Tony Overman/The Olympian
A worker operates a steamroller through the steam created by fresh asphalt Thursday afternoon on U.S. Highway 101's temporary emergency lane, which was built to bypass the landslide that washed out more than half of the northbound lanes.

Officials get a grip on road toll

Temporary fixes made to some roads as assessments continue

LORRINE THOMPSON, THE OLYMPIAN

SOUTH SOUND -- The status of city, county and state roads after Wednesday's earthquake is a mishmash of good news, bad news, question marks and incoming details.

But in general, drivers could get where they needed to go Thursday without tremendous disruption, local and state officials reported.

-The good news: U.S. Highway 101 northbound near the Shelton exit reopened about 5 p.m. Thursday with temporary paved roads going around the damage site. State road crews worked through the night to lay gravel and pave the temporary road.

Nearby, Madrona Beach Road has also reopened.

Olympia road workers hope to have a sunken section of Martin Way near Lilly Road reopened within three weeks. Currently, one lane is open in each direction.

Olympia will not wait for federal aid before repairing road damage, spokeswoman K.D. Seeley said.

"We just have to do it," she said. "We can't wait. You've got to take action and keep your city running."

Good news for non-drivers came Thursday when Amtrak announced it was reopening service between Portland and Seattle.

Inspections of tracks found no danger to trains or travelers, Amtrak spokeswoman Jennifer McMahon said.

-The bad news: There will be no quick fix or quick answers for Olympia's Fourth Avenue bridge, or for nearby Deschutes Parkway, a road owned by the state Department of General Administration.

Like the bridge, Deschutes is a critical connection between downtown Olympia and the city's west side.

State spokesman Donn Moyer said he had no information on state plans for repairing Deschutes, which may be low in priority compared with some major arterial road damage in the Seattle area.

Olympia Mayor Stan Biles said he planned to discuss Deschutes with Gov. Gary Locke during a meeting this morning.

A smaller neighborhood road in Thurston County near Long Lake, the Holmes Island Bridge Road, is closed and appears to have sustained enough damage that it may not be quickly repairable, county spokesman Keith Eisner said.

-The question marks: How long it will take to fix U.S. Highway 101 permanently is unknown, Moyer said.

Engineers will need to assess damage beneath the highway. If the bed below is damaged, crews will have to dig down and essentially reconstruct the section. If the bed beneath is not damaged, the highway may only need some paving repairs.

But state engineers will not be able to assess that damage for a while, as they deal with damaged roads near Seattle.

"It's simply up in the air," Moyer said. "We know it will take some time to know. And until we have full understanding of all the damages, we can't prioritize repairs."

Also in question is the opening of downtown streets, which is tied to evaluation of the safety of downtown buildings.

County engineers Thursday were also busy reassessing bridges throughout the county, spokesman Eisner said.

Initial evaluations the day of the quake had found no serious damage other than to Holmes Island bridge, but engineers spent Thursday taking closer looks. Eisner did not know when the evaluations would be complete.

-Incoming: Reports on sunken areas of neighborhood streets were coming in to city and county officials Thursday.

"We're finding more settling," Seeley said. "There are going to be some dips and sways where there weren't any before."

Officials have not tried to catalog the damage to neighborhood streets yet, or make plans to repair them, needing to concentrate on major arterials and bridges first.

Lorrine Thompson covers Thurston County and health care for The Olympian. She can be reached at 754-5431.

Road updates

For updated information on road and lane closures and detour information, call the state Department of Transportation's road information line at (800) 695-ROAD (7623).

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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