GRAYS HARBOR - Aberdeen and Hoquiam drivers may see temporary delays along streets in the two cities on Tuesday, June 16 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. WSDOT crews will be taking core samples along city streets to test their structural integrity. The work is part of WSDOT's planning for a new pontoon construction site to build pontoons for the SR 520 floating bridge. Construction of the site will begin in 2010. The pontoon construction work will bring heavy truck traffic to some streets in the area. WSDOT is currently evaluating two candidate sites to build a new pontoon construction facility in Grays Harbor - one in Hoquiam and one in Aberdeen.
A core drill mounted to a truck will extract samples from 10 to 15 inches below the surface along the following nine streets: - Two pavement samples on 22nd Street between Simpson Avenue and Bay Avenue
- Two pavement samples on 23rd Street between Simpson Avenue and Bay Avenue
- Two pavement samples on Bay Avenue between 24th Street and 29th Street
- Two pavement samples on Wishkah Street between Williams Street and Washington Street
- Two pavement samples on Heron Street between Division Street and Washington Street
- One pavement sample on Garfield Street between Wishkah Street and Heron Street
- One pavement sample on Thornton Street south of Port Industrial Road
- Three pavement samples on Division Street between Wishkah Street and State Street
- Two pavement samples on Hood Street west of Division Street
Each sample takes approximately 20 minutes to collect. Crews anticipate closing one lane of traffic at each drilling location for this work.
Flaggers will maintain the flow of traffic in two directions while the work is completed. The roadway will be immediately restored after each
sample is taken. The pontoons will be used to restore the SR 520 floating bridge over Lake Washington in case of a catastrophic failure or for the planned bridge replacement. With tolling authorized on the SR 520 bridge to start in 2010, WSDOT can begin building a new pontoon construction site in Grays Harbor next year, and pontoons at this new site starting in 2012. As a result, the pontoons can be ready by 2014 to open a new four-lane bridge to drivers across Lake Washington. For more information about the Pontoon Construction Project, please visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520/Pontoons
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