Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance crews are acting quickly to take advantage of today’s dry weather to make permanent repairs on two highways.

Drivers who use westbound State Route 16 should expect a left lane closure from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today near Tremont Street at milepost 27.  Heavy rains yesterday caused a section of pavement to delaminate and the left lane was closed for about an hour while crews made temporary repairs.

Today’s repairs will be permanent.

Motorists will also encounter a lane closure on southbound US 101 near Kennedy Creek in Mason County.  Crews will close the left lane at milepost 346 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 while crews make permanent repairs to another delaminated segment of pavement.

When crews pave a state highway, they place several layers of asphalt on the surface until they reach the appropriate depth for traffic. The layers of asphalt are bonded together by a sticky substance called tack.

Pavement delamination is caused when the tack weakens and releases the top layer of asphalt, causing a hole to develop. In this case, the tack was weakened by recent heavy rains.