A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
October 6, 2008 Weekly Report - Time 5:00 (mp3)
Project of the Week - WSDOT showcases projects and maintenance activities at the Central Washington State Fair
South Central Region's Kevin Leiseth uses a model to demonstrate roundabout operations as part of public outreach at the Central Washington State Fair. |
WSDOT's South Central Region Administrator Don Whitehouse places a high value on the opportunity to share WSDOT project and maintenance information with the many visitors at state fairs and county fairs.
"We received a lot of positive feedback from the public at the Benton Franklin County Fair and the Kittitas County Fair and Rodeo earlier this summer. Fairgoers really liked the easy-to-read displays and they could easily find the information they were looking for,” said Whitehouse. "Our fair booth displays are attractive, as well as informational, and work as conversation starters. We get to share our on-the-job experiences with people who use our highways. We find out what they like and dislike and are often able to clear up misunderstandings about what we do and why,” explained Whitehouse.
South Central Region volunteers are staffing two booths at the Central Washington State Fair, which runs Sept. 26 through Oct. 5. The booth inside the Sun Dome showcases design and construction projects including, the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project and the I-82/Valley Mall Interchange Improvement project. A scale model roundabout with miniature cars and trucks provides a great opportunity to demonstrate "driving" through one of the two-lane roundabouts coming to the Yakima/Union Gap area with the Valley Mall Interchange Improvements project.
The outside display features a huge 4-wheel drive snowplow. It serves as a conversation starter about our snow and ice efforts and other maintenance activities. We are sharing the outside space with the Washington State Patrol. Their crashed car display attracts a lot of attention to the hazards of inattentive driving and speeding.
We try to make our fair booths fun for young and old. Youngsters are greeted with a smile and a Burl the Squirrel Activity Book, which includes details about the Snoqualmie Pass East project. Young adults and grandparents alike come to our booths to get their new highway maps and are drawn in by the informational displays. After all of that fair food has settled, the public has a better understanding of who we are and how we are accountable to deliver projects and services, and we have a better idea of public interests and concerns.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - WSDOT’s tools to save fuel
One mile per gallon may not seem like much, but when cumulated from all of its 525 large-truck fleet, that one mile per gallon could save WSDOT close to $900,000 a year. Greg Hansen, WSDOT’s Fleet Administrator, came up with an idea to put an indicator light in WSDOT’s large trucks, advising drivers when to shift. On Oct. 3, he accepted a Washington State Productivity Board award for his idea that could save that one mile per gallon and maybe more, as studies have shown more efficient shifting could save two or three miles per gallon. This is just one of the tools WSDOT offers to help crews save fuel.
“With today’s technology, higher RPMs don’t give you more power,” Hansen said. “It’s actually the opposite, very counter-intuitive. And when our dump truck and snowplow drivers are on the road, they are trying to concentrate on so many things. This is a low cost reminder of the optimum time to shift, thus saving fuel.”
Hansen said he and his Transportation Equipment Fund (TEF) team across the state are developing many other ways to increase fuel economy, such as gear ratio testing.
“It’s really a team effort,” Hansen said, noting such ideas as WSDOT’s No Idle Policy, and installing LED lights in cars and trucks so crews don’t have to run the engine to keep their safety lights running. And, the ideas from Hansen and other TEF staff could end up saving miles per gallon across the state, as Productivity Board members mentioned they would be sharing the ideas with other state agencies that use large trucks.
The Productivity Board is committed to excellence in public service by demonstrating leadership. The Employee Suggestion Program and Teamwork Incentive Program encourage public employees to create, innovate and apply first-rate ideas.
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Update of projects underway
SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge - The SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge will close for 90 minutes at night on Tuesday, Oct. 7, as crews continue ballasting measurements on the west half. The bridge is scheduled to close to traffic at slack tide from 10-11:30 p.m. so project personnel can conduct surveying and take freeboard measurements to determine the distance from the waterline to the tops of the pontoons. The information that will be collected is necessary so crews can properly adjust the level of the pontoons in the water. Overall, the project is 85 percent complete. Retrofit and replacement of Hood Canal Bridge will take place starting May 1, 2009 and will improve the existing structure, making it wider, safer and more reliable.
SR 502 Battle Ground - Drivers in central and northern Clark County will have safer and more convenient access to I-5 when WSDOT opens a new freeway interchange at SR 502 later this month. The new SR 502 connection will reduce travel times by shortening the route from Battle Ground and provide a more direct connection to I-5. This $52 million project was funded through the 2003 Nickel Legislative Funding Package and is being delivered ahead of schedule and under the original $56 million project budget. Construction on this project began in April 2007 and was functionally complete in October 2008, a full season ahead of schedule.
