I’m writing this letter concerning the Interstate 5 bridge resurfacing in the Chehalis-Centralia area, and the resulting “speed bumps” the construction has caused.
As a truck driver who hauls glass through the area for Cardinal Glass in Winlock, this resurfacing mess is terrible!
What was the WSDOT thinking?
They’ve torn up all the bridge surfaces and have then left them that way for weeks. This work should have been done one bridge at a time and the job completed before moving on to the next bridge.
As a glass hauler, I’m forced to slow to 40 mph with my four-ways on to cross these bridges.
Thank the Lord that so far I haven’t been rear ended nor has any glass been broken. And I have many trucks fly past me that don’t even bother to slow down.
Has anyone given any thought to the fact that damage to the bridge structures themselves could be caused when 80,000- to 105,500-pound trucks bounce over these bridges at 60-plud mph?
That’s like hitting these bridges hundreds of times a day with 40- to 50-ton sledge hammers.
This work really should be completed ASAP, before something serious happens.
Paul Hagquist
Chehalis
