Project of the week - Third cycle pontoon float out complete for Hood Canal Bridge Project
Crews prepare four more pontoons for the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge replacement project to leave the graving dock in Tacoma. |
Float-out operations for the third cycle of pontoons for the Hood Canal Bridge Project were completed in the early morning Feb. 21 at Concrete Technology Corporation (CTC) in Tacoma. The CTC graving dock, where the four pontoons were built, was flooded with water about 3:30 a.m. It took crews from Foss Tugboats approximately two hours to maneuver the four pontoons – each weighing several thousand tons and measuring 60 feet wide and between 180 and 247 feet long – out of the dock and into Puget Sound.
The pontoons, named V, X, ZC and ZD, were then towed north to Pier 66 and Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle where they will be moored and outfitted with electric and mechanical components. V and X will become new roadway pontoons, while ZC and ZD will serve as the extendable and retractable pontoons of the bridge’s new draw span assembly. Completion of the third cycle brings the number of new pontoons finished for the Hood Canal Bridge’s east half replacement to 12. Crews from Kiewit-General (K-G) are now working on the last two pontoons for the fourth and final cycle.
The $471 million Hood Canal Bridge Project is 69 percent finished. The bridge, which connects the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas is nearing the end of its service life and needs replacing. It will be closed for six weeks beginning May 1, 2009 while crews from WSDOT and K-G replace its east half, making the bridge wider, safer and more affordable to maintain.
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Incident of the week - Log truck poses challenge for motorists and emergency responders
Crews respond to a log truck that went off SR 4 and into the Columbia River. |
On February 25, a loaded log truck traveling eastbound on SR 4 near Longview collided with the guardrail and rolled into the Columbia River. WSDOT Incident Response (IR) and Maintenance teams were en route by 4 p.m. and arrived to find the truck resting on its top in the water. The driver managed to free himself from the truck and appeared to be unharmed.
Fire crews initially responded to the incident and flagged traffic in alternating directions. WSDOT crews arrived, set signing and took over traffic control, keeping the eastbound lane of SR 4 closed to protect emergency response personnel and equipment. While an environmental contractor worked to contain a small amount of diesel fuel and oils from the truck using booms and pads on the water, the towing company removed the trailer from the water. As the day advanced, response crews consulted and decided to secure the scene and return the next morning to finish recovery efforts. The roadway was reopened for the evening at 7:45 p.m.
The truck was in a difficult spot for recovery, with power lines hanging overhead and a steep slope to maneuver to reach SR 4. Response crews collaborated and decided to bring in a barge and crane to recover the truck, thereby minimizing impact to motorists and avoiding potential overhead hazards. The incident was completely cleared by 11:00 a.m. on February 26.
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Update of projects under way
I-5 Tacoma - Two new bridges over Interstate 5 are opening soon, reuniting the city’s downtown with neighborhoods on the opposite side of the freeway. The Yakima Avenue bridge is scheduled to open Feb. 29, while the Delin Street bridge opens in mid-March. Residents in the Lincoln Park area should expect increased traffic in their neighborhoods. Drivers in the area have used alternate routes since the spring 2006 closure of the former overpasses, which crews demolished to make room for I-5 widening and improvements. Opening the new Yakima Avenue and Delin Street bridges is a major milestone for the I-5 HOV Improvements, 48th Street to Pacific Avenue project, which wraps up this spring.
I-90 Mercer Island – On Feb. 26 crews closed one lane of the I-90 reversible, center roadway between Bellevue and Mercer Island as WSDOT and Sound Transit work to improve travel for HOVs and buses. WSDOT and Sound Transit are adding new 24-hour HOV lanes in each direction on I-90. The project includes building a new direct access ramp from I-90 to 80th Avenue SE for HOVs and buses. One of two lanes of the center roadway from 80th Avenue SE and Bellevue Way will be closed until late June or early July. This work is part of the I-90 Two-Way Transit and HOV Operations Project.
SR 167 Renton - WSDOT crews are installing gantries over SR 167 that soon will support signs and electronic tolling equipment for the SR 167 HOT Lanes Pilot Project. The new overhead gantries will support electronic, variable-message signs that display the current toll rate and signal to drivers when a HOT lane access point is approaching. Smaller gantries at each of the six northbound and four southbound access points will support electronic readers that detect Good To Go!™ transponders and automatically debit tolls as solo drivers pass beneath them. In late March, road crews will add a second solid stripe to the existing white stripe that currently separates the HOV lanes from the general purpose lanes. Once the second stripe is down and warning signs are uncovered, it will be illegal for all drivers to cross the solid double white lines.
