You’re not in the Twilight Zone – it’s summer road construction again (and again and again)

By: Angela Cochran

Narrator: “You're traveling around the Olympic Peninsula, a peninsula not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey along a wondrous highway whose boundaries are that of natural marvels. Your next stop, the Road Construction Zone!”

We’ve all had that feeling – you walk into a house or a hotel or an office building for the first time, but it feels like you’ve been there before. Or you’re driving on US 101, and you see a traffic light where you’ve never seen one before. A few miles down the road, there’s another traffic light. Is it déjà vu?

No, it’s construction, and it’s coming this summer to a highway near you.

Don’t worry, though, you’ll still be able to get to your destination. Grab some snacks, turn the radio up and please, for the love of Baby Yoda, slow down in the work zones.

If your summer plans include traveling around the Olympic Peninsula, you’ll likely see numerous road work for fish passage and bridge or road preservation projects.

Truth be told, you’ve heard us talk a lot about road construction around the peninsula the past couple of summers. This year is no different. You’ll see many new work zones along with a few that are the same as last year.

Fish, fish, and more fish

It’s no secret that we are working to improve fish passage under state highways. We ramped up efforts on the Olympic Peninsula in 2023 by working on several sites in a particular area at a time. This summer, a whopping 16 work zones will greet travelers on US 101 from Discovery Bay, west to Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks and south to Lake Quinault.

Many work zones will have temporary bypass roads to keep people moving. Those bypass roads will have temporary traffic signals or work crews alternating traffic on one lane. This is what you’ll see along US 101 west of Olympic National Park.

Traveling along US 101 west of Lake Crescent then south to Lake Quinault, you’ll see 10 work zones with temporary bypass roads and traffic signals.

Some of the culvert locations require full closures with detours. In Port Angeles, work at Tumwater Creek includes an 80-day closure of US 101 that started March 3. Travelers are following a signed detour using SR 117. We have a video showing the detour on our YouTube channel. In July, a full closure will be in place on SR 116 near Port Hadlock-Irondale.

US 101 is closed at Tumwater Creek while crews dig up the roadway to replace an outdated culvert.

On your way into or out of Port Angeles, you’ll encounter two more fish barrier removal work zones. At Lees Creek and Ennis Creek, we’ve begun a two-year effort to take out culverts beneath US 101. The work zones are just east of the city limits. There are no daytime closures for these locations. Instead, take note of the reduced speed limit and lane shifts you’ll see within the work zones.

If you’re headed to or from the coast in Grays Harbor County, you’ll once again travel through several work zones along US 12/SR 8. We’ve been working on a fish passage project at five locations between Olympia and Montesano since 2023. We are getting close to the finish line but still have some work to do before opening the lanes at each site. Right now, all five work zones have one lane open in each direction. Throughout spring and summer, we will shift traffic to open the other two lanes. Once that happens, you’ll still see daytime lane closures while our contractor finishes landscaping and other final work.

Last fall, our workers saw fish swimming upstream of the new culvert installed under SR 8 near McCleary. We are finishing up road work there this spring and summer.

Preserving our roads and bridges

Last summer, we finished work on a new US 101 Elwha River Bridge and opened the bridge to travelers. Our new bridge is replacing the original bridge that was built in 1926. This summer, crews will return to remove the original bridge. We don’t anticipate any delays to travelers for this work, but if something should change, we will share on the project webpage.

Over on the Hood Canal, the SR 104 bridge needs constant maintenance and upkeep, in large part due to the salt water it sits in. In April, the bridge will again have routine inspections performed. In August, construction crews will wrap up work on the bridge’s center lock system and shock absorbers. All of this work will require some short-term openings of the bridge that last 30 to 40 minutes during daytime hours. Some work will require the bridge to close to traffic during overnight hours from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. We will share out specific dates for this work once it becomes available.

A shock absorber removed from the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge in May 2024.

We also have plans to help give drivers a smoother ride this summer on a couple peninsula state highways. Sections of US 101 south of Shelton and SR 112 in Clallam County will see a new roadway surface this summer.

