A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Project of the Week - Planning, innovation sustains jobs through winter months
Crews build an earth wall for the new SR 16 Burley Olalla interchange. Like many other WSDOT construction projects, work continues year-round, sustaining jobs in a tough economy. |
Efforts to build highway projects more efficiently have a beneficial by-product in these tough economic times: sustained jobs.
“We work closely with the contracting community to find new ways to get projects completed more quickly. We do more work at night and more work year-round than we used to,” said Steve Roark, assistant region administrator for construction in WSDOT’s Olympic Region. “We get in, we get out, we move on to the next project.”
Over the past decade, innovative approaches to construction phasing and increased coordination with contractors have shifted the way WSDOT plans and executes highway construction projects. Some of the changes are fueled by transportation revenue packages passed in 2003 and 2005 that set aggressive construction schedules for projects statewide.
Year-round highway work means some construction workers who typically have three or four months without work during winter now have a steady source of income. There’s also a trickle-down effect that helps sustain the construction materials market because products such as concrete and steel are now needed through the winter months.
One example of WSDOT’s shift to year-round work is the SR 16 Burley Olalla interchange in Kitsap County. Contractor Ceccanti, Inc. proposed rearranging the order of work. After careful review, the contractor’s proposal was adopted, shaving nearly a year off the construction schedule. Rather than shutting the job down over the winter, crews are busy building new bridges.
“We have about 30 contractor and subcontractor employees out on the Burley Olalla job right now. They wouldn’t be there if we weren’t actively looking for ways to improve how we do business,” said Roark.
Crews working through winter on the SR 16 Burley Olalla project aren’t alone. Other active projects include the highly-publicized concrete panel replacements in Seattle, the I-5/SR 16 Westbound Nalley Valley interchange in Pierce County, the I-205 Mill Plain 112th Street Connector in Clark County and I-5 widening projects in Lewis and Thurston counties.
top
Maintenance & Operations feature - Reopening of SR 20 North Cascades Highway could begin by end of March
The snow-covered North Cascades Highway as seen from the foot of Liberty Bell, looking back at Spiral Gulch. |
After a snow-cat trip over the snow-covered SR 20 North Cascades Highway on Feb. 23, WSDOT avalanche and maintenance technicians determined that the annual snow-clearing work could start in late March or early April. WSDOT crews traveled from the east closure point west of Mazama for 20 miles to Rainy Pass, assessing snow and avalanche conditions.
They discovered more avalanches than normal and in places they’ve never seen. Avalanche Control Technician Mike Stanford said they found only moderate snow depths. “The flat snow at Washington Pass summit is only five and a half feet deep." (Seven to nine feet is more typical). "The Avalanche cycle we encountered in December left some interesting debris on the road. Some of slides look like lava,” said Stanford.
The largest slides are below Liberty Bell Mountain, just east of Washington Pass, where the snow is 20-feet deep and stretches 1,200-feet across the pavement. The main Liberty Bell Avalanche chutes are 40 feet to 50 feet deep over the roadway, which is normal for this time of year. Further east, slides in the Cutthroat Ridge zone, are as much as 20 feet deep and 1,200 to 1,500 feet wide. An anomaly for this season is a 20-foot deep slide near Bridge Creek, between Rainy and Washington Passes. “I haven’t seen debris on the road here in 18 years,” said Stanford.
Another foot or more of snow has fallen since the initial assessment and as always, late season storms could push back the start of snow-removal work. The highway was closed for the season on Dec. 11. Last spring, the highway reopened on May 1.
top
Update of projects under way
SR 6 Chehalis - Crews are ahead of schedule on the SR 6, South Fork Chehalis River Bridge project. The final bridge girders were installed on March 5. Now that the girders are set, crews can begin construction of the new bridge deck. The new 40-foot-wide bridge will carry two 12-foot lanes with 8-foot shoulders. The bridge is being constructed on a new alignment 20 feet to the north, flattening the curve at the east end of the existing bridge. The existing bridge was built in 1925 and measures only 20 feet wide. This $10 million bridge replacement project, funded by the 2005 gas tax package, employs up to 25 people at a time during different phases of construction.
SR 16 Nalley Valley - Nalley Valley bridge-demolition work over SR 16 lanes detoured traffic off the highway for two 12-hour periods during the March 6 weekend. Crews using hydraulic shears and breakers are removing a bridge that spans all lanes of SR 16 in the Nalley Valley area. Until last month, the bridge carried exiting traffic from eastbound SR 16 to Sprague Avenue. The demolition work sets the stage for construction of new westbound SR 16 bridges, ramps and I-5 connections. These changes eliminate the weave of traffic where vehicles from I-5 change lanes in order to merge onto SR 16 or exit at Sprague Avenue. As a result, WSDOT engineers estimate collisions will be reduced by 60 percent, or 16 per year. The I-5/SR 16 Westbound Nalley Valley project also provides a local economic boost, creating more than 200 construction-related jobs.
