Date:
Friday, December 07, 2007
Contact:
Contact: Sylvia Ross and Alissa Bateman, WSDOT Communications, 360-759-1336 (Vancouver)
Alice Fiman, WSDOT Communications, 360-705-7351 (Olympia)
December 12, 2007 9 a.m. update
OLYMPIA – All travelers are back on I-5 through Chehalis at 11:45 a.m., Friday, after WSDOT crews worked around the clock for four days to reopen a 20-mile stretch of I-5 that had been under nearly ten feet of water in places.
Road crews and engineers have worked since Monday to drain flood waters and reopen I-5 to traffic. Crews opened a single lane in each direction on I-5 to commercial trucks by Thursday evening. Hundreds of truckers rolled smoothly but slowly through the night in narrow lanes with no barrier separation. No major backups or problems were reported.
Friday morning, WSDOT crews completed clean up and repair work and repositioned hundreds of 4,000-pound Jersey barriers that were shifted by swift flood waters.
By 11 a.m. Friday, the I-5 barriers were back in place and road crews reopened two lanes in each direction to all traffic.
The flood water began receding Wednesday evening, after WSDOT crews used a trackhoe to breach Airport Dike in Chehalis. By Thursday afternoon, the receding waters revealed less highway damage than engineers had feared.
Drivers should be aware that the speed limit on I-5 between Chehalis and Grand Mound has been reduced to 50 mph until crews complete permanent repairs. WSDOT engineers will be closely monitoring the previously flooded portion of I-5 for any undetected road damage.
Interstate 5 is the backbone of the West Coast states' transportation system, crossing three states and linking three nations. As the most heavily used highway in the state, it is critical to the regional, state and national economy. There is no practical and close alternative route for freight trucked through the West Coast's major north-south corridor.
“Our crews have been working around the clock and getting I-5 open this fast after the flood is a great accomplishment,” stated Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “We’ve still got work to do to get all of our highways back open to traffic.”
Crews are still working to repair flood-damaged highways .WSDOT crews have addressed highway damage at 62 locations and are still working to repair eight weather-damaged highways, including:
- SR 101 in the Skokomish River/Potlatch vicinity, is open to local traffic only due to mudslides and roadway erosion in a number of separate locations along the Hood Canal coastline
- SR 96 (Seattle Hill Road) between SR 9 and I-5 in Snohomish County, which is closed between 125th St. SE and 60th Ave. SE due to a culvert collapse
- SR 6 in Pacific and Lewis counties, which is closed in locations due to land slides.
- SR 166 from Milepost 0-5 near Port Orchard in Kitsap County is restricted to one lane, open to local traffic only.
Drivers are advised to check their route before they go at www.wsdot.wa.gov. Updated travel information is also available by calling 511. Out of state callers can call 1-800-695-ROAD (7623).
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