US 101 paving will take place between Shelton and Olympia. Along with single-lane closures in both directions, you’ll see the speed limit reduced from 60 mph to 45 mph.

On SR 112, we have a paving, preservation and emergency repair project. You can expect to see some one-way alternating traffic there later this summer. Keep an eye on our statewide travel map for updates and real-time traffic information.

Stay informed – Online Open House

We know this is a lot to absorb if you’re planning any trip – long or short – around the Olympic Peninsula this summer. We’ve placed all the projects in one location: the 2025 Olympic Peninsula Online Open House. You’ll find maps, links to project webpages, detour maps and videos. The projects are sorted by county. There’s also a place to send us questions.

Make sure to take us with you. Download our app. Use it as you journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination.

Bottom line, go explore – have fun – you'll get there. Please watch for our work and the people performing it.

Road construction season moving into high gear on I-5, SR 529 in Marysville

By Tom Pearce

As we move through March, we're getting close to the change of seasons. The weather is becoming warmer (sort of), the days are growing longer, trees are budding. That can only mean one thing – it's road construction season.

OK, so it means two things. But the arrival of spring heralds the time of year when we can do our most ambitious work. We're kicking it off with a big closure the last weekend of March near Marysville in Snohomish County.

From 11 p.m. Friday, March 28, to 4:30 a.m. Monday, March 31:

• the southbound I-5 off-ramp to southbound SR 529 will be closed.
• southbound SR 529 at the Ebey Slough Bridge will be closed.

This weather-dependent work could be postponed if it rains.

We'll accomplish a couple things during this closure. One of our contractors will tie in the new southbound I-5 off-ramp to SR 529, while another contractor works on the southbound SR 529 bridge. Coordinating these two projects means one less closure for people who use SR 529.

In February, contractor crews placed girders for the new southbound I-5 off-ramp to SR 529. The new ramp is scheduled to open at the end of March.

To finish the new ramp from southbound I-5 to SR 529, we need a weekend-long closure of the temporary off-ramp people have been using for about a year, as well as the right lane of I-5. We also need to close a section of SR 529 where the new off-ramp connects to the highway, north of Steamboat Slough.

Our contractor crews have worked on the new southbound I-5 off-ramp for about a year. For the past several months, people have used a temporary ramp. This closure will allow our contractor to finish paving and lane striping at both ends of the ramp; when they finish, the new ramp will open the morning of March 31.

It's all part of a larger project to complete the I-5/SR 529 interchange. In late spring or early summer, we'll open a new SR 529 on-ramp to southbound I-5 and a new northbound I-5 off-ramp to SR 529, offering another option for people going to or from Marysville. This project includes a roundabout, which will allow people exiting northbound I-5 to use southbound SR 529 as well as the northbound highway.

It's always construction season

Even referring to spring as the start of construction season is a bit of a misnomer anymore. The days when we would reduce work to mostly maintenance when the weather gets cold are history. The amount of preservation and improvements needed means we have to work all year. Our contractors and maintenance crews have been working on I-5, I-90, SR 203, SR 509 and many others throughout the winter.

We appreciate you paying attention in work zones to keep the people working on these projects safe, especially during the long, dark winter nights. As we move into longer, warmer days, please drive carefully, especially in any work zone.

Applications are being accepted for FREE overnight high school transportation camps this summer

By Lisa Walzl

Are you a high school student curious about how we decide where highways go? Want to learn what we're doing to help the earth by reducing our carbon footprint? Or how we plan for the future while keeping people and goods moving? Ever just wanted to get a behind the scenes tour of a bridge or other parts of the transportation system? Know a teenager who does?

If so, we have a summer camp experience for you. We're offering high school students a chance to spend a week exploring the transportation field. You’ll meet with statewide experts, agency leaders and university professors at our Washington Transportation Camp 2025 hosted by PacTrans and WSDOT.

