A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Washington Jobs Now - Bridge Backbone in Bellevue: a Major Milestone
Photo: Two hefty cranes able to lift at least 500 tons each will lift 10 large bridge girders into place. The girders will act as a backbone for the new NE 12th Street Bridge.
In early August, I-405 drivers will see change on the Bellevue I-405 corridor as crews begin major work over the freeway. Crews will set 10, 100-ton girders for a new bridge at NE 12th Street. The girders are the backbone of a larger, wider Bellevue bridge, and a part of the $107.5 million Bellevue Braids construction project aimed at relieving congestion at the I-405/SR 520 interchange. The project is funded by both the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding and 2005 gas tax.
Heads-up night owls
Drivers who travel nights on I-405 through Bellevue should rethink their plans or expect delays if they have trips scheduled for early August. This is when crew will hoist the girders into place. Closures include:
- Tuesday, Aug. 3 and Wednesday, Aug. 4: Crews will completely close northbound I-405 from NE Eighth Street to SR 520 for two nights, detouring traffic to I-90, I-5 and SR 520.
- Monday, Aug. 9 and Tuesday, Aug. 10: Crews will completely close southbound I-405 from SR 520 to NE Eighth Street for two nights, with detours via SR 520, I-5 and I-90.
- Crews will begin closing lanes at 8 p.m., with one direction of the freeway completely closed by 11 p.m. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m.
- The existing NE 12th Street Bridge will be closed when I-405 is closed. Drivers and pedestrians should use NE 10th Street.
- Your best bet is to avoid I-405 in Bellevue during the nighttime girder setting. If you need to be in Bellevue, allow extra time for travel and prepare for delays.
Project to ease traffic headaches
Each day about 60,000 vehicles jockey for position as they travel north on I-405 in Bellevue. Some vehicles enter northbound I-405 from downtown Bellevue, while others exit I-405 to get onto nearby SR 520. The conflict causes up to eight hours of congestion each day. In addition, traffic often backs up on eastbound SR 520 near I-405, when the vehicles exiting onto 124th Ave NE from SR 520 conflict with drivers entering SR 520 from I-405. Once complete in 2012, the Bellevue Braids project will help relieve congestion at these sticky points by building a series of braided ramps that separate vehicles for a smoother and safer drive through Bellevue.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - Chip seals help stretch pavement life and highway dollars
Photo: WSDOT crews use rollers to adhere the rock chips to the asphalt oil on SR 124 between Burbank and Prescott.
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Resurfacing asphalt pavements with a "chip seal" is one strategy WSDOT uses to maximize pavement life. Chip seals adds five to seven more years to a roadway's life for one-third to one-fourth the cost of an asphalt overlay.
Chip seals are used on roadways with average daily traffic volumes of 5,000 vehicles or less and are a pavement preservation strategy that stretches funds available over more road miles.
During a chip seal, asphalt oil is sprayed on the road surface and covered with a layer of specially-crushed rock, known as “chips.” As the asphalt and chip mix cools, it becomes solid and most of the chips adhere to the surface. After a brief curing period, the excess chips are swept away.
To keep workers and drivers safe, WSDOT asks motorists to pay attention to flaggers and obey the reduced speed limits in work zones.
WSDOT takes preventative measures to avoid causing damage to cars in work zones. Contractors must regularly sweep work zones to keep the area clear rocks and debris. Plus, WSDOT typically posts a lower advisory speed limit to reduce the risk of debris and flying rocks. Higher speeds and driving closely behind other vehicles increases the likelihood of flying debris.
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Update of projects under way
I-5 Burlington - The I-5/Chuckanut Drive interchange in Burlington reopened with a new roundabout and repaved southbound I-5 on- and off-ramps on Friday, July 30. The interchange opens one day later than originally scheduled as crews discovered buried concrete panels beneath the roadway and soft spots in the ground. We had to remove the concrete panels and dig out and refill the soft spots. The unexpected work put the project slightly behind schedule. The new single-lane roundabout on Chuckanut Drive at the Josh Wilson Road intersection is the first of two roundabouts built at the interchange this summer. The second roundabout will open in September at the Old Highway 99 intersection. The roundabouts will help relieve congestion and improve safety at the interchange.
SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct - Crews have started demolishing a 120,000-square-foot warehouse at Pier 48 on Seattle’s waterfront to make room for equipment and supplies during construction and replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct . Demolishing the warehouse will provide much needed room to stage construction for both the south end and central waterfront projects. The $460,000 demolition project, which is more than 35 percent below WSDOT’s estimate of $750,000, is expected to take approximately four months. The contractor, R.W. Rhine, Inc. of Tacoma, will recycle approximately 50 percent of the demolished building. Recyclable materials include wood, metal siding and roofing. WSDOT purchased the pier from the Port of Seattle in 2008.
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Announcements
Contractor selected to build automated Alaskan Way Viaduct closure system
WSDOT awarded a contract on July 28 for the installation of a system designed to automatically close the Alaskan Way Viaduct within two minutes of an earthquake.
“We know the viaduct structure is at great risk in the event of an earthquake,” said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “This automated closure system is another way to help keep drivers safe until the structure is replaced .”
The new system will consist of nine traffic gates controlled by a series of underground seismic monitoring devices. The gates will be strategically placed at on-ramps and on SR 99 leading up to the viaduct. Earthquake sensors will monitor how fast the ground is shaking. The sensors will automatically activate the closure system when a moderate to severe earthquake of 5.0 or greater is detected near or underneath the viaduct.
WSDOT awarded Signal Electric Inc. the construction contract for the SR 99 Automated Viaduct Closure Gates System project . Signal Electric, based in Kent, submitted the low bid of $1,434,794. The bid was 27.3 percent below WSDOT’s estimate of more than $1.97 million. Installation will begin next month.
WSDOT awards contract for next North Spokane Corridor project
WSDOT has awarded the latest work on the North Spokane Corridor project to Graham Construction and Management of Spokane. The winning bid, among four, was $21,455,920. All the bids were lower than the engineer’s estimate of nearly $24.5 million.
The 3.7-mile project, scheduled to start this year and be completed by early 2012, will add the full southbound lanes between Francis Avenue and Farwell Road, a segment currently open with limited traffic. Five new bridges are part of the work. This section will complete all the travel lanes for the north half of the 10-mile North Spokane Corridor, improving mobility by allowing motorists and freight to move north and south through metropolitan Spokane, from I-90 to US 395 at Wandermere.
This project is funded through the Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. The North Spokane Corridor work was submitted along with two other projects in Washington State in a national competitive process for funding. Washington’s TIGER grant was for $35 million. The TIGER grant is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
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August meetings and events
5, 4 - 8 p.m., Open house, SR 155 Rock Slope Scaling Project - Electric City: Join WSDOT project team members at an open house to learn more about a project to stabilize slopes along five miles of SR 155 south of Electric City . Plans include closing the highway for up to eight days. Staff will be on hand to talk about traffic control plans. Location: Grand Coulee City Hall, 306 Midway Avenue, Grand Coulee.
11, 3:30 - 7 p.m., Open house, SR 150 Slope Stabilization Project - Manson: Meet with project staff to learn how a rock stabilization project three miles east of Manson on SR 150 may affect your commute. Work starts next March and may cause up to 30 minute delays. Location: Manson High School, 1000 Totem Pole Road, Manson.
Express Lane Archive
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