County reports Old Highway 100 fully reopened; permanent guardrail and surveying planned

County staff reported to the Washington Area Transportation Committee on Oct. 27 that Old Highway 100 has been fully reopened following emergency stabilization. Temporary concrete barriers remain in place and the county is now soliciting bids to replace them with permanent guardrail; staff said the guardrail installation is expected by Dec. 1.

Staff said they have been monitoring the slope informally and plan to bring a survey crew in later in November to take benchmark shots and track potential movement over time. Staff described the roadway surface as stable with no cracking or current movement observed, but said they will continue monitoring after recent moisture increases in the ground.

Bridge replacement planning: the committee also received an update on the replacement bridge design. A consultant is preparing preliminary plans; the project was programmed for fiscal year 2027 with construction targeted in 2027 and a full replacement anticipated in 2028. Staff said the new bridge can be replaced in the same alignment and that weight and clearance limits will be addressed with the new structure.

Next steps: county staff will proceed with the guardrail procurement, place survey benchmarks in November and continue preliminary bridge design with the consultant; they will report back to the committee with updates on design milestones and construction programming.