Date:  Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Contact: Kelly Stowe, WSDOT Communications, 253.536.6228 or 360.480.3648 cell

OLYMPIA – WSDOT plans to reopen a 37-mile stretch of US 101 from Quilcene to the Hoodsport/Potlatch area by Friday. The highway has been closed since Dec. 3, when mudslides unleashed a sea of rocks and muddy debris that spilled over the highway, filling up culverts and damaging bridges.

Once the highway reopens, drivers should expect delays on US 101 in Mason and Jefferson counties as crews continue the clean-up work.

“We hired contractors to speed the work along,” said Joyce Komac, WSDOT Maintenance Superintendent. “They need to complete a substantial amount of work before the roadway is safe to open to traffic.”

On the closed section of roadway, there is still water running across the roadway, abrupt lane edges, and muddy lanes that make the roadway slippery. There are locations where the fogline and centerline markings have been completely washed away.

There are bridges that have no room under them for water and maintenance crews hope there won’t be any more adverse weather. With all of the exposed slide areas and creeks flowing to the tops of their banks, another strong storm like last weeks will likely bring more closures.

The early-December storms closed highways in dozens of locations across the region.

“This unplanned event set our already tight maintenance budget back two to three months,” Komac said.

This repair work could take two to three months and will stretch an already tight maintenance budget. It is estimated that the repair will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. If more damage occurs, the cost could rise to more that $1 million.

For the most up-to-date information on weather-related highway closures and road conditions, please visit our Web site at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/ or dial 5-1-1.

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