SR 522 Bothell - Crews worked around the clock the weekend of Sept. 27 to get newly-built eastbound SR 522 lanes ready for Monday morning commuters. At 4 a.m., Monday, Sept. 29, crews wrapped up the final striping and opened eastbound SR 522 in Bothell. Crews closed eastbound SR 522 in Bothell over the weekend to connect the eastbound lanes to a newly built and lower roadway with improved visibility. Now that the eastbound SR 522 traffic is moving on the new lanes, crews will continue their roadway work. If they get enough dry weather to excavate and pave, crews plan to close westbound SR 522 next month and shift traffic onto new lanes. WSDOT is working with the University of Washington and Cascadia Community College to build a new entrance to the south side of the Bothell campus. Crews will also build a new roadway for SR 522 (Bothell Way NE) from the I-405 interchange to Kaysner Way in Bothell.
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Announcements
Crews to close viaduct Oct. 18 – 19 for semiannual inspection
WSDOT crews will close the Alaskan Way Viaduct on Oct. 18 and 19, 6 a.m to 6 p.m. both days, as part of a semiannual inspection of the structure. Since the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, bridge engineers and inspectors have kept a close eye on the viaduct by monitoring its condition every three months and conducting full inspections every six months to measure any substantial damage or movement. As part of the inspection, crews from the WSDOT Bridge Preservation Office will use a bucket truck to check crack monitors for any new structural damage. WSDOT and SDOT maintenance crews will repair guardrails, bridge rails and expansion joints, service drainage systems and traffic cameras, and conduct other routine maintenance.
WSDOT, King County and the City of Seattle will host short walking tours of the viaduct while the structure is closed to traffic for the inspection on Saturday, Oct. 18. Because the inspection limits the number of people allowed on the viaduct, reservations are required. If you would like to participate in the tour, please send an e-mail to viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov, or call 1–888–AWV–LINE and leave a message with your contact information. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with your tour time and other details. For safety purposes, no children under age 16 or pets are allowed on the tours.
Online I-5 flow map stretches south to Olympia
Olympia commuters joined the ranks of Seattle and Tacoma drivers this week with their own real-time traffic flow map. WSDOT completed the installation of data stations along the I-5 corridor in Tumwater, Olympia and Lacey this month. This expands WSDOT’s travel-information tools in Thurston County with an additional 14 miles of flow-map coverage.
In addition to the data stations in this area, WSDOT is currently adding more traffic cameras and Variable Message Signs. WSDOT expects the cameras and VMS's on-line by the end of October. This $65,000 addition to Thurston County’s transportation system is part of the larger picture that expands the flow-map incrementally. Filling the Thurston County gaps in the WSDOT flow map is an important step toward providing drivers with estimated point-to-point travel times on overhead signs.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - 511 Traveler Information
Updated every few minutes, the 5-1-1 traveler information system allows telephone callers to access information such as mountain pass conditions, traffic conditions, ferry information, and contact numbers for airlines, local transit agencies and passenger rail service. In the first two quarters of calendar year 2008, calls to the 5-1-1 system were up 87 percent over the same period last year, and 49 percent over the same period in 2006. Most of this increase can be attributed to severe weather events in January and February of 2008. More details on this and other motorist information tools can be found in the Traveler Information Semi-annual update of the June 2008 Gray Notebook at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
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October meetings, open houses, events
6, Monday, 11:40 a.m. - 3:40 p.m., Public meeting, Future of the Ferry System - San Juan Inter-island ferry (Friday Harbor departure): WSDOT's Ferries Division is holding a series of public meetings to discuss the long-range plan for the ferry system. Ferries Division staff will present information about funding challenges, operational strategies and route specific packages. Public comments will help shape the draft long-range plan due out mid-November. Location: Inter-island ferry departing Friday Harbor at 11:40 a.m.
7, Tuesday, 5 - 7:30 p.m., Public meeting, Future of the Ferry System - Coupeville: WSDOT's Ferries Division is holding a series of public meetings to discuss the long-range plan for the ferry system. Ferries Division staff will present information about funding challenges, operational strategies and route specific packages. Public comments will help shape the draft long-range plan due out mid-November. Location: Fort Casey State Park, Auditorium B, 1276 Engle Road, Coupeville.
9, Thursday, 11 a.m. - noon, Ribbon Cutting, I-90 Two-way Transit and HOV Project - Mercer Island: WSDOT and Sound Transit are holding a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the first phase of the I-90 Two-way Transit and HOV project. Location: New HOV ramp at 80th Avenue NE (near Mercer Island Park and Ride lot), Mercer Island.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Express Lane Archive
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