gated closed between milepost 134, seven miles east of Diablo Dam on the west side of Rainy Pass and milepost 171, nine miles west of Mazama on the east side of Washington Pass.
“Closing on Thursday gave us time to patrol the pass areas and make sure everyone was safely out of the avalanche zones before the expected snow and wind made that responsibility very challenging,” said Les Turnley, WSDOT South Central Region Maintenance Superintendent.
WSDOT Maintenance crews will return on Monday, Dec. 15 to reassess avalanche conditions to see if North Cascades Highway, Chinook Pass and Cayuse Pass can be reopened or if they will remain closed for the winter.
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Update of projects under way
US 2 Leavenworth - Crews began emergency work Dec. 10 and 11 on US 2 through Tumwater Canyon, just west of Leavenworth, scaling loose rock and re-installing an anchor for the steel netting on a slope above the highway. On Monday, Dec. 15 crews will use a large crane to begin re-hanging the steel netting. Last month’s heavy rains loosened rocks high on the slope above the highway. As a result, a boulder that fell to the roadway damaged a net anchor post and several cable mesh tie backs. WSDOT engineers determined the damage was severe enough to restrict the cable mesh’s ability to keep loosened rocks from getting to the roadway, and for safety reasons repairs could not wait until spring.
I-5 King County - WSDOT crews wrapped up 10 months of work to improve the safety of 89 columns supporting 14 critical bridge ramps along I-5, and one bridge on SR 900 in Renton. Some of the bridges carry the highest traffic volumes in the region, including: I-5/I-90 interchange, I-5/Spokane Street interchange, I-5/ Albro/ Swift/ Corson/ Michigan interchange, and the SR 900/112th Avenue SE undercrossing. During the work, crews strengthened the bridge columns with steel jackets and added catcher blocks to help keep girders affixed to bridge piers during an earthquake. This $6.7 million project, funded by the 2005 gas tax package, is part of WSDOT’s plan to strengthen more than 900 bridges statewide.
SR 11 (Chuckanut Drive) Bellingham - WSDOT reopened Chuckanut Drive on Dec. 9, after more than a month of closures. The road has been closed near the Skagit-Whatcom county line since Nov. 7, when one of four separate slides blocked the road and left the hillside unstable. The largest rockslide happened Nov. 10 and dropped boulders the size of cars onto the highway. Crews have removed loose rock and debris from the hillside, installed 500 feet of rock bolts and sprayed on concrete to stabilize the slope. Crews also removed approximately 30 dump truck loads of rock from the road. Residents and businesses on both sides of the slides have been forced to detour around the three-mile long closure for the last month.
SR 522 Bothell - WSDOT’s contractor, Mowat Construction, turned on a new traffic signal Dec.11 at the intersection of SR 522 and Woodinville Drive. The new light is the latest safety improvement in the $50 million SR 522 UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College campus access project. Crews have already completed rebuilding the intersection at SR 522 and Woodinville Drive and opened three legs of the intersection at the end of October. They are also building a new entrance to the south side of the campus, as well as a new roadway for SR 522 (Bothell Way NE) from the I-405 interchange to Kaysner Way in Bothell. In fall 2009, crews will reprogram the signal and open the north leg that will carry traffic to the new south entrance of the Bothell campus.
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Announcements
WSDOT offers new tools for road and pass condition reports
Just in time for the season's wintery weather, WSDOT is now offering mountain pass reports via e-mail, text messages to cell phone and Twitter.
WSDOT offers subscribers more than 25 specialized e-mail alerts, including news and information for freight haulers, construction related traffic revisions, project updates from all around the state, and timely updates on pass conditions. Users can also choose to receive e-mail alerts as text messages on their cell phone or other wireless device (Note: Most wireless carriers allow for text e-mail messages at some additional cost, so check your wireless carrier for pricing details).
Visit WSDOT at wsdot.wa.gov and click the link for “E-mail updates.” After entering your e-mail address, you’ll have access to a menu of options from which you can choose the news and information that you want to receive by e-mail or text message. Twitter users can add WSDOT to their personal accounts at: wsdot.wa.gov/news/. Pass conditions are available by texting from any mobile device or via Twitter. Go to wsdot.wa.gov/inform/twitter for more details.
34-car Hiyu to serve Point Defiance/Tahlequah ferry route for six weeks
Beginning Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, the 34-car Hiyu will operate on the Point Defiance/Tahlequah route (Tacoma to south Vashon Island) for approximately six weeks while the 48-car Rhododendron is out of service for scheduled maintenance and inspection.
To assist customers on this route, the WSDOT Ferries Division will add an additional midday roundtrip sailing. In addition, carpools with at least three people get preferential loading over single occupancy vehicles. To sign up for a temporary carpool permit, email Customer Programs Manager Nicole Patrick at patricn@wsdot.wa.gov, or call 206-515-3857 for assistance.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - Noise Regulations and Noise Barriers
Since 1977, federal noise rules require that states evaluate noise from traffic when they expand or change the roadway in a way that will affect the environment. This includes highways where an expansion or realignment project is already located in a high noise area. WSDOT follows a three-step process for developing a noise study that complies with federal regulations. Since our last report in 2007, WSDOT has built five miles of new noise wall barrier. New noise barriers were installed in three Seattle neighborhoods identified as benefiting from their installation. Statewide, there are 84.6 miles of noise walls along state highways. In addition, WSDOT is conducting tests on different pavement types to see what noise levels they produce. Three locations are specifically designed as quieter pavement test sections: I-5 in Lynnwood, SR 520 in Medina and the upcoming installation I-405 through Bellevue. The initial results for the evaluation of quieter pavements in Lynnwood and Medina can be found in the September 2008 Gray Notebook at www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
December open houses, meetings and events
15, Monday, 5 – 7:30 p.m., Central waterfront public meeting, Alaskan Way Viaduct - Seattle: The public is invited to learn about and comment on new hybrid scenarios for the central waterfront project. Information about the hybrid scenarios will be released in early December. Location: Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Ave.
18, Thursday, 4 – 7:30 p.m., Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting, Alaskan Way Viaduct - Seattle: The committee will meet to provide feedback on hybrid scenarios for the central waterfront project. The meetings are open to the public; however, there will not be a public comment period. Written or e-mail comments are accepted. Location: Seattle City Hall, Bertha Landes Room.
Express Lane Archive
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