Date:
Friday, August 27, 2010
Contact:
Chris Tams, Columbia Gorge Area Engineer, 866-279-0730 toll-free (Vancouver)
Abbi Russell, WSDOT Communications, 360-905-2058 (Vancouver)
STEVENSON – The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has good news for drivers who have spent their spring and summer patiently waiting in construction-related closures on SR 14. Thursday, Sept. 2, will mark the last day of two-hour-long closures on the highway that were necessary for a $3.59 million safety-improvement project in the Columbia River Gorge.
WSDOT contractor Hi-Tech Rockfall Construction began intermittent closures on SR 14 in April to remove loose rock, unstable soil, trees and other debris from slopes above the highway near Dog Mountain (milepost 54) and White Salmon (milepost 64).
Drivers near Dog Mountain endured nearly three months of daily two-hour closures of the highway with no detour.
“This has been a tough project for both drivers and work crews,” said project engineer Chris Tams. “There were a lot of parties involved in keeping work on track and drivers informed: WSDOT, Hi-Tech Rockfall, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Skamania and Klickitat counties, and the cities of Stevenson and White Salmon. It took a lot of effort and patience – especially from drivers – to bring this project to successful completion.”
Single-lane closures with flagging will continue, while crews complete paving, striping and landscaping work at both locations. Drivers can expect 20-minute delays Mondays through Thursdays until work is complete in mid-September.
The SR 14 – Rockfall Mitigation White Salmon Vicinity project is funded through federal highway-improvement dollars. Construction began in March.
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