Students touring the WSDOT Transportation Management Center in Shoreline

We're offering a free six-day/five-night camp this summer. The camp includes lodging at a state university. One camp is at Washington State University in Pullman from June 22-27. The second is at the University of Washington in Seattle from Aug. 3-8. Students will stay on campus in university dorms during the camp. All lodging and meals are covered by sponsors so there are no costs to the students.

The priority deadline to apply for both camps is March 31. The last chance to apply is April 11. Camps are limited to 20 students. To be considered, applicants must be entering 10th, 11th or 12th grade at a Washington state school for the fall 2025 semester. Students must be able to attend the entire session. You don't need previous experience in engineering or transportation – but curiosity is a must!

To learn more about these programs and to apply, visit this link for the camp website.

Washington State University camp touring the port

Both camps offer students the chance to:

• Take field trips with professionals. Visit transportation facilities like a transportation management center to learn about their inner workings.
• Showcase knowledge ingroup projects.
• Make new friends and experience life on a college campus.
• Explore the potential for a future career in transportation—whether it's in engineering, planning, or beyond.

This could be the start of a career in transportation, engineering, planning or a whole host of other fields. But even if it's not, participants will have a better understanding of how we all get where we're going. They’ll understand how the things we buy and need get to store shelves or our homes – and what goes into making those trips as safe and smooth as possible. And some pretty good stories to share with friends and family about the unique experience you had over the summer.

We hope to see you there!

No quick fix: plan for extended closure on SR 971 Southlake Shore Rd

UPDATE April 8, 2025:

The emergency contractor, Access Limited, started work on Monday to reopen SR 971 South Lakeshore Road, which has been closed due to rockslide since March 3. The contractor is working 6 days a week behind the closure points to expedite the project.

A significant amount of the work will be scaling and installing anchors at two identified locations on the slope at milepost 10.7 and 11.1. To complete the work safely and efficiently, the road will remain closed to traffic until rock slope repairs are completed. The project is expected to take 3-4 weeks, depending on conditions.

An extra tall boom lift allows the contractor to access otherwise out of reach areas of the rock slope for hand scaling and installing anchors

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UPDATE March 28, 2025:

Where we are at:

• We are finalizing the contract documents with our contractor, Access Limited, to clear the rockslide on SR 971 South Lakeshore Road and perform some scaling to the rock slope at two specific locations. Rock dowels will also be installed to further stabilize the slope.
• The available funding will only cover clearing the slide and a small amount of strategic rock slope repair. This is not a wholistic mitigation for the entire ¾ mile of exposed rock slope on this section of roadway. The work will clear debris and remove some specifically identified overhanging rock. Our maintenance crew reestablish catchment areas and ditch lines.
• Once the contract is finalized (likely mid-week next week), the contractor plans to work 6 days/week behind the closure points. Depending on the size of the rocks in the debris pile and weather conditions, it’s estimated the work will take about 3 weeks.
• Spring conditions mean rock fall may still occur in this area. Our maintenance team patrols this area daily to check on conditions. Travelers should never get out of their car to remove rock from the road, instead find a safe location to call 911 and report so crews can clear it.

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ORIGINAL Posted March 13, 2025:

Before sunrise on Monday, March 3, a rockslide closed SR 971 near milepost 11. This is a spot known for rock fall. By full daylight, it was clear that this slide was a bigger problem than the usual couple of rocks. Then late Monday night, a second slide came down and covered both lanes of the highway again.

A slide at milepost 10.7 overflowed the catchment basins and crossed both lanes of the road on Monday, March 3.

The slide also exposed several large boulders approximately 50-60 ft. above the road. We estimate there’s about 1200-1400 yard of material in the slide. Some of the rocks that came down are too big to haul away without breaking down. Throughout last week, rocks continued to fall, and the slope continued to have active rockfall.

Last week, our geotechnical team met on site with region crews to assess the scene. They met again on Wednesday, March 12 to talk through possible fixes for this location.

