State May Fine Builder For Error

It may be next month before State Department of Transportation officials determine whether they will fine a construction company for an apparent mistake that led to an emergency closure yesterday of two of the four northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near the Duwamish River Bridge.

Mowat Construction of Kirkland was called in by the DOT to remove up to 2 1/2 inches of asphalt from the freeway as part of a pavement-replacement project.

But the company removed nearly 4 inches of asphalt in some places Monday night, exposing four metal expansion joints along the 150-foot stretch of roadway, said Gil McNabb, assistant project engineer for the project.

Mowat company officials maintain they did nothing wrong.

DOT officials, who were planning to meet today to discuss the road closure, may wait until next month to decide if a fine will be assessed, McNabb said.

DOT officials closed the two lanes because the exposed expansion joints created a potential hazard on the roadway, where the speed limit is 60 mph, said DOT spokeswoman Claudia Cornish.

"The problem wasn't in the joints - it was in the bumps they created," Cornish said.

The backup caused by the closure stretched more than five miles.

After receiving calls from motorists, DOT authorities ordered temporary wedges of asphalt placed over the expansion-joint metal. When that failed to solve the problem, both left lanes were closed.

Mowat Vice President John Sandstrom said he was unaware the department was considering fining the company and said the work was routine.

"In the normal course of business, in order to do complete repairs, we have to remove some excess material from the road so that the new material would properly adhere to the old material," Sandstrom said.

Sandstrom said workers were aware they expose the expansion joints, but that "it was necessary to ensure that the fix was a long-lasting fix."

Lake Side Industries, the DOT's original contractor, began work about 5 p.m. yesterday and finished work about 3 a.m. today, McNabb said.

Expansion joints are pieces of steel that cross the road between slabs of pavement, leaving an air space and allowing for expansion and contraction of the slabs as the temperature changes.

Although contractors can be fined up to $1,000 for every 15 minutes of work-caused delay in reopening lanes for rush-hour traffic, it was unclear whether this situation fit the criteria, a DOT spokesman said.

"The real problem was the the roadway was opened in a substandard way," Cornish said. "We didn't want people losing control out there."

All the lanes were open to traffic today, but temporary closures were expected to continue until the road is completely repaved, McNabb said. Dee Norton's phone message number is 206-464-2255. His e-mail address: dnor-new@seatimes.com

Arthur Santana's phone message number is 206-515-5684. His e-mail address is: asan-new@seatimes.com