Project of the Week - Local Drivers Put WSDOT's Roundabout to the Test
An over-sized load navigates the roundabout test drive July 11 in the Sears parking lot at the Valley Mall in Union Gap. |
Drivers from Union Gap went round and round on July 11 during a roundabout test drive in the Sears parking lot at the Valley Mall. The test drive was part of a demonstration organized and set up by WSDOT engineers and maintenance crews.
Drivers of school buses, big rig trucks and cars came out to put the roundabout to the test, and despite some criticism at first, once drivers learned how the roundabout worked, all were able to negotiate the painted version of a future roundabout with no difficulty.
“I drove a pick up through the roundabout and had an opportunity to see how it works,” said Yakima County Commissioner, Ron Gamache. “If you yield, everything goes well. After I knew how to drive it, I didn’t have any fear of how it worked.”
Don Whitehouse, South Central Regional Administrator, said roundabouts are a cost effective way to relieve congestion and back ups. “This is a busy intersection and roundabouts will move traffic through this area faster,” Whitehouse said.
With 22,000 vehicles traveling through the I-82/Valley Mall Boulevard Interchange everyday, WSDOT, TRANS-ACTION and Union Gap businesses have agreed traffic improvements to this area rank among the region’s top three transportation priorities. The roundabouts newly proposed configuration is designed to enhance traffic flow, and reduce wait time and accidents. A study of nine roundabouts in Washington state showed an 80 percent reduction in fatal and disabling injuries.
The highlight of the day was when a 100 foot truck and trailer negotiated the roundabout without encroaching on any designed boundaries.
The full-scale, two-lane roundabout is similar to the roundabout WSDOT has proposed as part of the improvements at the Valley Mall Boulevard interchange. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2010.
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Incident of the Week - Tacoma Narrows Bridge Incident Response Saves the Day
WSDOT's Olympic Region Incident Response Team jump-started the first car driven over the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. |
The opening celebration of the new Narrows Bridge in Tacoma on July 15, 2007 went on seemingly without a hitch due in large part to the help of the Olympic Region Incident Response Team (IRT). Team members worked behind the scenes all day to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible.
IRT team members were on the move throughout the Pierce County portion of SR 16, monitoring traffic flow and searching for motorists in distress.
IRT came to the rescue in a big way when the first ceremony of the day rolled around and one of the antique vehicles slated to be the first to drive over the new bridge stalled. Team members jump-started the vehicle and the event went on as scheduled.
The IRT assisted Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste in rendering aid to a 103-year-old gentleman whose wheelchair had collapsed. All the team’s work allowed the activities of the day to proceed in a timely manner.
Team members were also on hand when the new span opened to traffic early Monday morning. Crews monitored traffic and assisted in the change to tolling operations around 4 a.m.
IRT members worked alongside maintenance crews and local towing companies. They helped clear collisions, and remove disabled and abandoned vehicles from SR 16.
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Update of Projects Under Way
I-5 - HOV Improvements - S 48th Street to Pacific Ave -
Crews this weekend and next are scheduled to iron out those I-5 S-curves installed earlier this year near the Tacoma Dome. Without the curves, the regular speed limit returns, lanes and shoulders widen, and traffic flow should improve due to a longer merging area on southbound I-5 between I-705 and SR 16.
The S-curve configuration on this busy stretch of highway allowed workers to demolish three bridges and set steel girders for two new overpasses. Moving traffic back to regular lanes gives workers – and a 300-ton hydraulic crane – work space to set the final eight girders for the Yakima Avenue and Delin Street bridges.
The new overpasses are scheduled to open to traffic in March and the project wraps up next spring.
US 97 - Biggs Rapids - Sam Hill Bridge Deck Replacement -WSDOT has adjusted the closure schedule for the US 97, Biggs Bridge Deck Replacement. The adjustment allows contractors more flexibility during winter weather conditions and will benefit the traveling public.
A complete closure of the bridge, required for the deck replacement, is not expected to begin until early 2008. In addition, the closure will be split into two shorter periods, rather than one long period. The total amount of time the bridge must be closed remains the same.
SR 20 - Quiet Cove Road Vicinity to SR 20 Spur - Safety improvements are underway along SR 20 between Meadow Creek and South Lake Campbell Road near Deception Pass to reduce collisions and improve safety. As part of this work, WSDOT will close an intersection with poor sight distance, widen lanes, and add turn lanes.
