Bureau road work will include traffic delays

The Bureau of Reclamation has a number of construction projects going on lately, and drivers will notice some delays, starting this week.

ACCU Construction Inc., based in Santa Ana, California, got the $4 million contract, which involves repair to various roads and parking areas in the Grand Coulee Dam vicinity, including the parking lot at the Bureau, the area by the administration building, the shop in the industrial area, and repaving the road and parking area down to the Left Powerhouse at the dam.

The Bureau of Reclamation says that, weather pending, SR-155 will be chip sealed from Federal Avenue just south of Pole Park to just below the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center. Chip sealing, a common maintenance procedure involving gravel on an application of oil, will take place from Monday, May 15, until Friday, May 19. Drivers should expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

Additional areas where work is done or will be done include North Marina Way and Washington Flats area where ground material removed from the parking lot has been placed; placing hot mixed asphalt on the road below the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center and at Seaton’s Grove Boat Launch; chip seal work on the Boat Launch Access Road in Elmer City; and surface work on the top of North Dam.

The Seaton’s Grove Boat Launch will remain open but there may be delays.

All projects are slated to be completed by July 1.

“We want the public to enjoy Reclamation lands and repairing these roads will provide visitors with safe access to these areas for years to come,” USBR Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said in a press release.