Paving project to slow State Route 8 to McCleary

Crews are about to begin a paving project on state Route 8, between the Highway 101 interchange in Thurston County and McCleary.

Preliminary work will begin April 7, with paving beginning April 11, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

While work is underway, westbound SR 8 will be reduced to one lane. Single-lane closures are scheduled 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each weekday. The speed limit will be reduced to 35 mph during the work zone.

The project is expected to finish by July, weather permitting.

The work will occur near another WSDOT project on SR 8. Beginning in mid-April, crews will reduce the road to one lane in each direction to remove fish barriers and replace them with bridges. That project is expected to take about a year.

This story was originally published April 1, 2017 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Paving project to slow State Route 8 to McCleary."