By Kevin Hanson-The Courier-Herald
Plateau residents kept calm, but made sure the Department of Transportation was made aware of problems faced on local highways.
The event was the first meeting of the Plateau Transportation Working Group, an effort promoted by state Sen. Pam Roach to get both citizens and members of the DOT talking about highway needs throughout the Plateau region. Most of the chairs were filled Thursday night and the DOT sent a healthy team to answer questions and outline future plans.
The second scheduled meeting will be Thursday night, again beginning at 7 p.m. at the Enumclaw Public Library.
Questions raised last week by the public included:
€ Why is state Route 410 short on restrooms between Enumclaw and the summit?
€ Why were guardrails installed on both sides of SR 164, creating a situation where all drivers, both good and bad, are prohibited from leaving the roadway?
€ What can be done to alleviate the lengthy delays on 410 weekdays between Enumclaw and Buckley?
€ Why is it taking so long to repair a washed-out section of SR 123, a stretch of highway that allows motorists to circle all the way around Mount Rainier?
€ While the DOT was momentarily stumped by those questions, representatives said they would try to provide answers during this week’s session.
In addition to fielding questions and hearing concerns, DOT staffers provided maps showing upcoming work on state Route 410.
Included were improvements to a Scatter Creek bridge that will allow the bridge to meet current seismic standards (work planned for 2009 at a cost of $480,000); extensive road and culvert work in the Clay Creek area (2009, $1.8 million); paving and striping of two miles of roadway between Scatter Creek and West Twin (2011-2113, $2 million); paving and striping of three sections of 410 between Twin Creek and Road 73 (2011-2013, $3.4 million); paving and s striping eight miles of road between Road 7150 and the entrance to the national park, 2011-2013, $3.2 million.
The biggest project, from a dollar standpoint, will be the effort to preserve SR 410 between Greenwater and the national park boundary. A variety of fixes are being planned at a total cost estimated at $16.8 million.
