Crews to dig into interchange project

Construction crews will likely dig deeper into the Salmon Creek interchange Project this week — if the weather stays dry that is.

Workers from Rotschy Inc. of Vancouver could start excavating the northwest corner of Northeast 10th Avenue and 139th Street as part of the second stage of the project. If it rains, work could be delayed another couple of weeks, according to Rotschy’s project manager, Darin Kysar.

“We don’t want to go mucking around in the rain,” Lyle Uskoski, Rotschy’s on-site project manager, said Friday.

Road access to all businesses in the construction zone will remain open, even during the excavation process, according to the company. Within the next couple of months, crews will start excavating 139th Street down to bare earth. Only half of the street will be done at a time, leaving two lanes of traffic open.

“The traffic impact is slow and minimal,” said Jeff Mize, spokesman for Clark County Public Works. “This is a significant project, and there will be some delays.”

Rotschy, hired for the project in January by the county, has been laying drainage pipes west along 136th Street since March 22. By the end of this week, it should have reached 10th Avenue. Piping then moves north to 139th Street. Kysar gave an approximate completion date of April 13.

Rotschy will also install curbs in the new Salmon Creek Park and Ride this week. It finished grading the site last week.

Stage two of the Salmon Creek Interchange Project, overseen by the county and Rotschy, involves road improvements along Northeast 139th and 134th streets, Tenney Road and 10th Avenue and paving the new Salmon Creek Park & Ride. Stage three, overseen by the Washington State Department of Transportation, will add a lane in both directions of Interstate 5. It will also add a lane to the Interstate 205 off ramp at 134th Street. Finally, stage four of the project will involve creating the actual freeway overpass at 139th Street.

The public works department operates a site listing possible traffic delays. You can also find out more information about the project from the Washington State Department of Transportation’s project site.