Photos
Saturday’s paving will take place on a pair of 1,300-foot sections of the road, from Garfield Avenue north, and from just before Schneider Hill Road to Tugboat Annie’s. Work will start at 5 a.m. and should be finished by 5 p.m., according to the city.
The work will effectively shut West Bay Drive north of Schneider Hill from 5-9 a.m. Otherwise, at least one lane of traffic will be open and flaggers will direct traffic, said Jim Rioux, project manager for the city.
Doing the work during the week would be problematic for the city.
“The primary consideration was that during the week on a normal weekday, the log trucks going through that area really make it difficult … to get a paving operation done,” Rioux said.
The city considered paving at night but decided that would disrupt residents too much.
The city has been fortunate with the good weather, Rioux said. But the work is weather-related; if it can’t happen Saturday, it will be rescheduled for Oct. 6.
The work is part of a larger project to increase sewer capacity in the area. Smaller, inefficient sewer pipes were replaced with bigger ones, and the paving is necessary to cover them up.
Rioux sets up another project expected next year, when the city rebuilds a pump station to improve capacity. He said the system overflowed in the area in 2006-07, but the city bought another pump and hasn’t had another event since.
mbatcheldor@theolympian.com
360-704-6869
@mattbatcheldor
