A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Federal, state and local dignitaries ceremoniously open the new I-5, SR 502 interchange near Battle Ground. |
On October 15, the brand new SR 502 interchange opened to traffic amidst a celebration attended by WSDOT, Kerr Contractors, state and regional dignitaries, and the local community. Over 100 people attended a noontime ribbon cutting ceremony held on the new bridge over I-5. Speakers at the event included Congressman Brian Baird, Senator Joseph Zarelli, Representatives Ed Orcutt, Jaime Hererra and Deb Wallace and Battle Ground mayor Mike Ciraulo.
Funded by the 2003 Legislative (Nickel) Funding Package, the project was delivered $4 million under budget and a full construction season ahead of schedule, thanks in part to an excellent bid and a contractor who worked well with WSDOT’s schedule. The time and tax dollar savings met with a great deal of approval from politicians and the public alike. “You deserve to give credit where credit is due for the people who voted for the gas tax,” said Congressman Baird. “I think it’s a good example of what we can do with our tax dollars,” commented local resident Steve Sechrist.
The $52 million project will improve safety and reduce congestion in this part of central Clark County. Travel times will be reduced since the interchange provides a direct east-west connection between I-5 and the growing city of Battle Ground. Safety will be improved by reducing the number of vehicles using the northbound off ramp of the current NE 179th Street interchange. The project will also help reduce weaving between the NE 179th Street interchange and the I-5/I-205 junction.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - Raising crane along I-5 near Nisqually
A truck carrying a crane veered off I-5 near Nisqually. Crews leave the wreck in place until nighttime to avoid creating a traffic jam. |
It's often said that timing is everything, and that can be especially true when it comes to clearing wrecked vehicles from the state's highways. It was Monday, Oct. 13, when the driver of a semi hauling a large crane northbound on I-5 near Nisqually blew a right front tire, lost control and crashed through the guardrail on the right shoulder of the freeway. The vehicle came to rest on the embankment underneath the overpass from I-5 to Nisqually.
Washington State Patrol arrived at the scene and immediately called for WSDOT Incident Response and a tow truck. Since the truck was way off to the right, traffic was free-flowing through the area. When the tow truck arrived, the operator realized his tow didn’t have the capability to raise the crane and remove it from the roadway. The decision was made to remove the crane at night when traffic volumes are lower.
At 10 p.m. Monday, crews closed all but one lane to traffic and went to work to remove the crane from the roadside. The task took a bit longer than expected and the crane was clear and all lanes open by 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14. By making a decision to retrieve the crane at night, WSDOT’s maintenance avoided impacting the afternoon commute and long backups that likely would have occurred.
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Update of projects under way
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass - Just in time for winter driving, WSDOT and its contractor installed inset lane stripes and reflective recessed lane markers in the pavement on I-90 near Snoqualmie Pass to help drivers see where the lanes are. Keeping the lanes visible is a real challenge for this stretch of I-90 due to mountain weather conditions, heavy traffic, and wear from studded tires and chains. This is a pilot project to determine if insetting the stripes will help them last longer. Adding the reflectors between each stripe should also increase the visibility of the lanes. The $700,000 project, done on time and on budget, improved lane visibility on 23 miles of I-90 between the Asahel Curtis/Denny Creek interchange (5 miles west of Snoqualmie Pass and the town of Easton (18 miles east of Snoqualmie Pass).
I-405 Renton - Crews have resumed tunneling for the new culvert that will carry Thunder Hills Creek underneath I-405 in Renton. Work halted in July when the eastbound boring machine became stuck as it tunneled about 60 feet below the freeway. The machine veered off course as it carved through a variety of soft and hard soils. We worked with the contractor to recover the boring machine by tunneling from the opposite side of the freeway. On Friday, Oct. 10, crews reached the machine, retrieved it, and put it back to work again tunneling from the west side of I-405. The Thunder Hills Creek culvert collapsed during a huge rainstorm in December, forcing the state to set up two pump and pipe systems to divert the creek's waters until a new culvert could be built. The new culvert will be completed this month and the creek again will flow beneath I-405.
