SR 4 rock work going on schedule

The construction project on SR4 at County Line Park is running right on schedule with no major problems, according to engineers from the Washington State Department of Transportation.

In this phase of the project, workers are scaling the rock wall and removing debris and rocks with an iron bar or an air pillow.

An air pillow is a device that, while deflated, is inserted into crevices in the rocks. When filled with air, it will break away any rock that isn’t easily removed with the iron bar.

After crews have removed the debris, they scale the rocks on the hill. From there, they will drill and bolt any remaining rocks that could fall to the highway below. A large fence will drape down over the hill to catch any debris that may fall.

"Things have been running smoothly so far," said Sylvia Ross, Communications Manager for the Department of Transportation (DOT). “We haven’t had any negative public comments.”

“We got lots of comments on the other slide,” added Devin Reck, Assistant Area Engineer, referring to the slide of 2006.

The first phase of the project is expected to last a total of two weeks, but because of weather sensitivity, that may change either way, because rocks can become slippery in the rain.

“It doesn’t make for safe conditions,” Reck said.

Traffic hasn’t been too much of an issue; the heaviest traffic is in the morning going into Longview and again in the late afternoon headed back toward Wahkiakum County.

Emergency vehicles are permitted to pass without waiting for the lanes to clear. Emergency personnel have the phone numbers and contact information of all construction workers on the project.

"If they need to pass, they will call and let us know they are coming," Reck said. Workers will clear both sides of the road to allow for a safe passage.

In phase two of the project, workers will continue rock bolting and place th fence on the wall to prevent rocks and debris from falling. Motorists should expect single lane closures with delays as long as 20 minutes,

“Providing nothing earthshattering happens,” Ross said.

“We are trying to get out of here as fast as we can and make sure it is safe,” Reck added.

Projects are in the planning stages for SR4 for next year. Closures like this will likely happen again, he said.