Date:  Monday, November 10, 2008

Contact: Brenden Clarke, WSDOT Project Engineer, 360-874-3010 
              Emily Pace, WSDOT Communications, 360-357-2716

PORT ORCHARD – The daily commute on SR 16 took a new shape Monday morning for drivers traveling westbound at Burley Olalla Road in Kitsap County. Over the weekend crews successfully shifted mainline westbound SR 16 traffic onto a temporary detour and dropped the speed limit to 40 mph.

Building the detour route required taking westbound SR 16 down to one lane all weekend. The temporary detour - which allows crews to safely build new SR 16 bridges at Burley Olalla Road - opened to traffic about 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

“The contractor worked very efficiently with the weather we had and opened the roadway 14 hours ahead of schedule,” said Brenden Clarke, WSDOT project engineer. “We would like to thank drivers for their patience and for driving safely through the work zone this last weekend.”

The detour and speed-limit reduction remains in place until the new SR 16 bridges are complete. Crews will pave the detour for eastbound SR 16 from 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, through 6 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15. This work also requires reducing eastbound SR 16 to a single lane.

This $24.3 million safety project eliminates the last at-grade intersection on SR 16 where traffic crosses the median. When complete in fall 2010, two new bridges will carry SR 16 traffic over Burley Olalla Road. Contractor Ceccanti, Inc. began construction in July.

For more information about the project visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR16/BurleyOlalla/.

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