SR 528 Marysville - October 15, WSDOT and contractor Granite Northwest crews finished a $1.4 million project to repave half a mile of State Route 528 (4th Street) in Marysville and replace a water main beneath the roadway. Over the summer, crews disconnected an old water main beneath the eastbound lanes of SR 528, installed a new water main, paved and striped half a mile of the highway from I-5 to SR 529 (State Street), and updated 18 sidewalk ramps. Crews also excavated and rebuilt over a foot and a half of the roadbed from I-5 to Cedar Street to eliminate deep cracks in the concrete.
The project was originally scheduled to finish in late 2008.
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Announcements
WSDOT releases freight transportation economic report on
I-5 and I-90 closures
A new report released by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows just how important road maintenance and operations are to the state’s economy. The report documents more than $75 million in freight-related economic impact related to the storm-forced closures of Interstate 5 and Interstate 90 in the winter of 2007-2008. The analysis will help state officials make informed decisions about economic and infrastructure investments for the state’s transportation system.
WSDOT is using the study findings to develop additional strategies to respond quickly during future disruptions. Highlights of recommendations moving forward:
- Provide more state support and investment for road maintenance
- Improve truck parking to provide truck drivers safe and legal places to park
- Address the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Program
- Determine use of detour routes to I-5
- Build the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project
- Continue to improve communication with the truck and freight industry
WSDOT had unplanned costs of repairing road damage and clearing snow. Winter operations were $9.1 million over the anticipated budget for 2007-2008 at $40.3 million total, a 12 percent increase over 2006-2007. The I-5 closure caused approximately $18 million in damage to the state highway.
Alaskan Way Viaduct closed this weekend for semiannual inspections
WSDOT maintenance crews will close the Alaskan Way Viaduct for its semiannual inspection on Oct. 18 and 19 to ensure the structure remains safe for drivers. Crews will close both decks of the viaduct from 6 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19. The viaduct will be closed between Spokane Street through the Battery Street Tunnel. The closure is extended overnight on Saturday to provide extra time for crews to repair damaged concrete roadway panels near Spokane Street. In addition to structural inspections, WSDOT and the City of Seattle will coordinate maintenance and preservation work during this closure.
Drivers should expect increased congestion on all major north-south routes during the closure and plan accordingly. WSDOT recommends leaving early, carpooling, vanpooling or taking transit. Drivers can check traffic conditions before they leave at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/. Up-to-the minute traffic information is also available via the voice-activated driver information line, 511.
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Gray Notebook Highlight - Major incidents and traffic volumes fall as gas prices rise
According to WSDOT's Transportation Data Office, traffic volumes across the state dropped in April, May and June of 2008 compared to the previous three years. Data for June 2008 shows a 4.2 percent drop across the state compared to June 2007. According to the federal Government's Energy Information Administration, the average price of a gallon of gas in Washington went above $4 in the last week of May. For the same period, WSDOT's Incident Response program experienced a decrease in the number of over-90 minute incidents - 119 incidents compared to 177 in the first quarter of the year. WSDOT will continue to watch these trends to see if there is indeed a correlation between high gas prices, lower traffic volumes and the drop in the number of 90-plus minute incidents. More detail on Incident Response and other key issues can be found in the June 2008 Gray Notebook at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability.
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October open houses, meetings and events
21, Tuesday, 5 - 7 p.m., Open house, SR 22 - I-82 Toppenish Safety Improvements - Toppenish: WSDOT and the city of Toppenish are holding an open house to share information regarding planned safety improvements along a two-mile stretch of SR 22 between I-82 and Toppenish. The project will improve safety by widening the roadway, flattening roadside slopes, installing new sidewalks and upgrading guardrail. Location: Toppenish Middle School, Toppenish.
21, Tuesday, 6 - 8 p.m., Committee meeting, SR 99 Aurora Bridge Fence Advisory Committee, Seattle: This is the sixth meeting of a committee formed to reflect the interests of the community as WSDOT develops alternatives and designs for a fence across the Aurora Bridge. The fence is to deter people from jumping from the bridge. Location: Seattle Pacific University, Otto Miller Hall, Room 109, 3469 Third Avenue W. Seattle.
21 & 22, Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monthly meeting, Washington State Transportation Commission - Olympia: The Washington State Transportation Commission, an independent state agency, will hold its regular monthly meeting. The Commission provides a public forum for transportation policy development. Location: Transportation Building, 310 Maple Park Avenue SE, Olympia.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Express Lane Archive
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