Date:  Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Contact: Bob Hooker, WSDOT Project Engineer, (509) 577-1842
Amanda Sullivan, WSDOT Communications, (509) 577-1942

HYAK – WSDOT and crews are scheduled to begin the first of a series of controlled rock blasts on Interstate 90 near Hyak on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. For the safety of the traveling public, crews will temporarily close I-90 in both directions from Hyak (milepost 54) to the Price Creek Sno-Park (milepost 61) at approximately 8 p.m. for up to an hour during rock blasting activities. The rock blasting is part of the $571 million I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East – Hyak to Keechelus Dam project that calls for widening the interstate from four to six lanes and other improvements to increase the reliability of I-90.

“From now until fall, our crews have approximately one million tons of rock to excavate from the slopes adjacent to the interstate,” said Will Smith, WSDOT Project Engineer. “To limit impacts to the traveling public as much as possible, we’re waiting for the last few moments of daylight, when traffic volumes are low, to close the interstate and set off the blasts.”

To excavate the tons of rock required to widen the interstate, the contractor has the option to blast Monday through Thursday evenings near the Lake Keechelus Snowshed (milepost 58) until October. This week, the contractor has a controlled blast scheduled on Tuesday. Crews will close I-90 at approximately 8 p.m. to blast the slopes, remove any blast debris from the roadway and shoulders, and inspect the slopes for safety. After crews inspect the slopes for stability, they will reopen all lanes of I-90.

The rock blasting and temporary interstate closures will affect travel for freight trucks and passenger vehicles using I-90. Since construction schedules and activities can change day to day, WSDOT urges motorists to plan for one hour added travel time when using I-90 Monday through Thursday between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. WSDOT provides the following tools to use when planning trips across the pass:

• Visit the What’s Happening on I-90 Web page for up-to-date information on
  construction projects, traffic impacts, travel graphs, and to sign up for e-mail 
  updates
• Visit the Snoqualmie Mountain Pass Web page for real-time travel information
  and to view traffic cameras.
• Check the weekly Construction Updates Web page and Traffic Web page for
  region-wide updates
• Tune into the Highway Advisory Radio at 1610 AM and 530 AM
• Follow WSDOT on Twitter
• Call the I-90 construction hotline at 888-535-0738 or 5-1-1

In addition to widening I-90 from four to six lanes from Hyak to Keechelus Dam (milepost 60), WSDOT will:

• Replace deteriorated concrete pavement of existing lanes and shoulders for a smoother ride
• Add and replace bridges and culverts to accommodate the widening of the interstate and improve fish and wildlife mobility
• Stabilize rock slopes to prevent rock fall hazards
• Extend chain up /areas for freight
• Straighten sharp curves for visibility
• Build a new snowshed to minimize avalanche-related closures
• Add illumination, traffic cameras, and variable message signs.

WSDOT will complete the project by 2016. WSDOT received funding from the Washington State Legislature’s 2005 Transportation Partnership to design and construct this project.

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