SR 169 Black Diamond - Work to repair an 80-year-old bridge closed since November continues after WSDOT awarded a $3.2 million construction contract to Scarsella Brothers of Kent to complete the second stage of the project. In phase one, Tri-State Constructors crews excavated a 200-foot by 80-foot by 30-foot section of road just south of the bridge. In phase two, Scarsella crews will install drainage systems and build a 160-foot-long retaining wall adjacent to the south east corner of the bridge. Contractor crews will work six days a week and plan to open the bridge to traffic some time in July. The SR 169 Green River Bridge was closed in November after rainstorms super-saturated the ground and aggravated an ancient landslide under the support piers of the bridge. The damage was eligible for federal emergency funding totaling $15 million.
SR 520 Bellevue - Crews working for WSDOT began work on a project to repave nearly four miles of SR 520 between I-405 in Bellevue and West Lake Sammamish Parkway in Redmond. As part of the $9.4 million project, crews will also replace the approaches to five concrete bridges on SR 520. Crews will remove deteriorating asphalt and install 10 new concrete slabs to smooth the transition from the asphalt roadway to the concrete bridges. In addition to workers employed by the prime contractor, Granite Construction, this project will indirectly support workers employed at 17 companies, including 16 in Washington state.
top
Announcements
WSDOT awards paving project on northbound I-5 in Everett
WSDOT awarded Cemex Pacific Holdings, LLC, a contract on March 2 to repave nearly four miles of northbound I-5 between the Snohomish River Bridge in Everett and the Ebey Slough Bridge in Marysville. Crews will grind down the roadway before laying new pavement. As part of the $3.3 million project, crews will update striping, guardrail and drainage on I-5. Work on I-5 between Everett and Marysville could begin as early as May and is expected to finish paving by November. About 60,000 drivers use this stretch of northbound I-5 each day.
This is one of four projects starting this spring to repair and preserve I-5 in Snohomish County and give drivers a safer, smoother ride. In addition to this project, crews will also repave northbound I-5 near Lynnwood and both directions of I-5 near Arlington, as well as replace broken concrete panels on northbound I-5 north of Stanwood. Together these projects will employ more than 240 people.
WSDOT green lights ramps meters in Everett
WSDOT lit up nine new ramp meters on I-5 in Everett on March 2. Ramp meters are stop-and-go traffic signals that control the frequency with which vehicles enter the flow of traffic on the freeway. WSDOT uses ramp meters to reduce accidents and decrease travel times for commuters. Most ramp meters allow only one vehicle through each green light, creating a 4 to 15 second delay between cars entering the highway. This delay helps reduce disruptions to freeway traffic and reduces accidents that occur when vehicles merge onto the highway.
The new ramps meters will be at the following locations:
- Everett Mall Way and SR 526 to northbound I-5
- SR 527 (Bothell-Everett Hwy) to northbound I-5
- Broadway to southbound I-5
- 41st Street to northbound and southbound I-5
- Pacific Avenue to southbound I-5
- Everett Avenue to northbound I-5
- US 2 to northbound I-5
- Marine View Drive to southbound I-5
“Once we completed the Everett HOV project, traffic flow improved. Freeway speeds picked up, collisions and complaints both dropped. Turning on the ramp meters is the last phase of that congestion relief and safety improvements project,” said Lorena Eng, WSDOT regional administrator. “Drivers will see traffic flowing even better now.”
The ramp meters will be monitored by WSDOT traffic engineers who use both traffic data and cameras to measure traffic speeds and congestion. While many of the meters will be automated by time of day, the meters can be changed at a moments notice to change traffic patterns in this busy area.
top
March open houses, meetings and events
10, Tuesday, 7 - 9 p.m., presentation, I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East - Cle Elum: WSDOT's I-90 project director will give a presentation regarding the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project to the Cle Elum City Council. Location: Cle Elum City Hall, Cle Elum.
11, 4 - 7 p.m., Open house, I-405, NE 195th to SR 527 - Bothell: WSDOT's project team will share information regarding this project, which will add a new northbound lane to relieve congestion on I-405 between Bothell and SR 527. Location: UW Bothell, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell.
12, Thursday, 5 - 7 p.m., transportation briefing, I-90 Corridor Study - Bellevue: The I-90 Corridor study team will present preliminary findings and draft conceptual improvements for the I-90 corridor between Bellevue and North Bend. Location: Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Express Lane Archive
top