Date:  Friday, July 25, 2008

Contact: Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970 (Burlington) 
             Marco Foster, Engineering Manager, 360-757-5991 (Burlington)

CLINTON – Crews resurfacing a half-mile of SR 525 at the south end of Whidbey Island are temporarily on hold until a new liquid asphalt supplier can be found and a new asphalt mix is approved.

The current supplier, Tesoro, announced that it will no longer supply the material that was currently being used due to changes in their refinery process. Liquid asphalt is the black, thick liquid used to bind the components of asphalt together.

WSDOT and its contractor, Krieg Construction, are working together to secure a new supplier and hope to finish the project before fall.

Paving had started Monday, July 21 and was expected to be completed by Friday, July 25. About half of the paving is complete and the road is open and smooth through the work zone. Crews will return Monday, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. to stripe the portion they have completed.

Before paving can resume, the contractor must submit a new mix design to WSDOT for testing and approval. The process could take a few weeks or more to complete. The testing is done at a WSDOT lab and ensures that a high quality, long-lasting pavement is applied to state highways. The turnaround time for approval can take longer this time of year because of the volume of paving going on around the state.

For more project information and to sign up to receive our SR 20 e-mail update, visit the project Web page at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR525/ClintonFerryPaving. 

                           

< Back to News Home