A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Project of the Week - TNB a finalist for national People’s Choice Award – Cast Your Vote!
In July 2007, SR 16 commuters had a new bridge to celebrate. The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge is now a nominee for the national "People's Choice Award." |
The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge, an engineering marvel built by experts and craftsmen from Washington and around the world, is one of 10 projects in the running for the People’s Choice Award, a nationwide competition sponsored by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The winner is decided upon by people across the nation via an online voting process.
Last month, The Western Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (WASHTO) awarded TNB one of its highest honors, the “America’s Transportation Award,” making it a finalist for the Grand National Prize – selected by a panel of community, business and transportation leaders – and the People’s Choice Award.
"We believe the New Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a special project that represents the best of what our people stand for - hard work, determination and success,” said Secretary Paula Hammond. “Now is the chance for the entire region to show the rest of the country that our project - on time and on budget - was the best of the best transportation projects in 2007."
The winner of the People’s Choice Award receives a substantial cash award to donate to a local or regional community service project of its choice. The Grand National Prize and the People’s Choice Award will be announced at AASHTO’s annual meeting, October 16 in Hartford, CT.
Cast your vote today, voting ends Oct. 19:
http://www.americastransportationaward.org/Voting.aspx
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Maintenance & Operations Feature - WSDOT crews team with State Patrol and Fire responders to quickly get traffic rolling on I-5
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WSDOT crews in Bellingham teamed with emergency responders to safely remove this vehicle and reopen the I--5 freeway lanes as quickly as possible.
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On the morning of August 14, WSDOT maintenance crews rushed to the scene of a truck fire on I-5 near Bellingham that brought the interstate to a standstill. A truck headed southbound at 6:30 a.m. lost control and flipped onto its side, catching fire and blocking all lanes of traffic.
Acting Maintenance Supervisor Rob Morby and Incident Response Operator Fred Price arrived within 10 minutes to assist with the scene and traffic control. As soon as the fire was out, Morby and Price hooked a chain to the flipped truck, turned it right side up and towed it to the shoulder of the highway with the Incident Response truck. Then they worked with the Fire Department to sweep and hose off the roadway. One lane was open to traffic by 7:15 a.m. and both lanes were open by 7:25 a.m.
According to Morby, a State Patrol officer at the scene had stated that this was the best interagency cooperation he had ever seen and was very pleased. “Considering the situation, we got the highway open pretty quickly,” said Morby. Morby also gives credit to Maintenance Lead Tech Stan Hanson and Maintenance Tech J.R. Benson for quick response to the scene and helping with the traffic control.
Drivers who were following the truck and witnessed the incident had already pulled the driver of the truck to safety before emergency responders arrived. The driver sustained some serious injuries.
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Update of projects under way
SR 6 Chehalis - A project to build a new bridge over the South Fork of the Chehalis River on State Route (SR) 6 begins August 25. The new bridge will help improve safety and relieve congestion on this portion of SR 6. It will be 40 feet wide, consisting of two 12-foot lanes with eight-foot shoulders. The bridge will also be constructed on a new alignment 20 feet to the north, flattening the curve at the east end of the existing bridge. The existing bridge was built in 1925 and measures only 20 feet wide. Due to the narrow width, large vehicles stop to wait for oncoming traffic to clear the bridge before proceeding to cross. As a result, rear-end collisions are common at this location. The existing bridge will not be removed until the new bridge is open to traffic, scheduled for late fall 2009.
US 12 Randle - Drivers on US 12 between I-5 and Randle may notice new rumble strips down the center of the roadway. As part of the effort to reduce collisions resulting from cars crossing over to the oncoming lane, these rumble strips provide both audible and vibratory warnings for drivers. These rumble strips are part of a safety project completed on August 11. Work started on July 7. During the two-month project, 47 miles of rumble strips were applied.
SR 28 Rock Island Dam - On Aug. 28, crews will being installing steel netting above SR 28 in Douglas County. This is the second phase of the SR 28 Rock Island Slope Stabilization project. Work began in March, knocking down loose rock and installing bolts to stabilize the face of the cliff. The netting will provide additional protection for motorists against any rocks that let loose from the slope above the highway. The project is scheduled to be complete by mid-October.
SR 169 Black Diamond - Work on a long-term repair of an unstable slope under the south end of the SR 169 bridge over the Green River near Black Diamond will begin Aug. 25. Without the repair, more landslides could severely damage the roadway and the bridge. At least one lane of the Kummer bridge will remain open to traffic throughout the work. At this time, the contractor does not anticipate any need for a full bridge closure. If contractors must close the entire bridge, one detour will be provided for passenger vehicles. A second detour will be provided for large trucks. The repair work is scheduled for completion by November.
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Announcements
WSDOT advises ferry travelers to plan ahead for Labor Day weekend
The WSDOT Ferries Division reminds travelers to allow extra time for ferry travel over the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend. The longest backups are expected to occur Friday afternoon and evening, Aug. 29; Sunday afternoon and evening, Aug. 31; and Monday morning, Sept. 1. The heaviest westbound traffic is anticipated between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29. Return traffic is anticipated to be heaviest Sunday, Aug. 31, afternoon and evening, and morning through early afternoon sailings on Labor Day, Sept. 1, as people return early to prepare their children to return to school.
WSDOT will operate ferry service on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 1) on Holiday schedules. Holiday schedule details are published in the summer schedule; you can pick up a copy at terminals, on vessels, or download a copy from our Web site at: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/
Wilburton Tunnel demolition complete; Crews work around the clock over the weekend to open southbound I-405 lanes one week ahead of schedule
Southbound I-405 between SE 8th Street and the I-405/I-90 interchange opened to traffic at 3:20 a.m. on Aug. 18, after highway crews worked around-the-clock over the weekend to finish demolishing the Wilburton Tunnel. The third scheduled weekend total closure of southbound I-405 is no longer needed.
Crews closed southbound I-405 between SE 8th Street and the I-405/I-90 interchange at 11 p.m., Friday, Aug. 15 for the second time in as many weeks. Crews used a wrecking ball, mining trucks, along with six hydraulic excavators with specialty attachments such as breakers and crunchers to complete the demolition of the once 360 foot-long Wilburton Tunnel one week early. In addition to the tunnel demolition work, crews used the total closure of southbound lanes to repair several sections of I-405 and complete preparation work to connect a new I-405 southbound bridge over I-90. The work was part of the I-405 South Bellevue Widening Project, funded by the 2003 and 2005 transportation revenue increases.
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August meetings
28, Thursday, 4 - 7:30 p.m., Central Waterfront Advisory Committee meeting, Alaskan Way Viaduct - Seattle: The Alaskan Way Viaduct program office will host the next Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting. The committee is a group of 30 people representing various constituencies and community groups and is led by WSDOT, King County Department of Transportation and Seattle Department of Transportation. Location: Seattle City Hall, Bertha Landes Room, 600 Fourth Avenue, Seattle.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Express Lane Archive
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