A bad batch of asphalt prompted the Washington Department of Transportation to order a “re-do” on a 1,200-foot-long stretch of state Highway 14 near Interstate 5.
Kerr Contractors, based in Woodburn, Ore., was due to grind out substandard asphalt in the left-hand eastbound lane Thursday night.
The re-do comes as part of a $3.9 million project to repave an eight-mile stretch of Highway 14 in Vancouver, from I-5 to 164th Avenue. The segment in question had been paved on Sept. 8, but DOT spokeswoman Abbi Russell said results of quality-control testing revealed the asphalt failed to meet minimum standard for air voids within this particular batch.
“There’s too much air inside the asphalt to meet our specification,” she said. “It wasn’t compact enough.”