Thursday, December 30, 2010

UPDATED!!! Bonus Blog #2

The previously mentioned work on Village Drive will  happen on Monday,and Tuesday.


The Contractor will make provisions for the school bus stop to place the children in a safe location and allow the bus to pick them up.  Also, they will accommodate the garbage truck on Tues. and allow emergency vehicle access.
More details here


There is no work tomorrow.


We will return to our regular schedule of blogs and Tweets next week. 


Have a safe holiday weekend. We will see you next year!







Tuesday, December 28, 2010

SPECIAL BLOG POST

In spite of the holidays, staff had a few moments to put this post together.

 Wondering why the roadway has shifted to the north recently near Brassfield? You will soon get your answer as the contractor begins excavating for the sewer pump station next to the rock retaining wall just east of Brassfield, the approximate location indicated by the blue area in the image. Although crews will be working as normally, this will hopefully lessen congestion as one crew will be working out of the roadway.







This week construction can be expected to continue in the center of the roadway between Henderson Blvd and Orvas Ct, and also just east of Brassfield. 

Monday, sewer work will begin at Village Drive. To avoid long delays, you will need to be out of the subdivision by 7:30 AM.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE FOR YELM HIGHWAY

Season's Greetings!
This will be our last blog until 2011, so have a Happy New Year, too!


Here is the schedule for the project as we have it right now:
Today there is a pipe crew working near Brassfield and also paving in the intersection. Expect heavy truck traffic.  There is also a pipe crew working near Henderson.  Delays of 30 minutes or more.
Dec 24: No work
Dec 27: No Work
Dec 28-30: Pipe work west of Brassfield
Dec 31: No Work
Jan 3: No Work
 There will be no blog posts until January 4 or 5.
 Have a safe Holiday. 


Season's Greetings from the Yelm Highway Project Team!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

December Week Three

A little bit about the sinkhole that occurred last week.  The contractor was digging two parallel trenches to work on some utility lines. There was a gas main in the area, so the earth was left undisturbed between the two trenches to provide support and stability for the gas line.  The sinkhole developed between these two trenches.  


When working in an area that has absorbed as much water as we have had recently, the soil takes on almost a jell-o or quicksand quality that makes it susceptible to suddenly losing it's cohesiveness.  It then flows to the nearest open space.  This is why you see those large steel boxes on excavation sites.  Those are lowered into the area where the work is being done to protect the workers in case the side of the trench collapses.  The workers enter and exit via a ladder and work within the protection of the trench box. You can see in the first picture that this trench collapse can also happen in dry earth. Notice the sand on the right side of the trench box in the first picture. This has sloughed off the side of the trench


Trench box being moved by the backhoe.
In the third picture you can see the worker down inside of the trench box.


  

Thursday, December 9, 2010

December Week Two

The work has been just moving along as usual, so today, we will show you a couple of aerial photos taken by our friend at Aerial Images NW.


These shots were taken last week.























FRIDAY of this week, the plan is to work on the sewer system by Brassfield, and utility work at Village Drive.  You will be on just one gravel lane, guided by cones and flaggers.




Ever wonder what a day of construction might comprise of along Yelm Highway?  Well, taking into account a very rainy day and working around and under live gas lines, phone lines, brittle water lines, electrical, and allowing 20,000 vehicles through, the contractor has installed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday approximately...

150 Tons of asphalt patching
575 Cubic Yards of gravel for trench backfill
400 Feet of 10" HDPE Sanitary Sewer Pipe @ 9' Depth
210 Feet of 12" Storm sewer pipe between 5-15' depth
91 Feet of 24" Storm sewer pipe, between 5-15' depth
500 Feet of 12" ductile iron water main @ 5' Depth
4 48" Catch Basins
...not bad for weather that is difficult to drive through!

Friday, December 3, 2010

First Week of December, 2010

Work is continuing as the weather permits. The contractor and subs are working to get utilities in place. Temporary lighting has been installed for illumination until the permanent structures are put in place. Utility work in the intersections are requiring that occasionally we turn off the signals and have traffic controlled by Law Enforcement officers. There are also short term lane and street closures. 


Please remember that all businesses in the work zone remain open and accessible during the project. Also, leave room for vehicles to enter and leave Yelm Highway from and on to side streets. This will ease some of the backups and slow-downs.


For daily updates and traffic conditions, follow us on Twitter @YelmHighwayInfo.