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Work Zone safety cameras coming in Spring 2008
WSDOT will begin a six-month pilot project for the 2008 construction season using Automated Traffic Safety Cameras to look for drivers speeding through work zones. The program was authorized by the 2007 Legislature.
“We are trying something new to see if we can get drivers to slow down and make the work zones safer,” said Mike Dornfeld, WSDOT Traffic Operations. “These cameras are just part WSDOT’s mission to keep drivers and workers safe on the road and traffic moving. Our goal is to get drivers to voluntarily slow down in the work zone, not issue a bunch of infractions.”
The cameras will be mounted in a small sport utility vehicle or van parked next to the highway. An operator will check the equipment and then the speed radar and camera goes to work, catching the rear license plate of vehicles speeding through the work zone.
Another Step in the Right Direction - Realignment of WSDOT Ferries Division Vessel Engineering and Maintenance Programs
On Feb. 28 WSDOT announced a realignment of two key programs – Vessel Engineering and Vessel Maintenance. This step is part of Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond’s commitment to improve the organizational structure and performance of the ferry system. The two programs have become one under the direction of Paul Brodeur, the new Ferries Division Director of Vessel Maintenance, Preservation and Engineering. Paul previously served as the Ferries Division Director of Maintenance and Preservation.
The realignment will create greater efficiencies in how the Ferries Division maintains the fleet and builds the six new vessels planned for the system. It also addresses a key finding in the report from the State Auditor’s Office to provide additional oversight of the Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility. The move eliminates four existing management positions and creates two new positions – a Chief Naval Architect and Vessel Engineering Construction Manager.
WSDOT Posts its Quarterly Performance Report
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) released its quarterly performance report, “The Gray Notebook: Measures, Markers and Mileposts” for the quarter ending December 31, 2007. This edition of the “Gray Notebook” includes annual performance reports for pavement conditions, highway maintenance, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and environmental programs. Also, WSDOT provides quarterly reports on worker safety, workforce levels and training, highway safety, incident response, rail, and ferries. The December 31 edition covers the fourth quarter of 2007 and is now available on WSDOT’s Web site: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
WSDOT Negotiates New Contract with Toll Operations Vendor
Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll payers will save $5.6 million in toll operations fees over the next four years and more than $1 million in savings this biennium under the new terms of a contract negotiated by WSDOT and its tolls operator and manager, TransCore. WSDOT’s negotiating team focused on identifying efficiencies in service and operations that would lead to ongoing cost savings. The result is a new amended Tacoma Narrows Bridge contract with a single monthly fixed fee of $565,666 that will replace the fixed and variable fee structure currently in place – a savings of nearly $150,000 a month.
In addition, a second contract provides for a monthly fixed fee of $48,733 for all back-office and in-lane operations for the SR 167 HOT lanes pilot project scheduled to open this spring.
With this proposed contract structure, the length of the TNB contract is extended from Jan 31, 2011 to June 30, 2012, to coincide with the length of the SR 167 HOT lanes pilot project. WSDOT continues to hold the contractor to a high level of accuracy in tolling operations, with an overall accuracy standard of no less than 99.5 percent.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - Highway safety "before and after" results
Keeping citizens safe on Washington's highways is a top priority for WSDOT and the Governor. Each year, WSDOT completes a variety of highway safety improvement projects throughout the state that include adding turn lanes and traffic signals and installing median barriers and rumble strips. Our fifth annual Before and After Study shows 49 safety projects resulted in a six percent reduction for all types of collisions (1,118 compared to 1,191), and a 19 percent reduction in injury or fatal collisions (407 compared to 504). One of the highlighted safety projects in this study is the SR 500 interchange at NE 112th Avenue and Gher Road in Clark County. Before construction in 2003, there were 206 recordable collisions in the three years prior to construction, an average of 69 collisions per year. In the two years since the new interchange was completed, there have been 96 collisions (an average of 48 per year). The project resulted in a 30 percent collision reduction despite traffic volumes increasing by 20 percent. More details on this topic can be found in the Highway Safety Annual Update of the December 2007 Gray Notebook at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability .
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March open houses, meetings and events
4, Tuesday, 4:30 - 7:30, Open house, SR 20 Fredonia to I-5 additional lanes - Burlington: WSDOT will host an open house to share information and answer questions about the SR 20 widening project from SR 536 to I-5. Information will also be available for the roundabouts at Chuckanut interchange in Burlington, new park and ride lot at Chuckanut interchange, and Burlington Boulevard widening. Location: Burlington City Hall, Burlington.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Weekly Report Archive
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