After a spring and summer of slowdowns, lane closures, and bumpy roads, the Northwest Region Emergency Pavement Repair project is underway in King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.
The $7 million effort began in January with Gov. Jay Inslee’s Emergency Proclamation during a winter of heavy snow and cold that damaged miles of infrastructure.
This project, awarded to Lakeside Industries, encompasses more than 80 work sites on three interstates, 12 state highways, and four bridge decks for about 20 miles of pavement repair.
While some of the work will involve daytime lane reductions, Washington State Department of Transportation Project Engineer James Harper says the bulk of the repairs have been scheduled for low-travel times.
Long-awaited Interstate 90 North Bend repair
This project will repair some of the roughest areas left over from a record-setting winter. That includes a quarter-mile long stretch of westbound I-90 that has been stripped of drivable surface between Exits 31 and 32 in North Bend, resulting in a right lane closure since January. The work on I-90 should be completed by early September.
The damage results from the cold, wet winter weather and extra wear-and-tear from slowing traffic in snowy conditions. That combination created perfect conditions for what is known as frost heaves that heavily damaged the road surface.
WSDOT maintenance crews determined the level of deterioration in North Bend required more than a patch job – it needed complete reconstruction. That means grinding off the layer of damaged pavement and laying down a fresh surface of hot mix asphalt – which dries very quickly but can’t be applied during wet weather.
“The extra rainy spring pushed back our ability to fix a lot of these problems,” said Harper. “That and the size of this fix meant a longer timeline.” Once the project is finished, travelers will enjoy a smoother ride for years to come. The contractor aims to complete construction by April 2023.
[Information provided by the Washington State Department of Transportation]
Comments
That’s terrific but what about the stretch eastbound 90 between miles posts 23 and 24. Many many more along 90 between North Bend and Issaquah going both ways!
$7 mil is chump change for what it produces for All!
Thinking of the earliest US citizens who turned a native foot trail (above flood plain) into a highway of goods for westward Ho.
Now local and imported/exported goods and plan for growth? More bedroom developments than maybe the valley needed or could support. (Try to envision bedrooms and convenient stores up the north fork to highway 2?)
‘I’ for one, supported Cedar County annex efforts of old. To recognize the Federal DOT from the local private/driveway. The effort would bring a true local works to an upper valley that was not dictated to by folks from a changing county seat with Seattle weight.
But then we in the valley of the moon have The Seattle Watershed looking down upon us. The battle may have been decided then. What’s wrong with an occasional pothole? Me, me, and me.
Carry on!
I’ll take a heat break from the last two years on one of the three forks, in search of what’s left of the native wild strawberries (river sandbars) and native wild Cascade Blackberry. HOPEFULLY that pothole is still there and the tire FITS.
DOT has a $8 billion budget for 2021-2023. Your telling me they were holding out for $7 mil in fed dollars to repair a closed lane (8 months and counting) on the most critical interstate in the state. Who votes for these idiots?!