Date:  Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Contact: Meghan Soptich, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)
Dave Lindberg, WSDOT Project Engineer, 425-814-7104 (Redmond)

RENTON – Drivers will once again be able to use the right lane of northbound SR 169 near the Maplewood Golf Course in Renton by March. Crews today began emergency repairs to a retaining wall that supports the highway. The right lane has been closed since Jan. 8 when heavy rains caused the Cedar River to flood and undermine the wall.

“The retaining wall dropped up to a foot in some places and parts of the roadway were undermined,” said Dave Lindberg, project engineer. “We will replace the material that washed out from behind and below the wall and roadway.”

About 250 feet of wall will be repaired, as well as a section of concrete barrier and roadway that dropped about an inch and a half. Crews will also repair about 50 feet of a pedestrian trail at the base of the wall. The trail has been closed since Jan. 8.

“The repairs won’t require any additional lane closures,” said Lindberg. “However, drivers will see flaggers letting construction trucks and equipment in and out of the work zone.”

WSDOT selected contractor Northwest Construction for the roughly $450,000 emergency repair project. To see photos of the damage, visit WSDOT’s Flick site: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157612579107832/.

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