Threat Of Raindrops Again Cancels Hewitt Trestle Closure For Repair Work

In order to apply waterproof material on the road there can be no moisture at all. That’s the word from WSDOT on why they again have decided to postpone for a third time the closure of westbound Hewitt Trestle in Everett this weekend. Here’s a fuller explanation provided late this morning by Frances Fedoriska with WSDOT.

UPDATE Friday, June 22: The weekend closure of the westbound US 2 trestle has been POSTPONED due to rainy weather forecast Friday and Sunday nights.

Absolutely no rain allowed
While some of our projects can get work done in the rain, this is not one of them. The two rain delays we’ve had so far are because the waterproof material we are using to protect the trestle from our wet weather has to be applied when there is NO rain or moisture AT ALL. Applying the material when there’s a hint of moisture voids the warranty for the waterproof coating, and nobody wants that. So we will continue to wait for those dry Snohomish County summer weekends.

Working for the weekend
Between the postponed closures, weeknight westbound drivers on US 2 have likely seen the men and women of Lakeside Industries hard at work overnight, preparing the trestle’s dozens of expansion joints for our weekend closures.

Little room for error
The trestle expansion joints are less than 50 yards apart, so we have to be precise in all the repair work. Our margin for error between the top of the road and the top of the expansion joint is just 1/8 inch. The difference between a smoother ride and an uneven, bumpy one is razor thin.