Dry weather a boon for WSDOT work crews
Oct 11, 2012, 4:15 AM | Updated: 6:25 am
State workers put down down asphalt on Highway 18 to fix all the holes near Tiger Mountain. (KIRO Radio/Chris Sullivan)
(KIRO Radio/Chris Sullivan)
While some of you might be happy to finally see our long streak of dry weather coming to an end, the department of transportation wishes it would keep on going.
It’s been so dry that repair crews fixing holes in the pavement and re-striping lanes across the state have been able to get to many more projects than in a normal season.
“We have a plan going into the summer, and we usually don’t get to everything,” longtime Washington Department of Transportation maintenance worker Don Nelson said. “This year we’re getting more done on our list than we normally would.”
Nelson and his crew are racing against the coming rain, filling in holes on Highway 18 near Tiger Mountain. The weather has been so dry this year that the state is even getting to projects that weren’t on the schedule until next year.
“I’ve been here 30 years,” Nelson said. “This is the first time I can remember having weather this good, this late, and it’s allowed us to catch up on some of our work.”
In addition to getting ahead on paving, state workers have been able to re-stripe a lot more miles of road than in a typical year.
