Project overview
On Saturday, Dec. 23, following the installation of a new 48-inch culvert, stabilizing, and back filling the failure area with rock, and reconstructing the roadway, NW Construction General Contracting, Inc., the emergency contractor has successfully restored two lanes of travel, and lifted the freight restriction through this area.
On Thursday, Dec. 14, contractors working for the Washington State Department of Transportation began a 30-day emergency contract for slope stabilization, culvert installation and rebuilding of SR 503, also called Lewis River Road, at milepost 35.7 near Cougar in Cowlitz County following a culvert failure and washout due to overwhelming rainfall on Dec. 5.
One lane of SR 503 will remain open during construction. Freight and vehicles over 16,000 GVW are prohibited to prevent further damage to the roadway.
What to expect
During construction along the SR 503 Spur, a single lane of travel will remain open, with flaggers alternating travelers through the area. Vehicles over 16,000 GVW are restricted.
Travelers can expect intermittent delays of up to 20 minutes in the work zone until the emergency repairs are complete. People passing through this area should plan ahead, add extra time for travel, reduce travel speeds leading up to and through the work zone, and should follow the direction of flaggers.
On Tuesday Dec. 5, 2023, at approximately 1:30 p.m., due to continuous, significant rainfall, the culvert underneath a portion of the SR 503 Spur at milepost 35.7 southwest of Cougar, WA, failed. For travelers safety, WSDOT maintenance crews fully closed both directions of the highway until one lane could be reopened on Dec. 7. Currently, one lane remains open during the emergency repair contract to reestablish the two-lane roadway.
Conditions at the existing roadway are dynamic and weather dependent. We’re making every effort to preserve what remains. At the washout site, WSDOT crews are tirelessly operating pumps and maintaining around-the-clock monitoring to try to prevent further damage to the roadway. Internally, our construction, operations, real estate, environmental, finance and leadership teams have been collaborating daily. Our collective goal is to expedite the installation of a new culvert and return a safe and accessible roadway for all travelers, as quickly and safely as possible. Contractors are currently on the ground repairing the eroded roadway and replacing the failed culvert.
- On Tuesday, Dec. 5, WSDOT crews closed both directions of SR 503 Spur at milepost 35.7 due to a culvert failure from overwhelming rainfall. Later that afternoon, the eastbound lane of the highway eroded and washed away.
- On Thursday, Dec. 7, a single lane of travel was restored at this location with flaggers alternating traffic in each direction - vehicles over 16,000 GVW are restricted in an effort to prevent further damage to the roadway. Maintenance crews have been working at the washout site, around-the-clock, since the culvert failure occurred, where they are continuously monitoring water levels and roadway conditions.
