Contractor starts Nassa Point slide project

Work crews began a project to improve safety with a pre-planned $380,000 rockfall prevention project four miles east of Cathlamet at Nassa Point.

Contractor crews will fully close SR 4 multiple times each day starting Monday while they complete weather dependent work to stabilize the hillside above the highway.

SR 4 will be closed for 45-minute durations between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Crews will open the highway for 15 minutes at the top of every hour to allow drivers safe passage through the work zone. The closures are expected to continue through early June.

Crews will help improve safety on this stretch of SR 4 by removing loose rock, unstable soil, trees and other debris from the slope above the highway. After scaling work is complete, crews will utilize intermittent lane closures to finalize work activities in the project area, which is expected to be completed in June.

In the last decade, WSDOT has delivered seven planned rockfall mitigation projects on SR 4 between Longview and Cathlamet. WSDOT has also delivered several unplanned projects over the years, including the current emergency landslide repair work near Stella (milepost 50).

“Rockfall projects are a reality of maintaining a scenic route like SR 4,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Denys Tak. “We can’t guarantee that every slope on this section of highway will be slide-free, but we are continuing to proactively address the slopes we have identified as priorities.”