This is the first stage of a two-stage project designed to improve safety between Meadow Creek and Sharpes Corner. This section of highway has a history of collisions. In the last five years there were 156 collisions that killed two people and injured 100 others.
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Announcements
I-5 Downtown Seattle Construction; Extensive Closures begin Aug. 10
The clock is ticking on WSDOT’s biggest construction closure ever. On Aug. 10 WSDOT crews will close multiple lanes and ramps on northbound Interstate 5 between Spokane Street and I-90 around the clock for 19 days to perform extensive rehabilitation work on the freeway.
This closure will dramatically affect traffic in the greater-Seattle area. WSDOT is asking drivers to make a plan now so you can get around without getting stuck in extensive traffic backups.
During the 19-day closure, crews will break apart and remove 34 failing expansion joints that link the concrete bridge slabs that comprise this 40-year-old freeway section. If these expansion joints completely fail, large pieces of metal and three-foot-long bolts would pop up from the freeway deck and lead to potentially deadly collisions. Crews will also pave northbound I-5 between Spokane Street and I-90.
New Hood Canal Bridge Pontoons Begin Their Journey
WSDOT and Kiewit-General (K-G) floated the second set of new State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge pontoons out of the Tacoma Concrete Technology graving dock at 8 p.m., Monday, July 16. Fifteen feet of water filled the graving dock, lifting up the five structures that weigh between 7 and 8 million pounds each.
Tug boats then towed the pontoons out of the graving dock and moored them in Blair Waterway. Crews prepared three of the five pontoons for their immediate 35-mile journey to Seattle. The remaining two pontoons leave for Seattle on July 28.
For more information, and to learn more about the Hood Canal Bridge Project, visit www.hoodcanalbridge.com.
Washout Prompts Emergency Repair on SR 20 East of Rockport; WSDOT Seeks Long-Term Solution to Erosion on SR 20, SR 530
WSDOT is taking emergency action to repair a section of State Route 20 east of Rockport after a washout Monday left the highway only four feet from the Skagit River.
The washout is the worst section of a quarter-mile stretch of highway that maintenance crews have been monitoring since March, after they noticed it was receding rapidly. The rest of the highway section is within seven feet of the river.
In addition to compromising public safety, cross-state travel would be severely hampered if SR 20 collapsed.
For more information, visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2007/07/18_20rockportemergencyrepairs.htm
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Gray Notebook Highlight - WSDOT Kicks Off Updated Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
WSDOT has started its State Bicycle Facilities and Pedestrian Walkways Plan update. The plan, which is an element of Washington’s Multi-modal Transportation Plan, was last updated in 1995. WSDOT staff is conducting a survey of public opinion about needs related to sidewalks, crosswalks, trails, and bike lanes, which will become the basis for the plan. As part of this effort, WSDOT will also propose a strategy for addressing these needs and improving coordination between local governments, regional agencies, and the state.
Comments and feedback can be submitted either through the web site at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Bike/Bike_Plan.htm or by calling the toll free number: 1-866-375-6729. Comments will be taken throughout the update process. All comments will be considered in the final plan, scheduled for completion in spring 2008.
Details on this topic and other key issues can be found in the March 2007 Gray Notebook at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability
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July/August Upcoming Open Houses, Meetings and Events
20 - Friday, 7 p.m., Ribbon cutting ceremony, US 2 Dryden Signal Project - Dryden: WSDOT and the community of Dryden will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of this safety project. A new signal and turn pockets were added to reduce the potential for collisions. Location: LINK Transit bus shelter at the northwest corner of the intersection of US 2/SR 97 with Dryden Ave./Johnson Road.
August
3 - Friday, 9:30 - noon, ACCT Meeting - Olympia: The Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation will hold its monthly meeting, focusing on transportation planning and human services. Location: Department of Transportation Building, Commission Board Room, 310 Maple Park Avenue SE, Olympia.
19 - 22, Sunday through Wednesday - Public Transportation Conference and Expo - Vancouver, WA: "Expanding Our Horizons" is the theme of this year's public transportation conference, bringing together public transportation providers, planners and advocates. Location: Hilton Hotel and Convention Center, 301 West Sixth Street, Vancouver, WA.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Weekly Report Archive
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