SEKIU – The remaining two miles of state Highway 112 has been reopened to the public after a seven-month closure.
After a 200-day closure of Highway 112 due to extensive winter landslide damage, the roadway between mileposts 31 and 33.4 were reopened Friday and the signed detour using U.S. Highwat 101 and state Highway 113 has been removed.
On May 28, travelers regained access to almost six miles of Highway 112 between mileposts 39 and 33.4. Eight miles of the highway were closed on Dec. 21 after heavy rain, snow and seasonal tides caused six landslides.
“The magnitude of these slides was beyond what our crews see in a typical winter,” said Dan McKernan, state Department of Transportation project engineer.
“Work required extensive geotechnical and hydraulic expertise to repair the six landslides. In one spot, the roadway dropped 13 feet.”
The $1.4 million emergency repair contract was awarded to Scarsella Bros, Inc. Clearing work to reopen the highway began in May. The project was completed on time and on budget, DOT said in a press relase.
Crews removed about 600 truckloads of dirt from the slide sites, installed 105 ground anchors to stabilize the hillside and corrected four damaged culverts as part of this project.
“We reopened portions of the highway as a gravel surface to reduce costs and allow for an efficient repair by our maintenance crews should the highway see more settlement issues in the future,” said Troy Cowan, assistant regional administrator of maintenance and operations.
Maintenance crews will continue to monitor the sites for future ground movement, DOT said. If another slide or substantial settlement occurs, geotechnical engineers will evaluate and recommend next steps as appropriate, the agency said.
Maintenance crews will store crushed asphalt nearby to use when the highway settles again.
