Bridge deck preservation work begins throughout southwest Washington

Travelers should expect reduced speed limits through work zones as work to improve the surface of several bridges starts this week.  

Starting today, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s contractor, Granite Construction, will begin work to remove asphalt bridge deck patches along several bridges and replace them with cement. 

This work is said to extend the useful life of the bridges and smooth the bridge deck surfaces, keeping traffic moving until future bridge deck projects can fully address each structure’s individual needs.

What can travelers expect

Once construction begins, travelers should expect around-the-clock single lane closures and temporary speed limit reductions of 25 mph along several outlying bridges and within the work zones. 

When flaggers or portable temporary traffic control signals are on site travelers may experience delays of up to 20 minutes.

Additionally, crews will have an around-the-clock single lane closure in place along both directions of the Interstate 5 Cowlitz River Bridges and a temporary speed limit reduction from 70 mph to 55 mph through the work zone. Extended single lane closures may be necessary and will occur from 8 p.m. Mondays through 10 a.m., Fridays, and will result in major traffic delays. Nighttime single lane closures may occur when extended closures are not in use.

The following bridges will be affected by this project: 

Benton County

  • State Route 14 Glade Creek Bridge between Mainline Road and Glade Creek

Cowlitz County

  • SR 503 Jim Creek Bridge between Timber Cattle Pass and Jim Creek

Klickitat County

  • US 97 Swale Creek Bridge between Centerville Road and Swale Creek
  • US 97 Kusshi Creek Bridge between BIA Rd 284 (Wilson Charlie) and Tomith Rd
  • SR 14 Alder Creek Bridge between Alderdale Boat Launch Road and Alder Creek 

Lewis County

  • I-5 Cowlitz River Bridge near milepost 59, just south of Rogers Road in north Cowlitz County
  • US 12 Purcell Creek Bridge near milepost 137, about seven miles east of Packwood

Pacific County

  • SR 401 Naselle River Overflow Bridge at milepost 11.59 near Naselle Road  

 

Work on this $3.8 million project to fix the bridges will continue through the summer and is scheduled for completion this fall.

Travelers can plan ahead to avoid delays by signing up to receive construction updates, visiting the real-time travel map or by uploading the WSDOT mobile app.

 

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