Detour signs will direct motorists around a portion of State Route 161 (Meridian Ave. East) that will be closed for construction work from 10 p.m. Friday, July 15 until 5 a.m. Monday, July 18.

Drivers traveling northbound on SR 161 will find a detour sign at 224th Street directing them westbound to SR 7, northbound on SR 7 until 176th Street, then eastbound back to SR 161. Southbound SR 161 traffic will use the same detour but in the reverse direction. The southbound detour will take motorists westbound on 176th Street, southbound on SR 7, and eastbound on 224th Street back to SR 161.

Flaggers posted on both the north and south ends to the detour will direct local traffic in and out of the construction zone.

WSDOT is closing the roadway to allow its contractor, Scarsella Brothers, to lower the road grade up to six feet between 200th and 194th streets. The work will improve safety by increasing sight distance along SR 161 in this area and reducing the potential for northbound accidents prior to the traffic signal at 194th Street.

The weekend closure allows WSDOT to compress at least one month of traffic impacts into one week. “We are actually saving 20 working days by doing the weekend closure,” explained Brenden Clarke, WSDOT assistant project engineer. “Without the weekend closure, this project could have been pushed into the 2006 construction season because weather-sensitive work would not have been completed this season. We are saving a considerable amount of money and limiting the impact to the driving public to one week.”

When the work on this segment of SR 161 is finished, the road will have two additional travel lanes and a center turn lane. For more information about this closure, call Clarke at (253) 589-6100, or visit the WSDOT Olympic Region construction update website at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/Olympic/construction.