Steilacoom area residents and workers will find getting around a little bit easier, with the re-opening of Chambers Creek Road today.
Chambers Creek Road was damaged by the Feb. 28 earthquake that jolted Western Washington, and had been closed ever since.
Steilacoom Mayor Janda Volkmer described the road’s five-month closure as mostly an inconvenience that diverted more traffic onto Steilacoom Boulevard.
“It had some impact on the stores that depend on outside business,” she noted.
February’s Nisqually earthquake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale, forced officials to close the road from the Abitibi paper mill in Steilacoom up to 64th Street West in University Place, so crews could repair cracks in the road, as well as areas where the road separated from the ground.
“It just slid away, said John Anderson, construction inspector with Malcolm Drilling.
About half a mile of road, which includes a small bridge that runs over Chambers Creek, needed to be worked on, Anderson added.
The Federal Highway Administration paid for the $1.4 million project.
“We’re about eight-to-ten days ahead of schedule,” Anderson added.
Although Chambers Creek Road is now open to drivers, there will be an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the road’s re-opening.
U.S. Representative Norm Dicks will be a guest at the event which is set to take place at 2 p.m., on Aug. 21, at Chambers Creek Road and 64th St. W.