It’s not just the current pile of rocks that need to be cleared. This section of road has a history of rock fall, and the current slide location is adjacent to other known areas of frequent rock fall.

Drone pic of the slide area on South Lakeshore Road. The slide is estimated to be 1200-1400 cubic yards of material.

Where we are at?

The team must first consider the safety of reopening the road. During the onsite review, large overhanging rocks were identified still on the slope above the slide. These will need to be removed by scaling. That means having a skilled contractor remove them by hand.

In addition to that, we are heading into spring season. Spring is a time of year when rockslides often increase due to wet and thawing conditions. This means the potential for additional rock fall at and around this location. Spring also brings increased travelers to the Chelan Valley and the Lake Chelan State Park.

What is a fix when it comes to a rock slope?

Repairing the entire section to significantly reduce the risk of rockfall is estimated to cost in the millions of dollars. A project of that scope is not currently funded. Even if we don’t do the full mitigation, any work beyond just a cleanup is likely to be expensive and will mean shifting funds from other priorities.

The team is talking through the pros and cons and reviewing feasible funding strategies.

When will the road open?

We recognize that this detour adds miles to commutes and school bus trips. We’ve discussed the possibility of blocking off the hillside lane and using an automated signal to move travelers through the area one direction at a time. The concern is the continued potential for additional large rocks falling from high up the slope and the barriers being unable to contain them. This would put anyone traveling through that lane at risk.

While South Lakeshore Road is closed, travelers must detour in SR 971 Navarre Coulee Road to the junction of US 97A.

Any fix is dependent on contractor and funding availability. Plan that the road will remain closed, probably for several more weeks. We will post updates as soon as possible, including on our social platforms and the real time travel map.

Search underway for missing plane near Ellensburg

Update: 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, 2025

The search for a missing plane and pilot ended on Wednesday, March 5, when air search and rescue crews located the crash site near Whiskey Dick Mountain, east of Ellensburg. Tragically the pilot and sole occupant was found deceased. While the crash site was located quickly, this was a heartbreaking discovery for everyone involved. This concludes our agency's involvement in the mission. Further information will be released by the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office. Media questions about any investigation of cause can be directed to the National Transportation Safety Board. More details are available online.

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We are currently searching for a small plane in the hills near Ellensburg.

Our Air Search and Rescue Team was notified Tuesday night of a missing a red, white and blue Cessna 150 enroute to the Lake Chelan Airport. The plane departed from the Yakima Air Terminal/McAllister Field at 3:43 p.m. Tuesday. A family member reported it missing when the plane did not arrive.

We were notified of the missing plane by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center via the Washington State Emergency Operations Center. Search efforts began immediately. A U.S. Army helicopter from the Yakima Training Center has been requested to assist in aerial search efforts. Chelan County Sheriff's Office and Life Flight Air Ambulance are conducting additional aerial search flights today as well. Additional search resources from the Chelan, Grant and Douglas County Sheriff's Offices are actively assisting.

The Civil Air Patrol National Radar Forensics Team provided radar data for the missing plane. The data revealed the plane's northward path toward Ellensburg, followed by a northeastern trajectory. The last recorded radar track indicated the plane's location in the hills between Ellensburg and the Columbia River before the signal was lost. Ground and air search teams deployed throughout the night, focusing on the area where the plane's last radar signal was detected.

Crews are taking advantage of daylight hours to continue search operations. Anyone who thinks they saw or heard the plane Tuesday or spotted anything in the area should call the State Emergency Operations Center at 800-258-5990 with details. Currently, search officials do not need volunteers to conduct air or land searches.

Updates on the search will be posted on the this blog. Email updates from us are also available online by signing up and selecting the emergency news "air search and rescue" option. Barring new developments – which would also be announced on this blog – the next update is planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 5.

WSDOT, by statute (RCW 47.68.380) is charged with the coordination and management of aerial search and rescue within the state. The agency works in conjunction with volunteer search and rescue groups, law enforcement and other agencies, such as the U.S. Navy, in carrying out such searches.