DOT describes new slide project

Local commuters may need to purchase aspirin to defuse headaches as construction season is about to rear its ugly head.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) held an open house February 6 at the Cowlitz PUD building to offer information about a project on State Route 4 that is scheduled to begin this summer.

A sparse crowd attended the event, which was some cause for concern to Devin Reck, Chief Design Inspector for the WSDOT.

“People drive through daily, people are interested. I expected people would come out," he said.

The project will be between mile posts 45.92 and 45.95, just east of County Line Park and the Wahkiakum-Cowlitz county line, according to the WSDOT website. The purpose of the project is to secure an area that has been identified as a risk for falling rocks.

Initially, workers will scale the bluffs above the highway to remove trees and as much loose rock as possible. Then they'll drill holes for steel rods to secure potentially unstable rock. Finally, they'll install protective steel mesh fencing to keep rocks from rolling onto the highway.

The project is expected to last about three months. During the first three weeks, the road will open to traffic for 15 minutes at the top of each hour. The delays will be Monday through Friday 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., and should last three weeks. In the latter part of the project, motorists should expect 20 minute delays.

“Because of the 45 minute delays, we were able to keep the project at three weeks, otherwise it could have doubled,” said Project Engineer Denys Tak. He added that an increase in production would shorten the work time.

Tak said he understood that motorists may be bitter from the previous round of severe delays, but the work is part of the department’s duty to protect the traveling public.

“It took longer than we liked, but that is the nature of an emergency project,” he said.

Although there are alternate routes to avoid the delays, they are not designated WSDOT routes. Motorists traveling alternate routes do so at their own risk.

For more information on this and other coming WSDOT projects, visit the department website at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov.