A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Washington Jobs Now - Stimulus funds will buy new hybrid buses for Intercity Transit
Intercity Transit. |
Intercity Transit, which serves Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Yelm, will purchase its first six hybrid diesel-electric buses thanks in large part to $2.334 million in federal stimulus funds recently identified for the public transportation provider through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Hybrid-electric buses are good for the region’s air quality and help transit agencies reduce harmful carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Hybrid buses use less fuel, produce lower emissions, are likely to require less maintenance and have a long operational life cycle.
Each bus is estimated to cost $560,000 for a total of about $3,662,532 (including tax). Recovery funds will pay for four buses and the additional two buses will be purchased with other federal funds and a local match of $575,000 by Intercity Transit. The buses are scheduled to arrive in mid-2010 and will replace six of the oldest buses, which have been in operation since 1996.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - Opening the road to Artist Point – 2009
Clearing snow for Artist Point opening. |
It's that time of year again: Time to start clearing the mile-high path to scenic Artist Point. The short 2.6-mile-long stretch of road to Artist Point at the end of SR 542, Mount Baker Highway, sits above the Mount Baker ski area. It spends most of the year buried in snow and is only open two to three months out of the year. Artist Point draws a great multitude of visitors every year because of its iconic views of Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan and surrounding peaks and wilderness.
Crews will start plowing through the snow on Monday, July 6. The work is expected to take several weeks to complete, meaning the road will open in late July or early August. Artist Point enthusiasts can follow our progress with pictures, videos and a GPS tracking device from the Artist Point Web site – http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/Baker/ArtistPoint/
For the last six years the road has opened in late June or some time in July. We opened the road to Artist Point last year on July 18, 10 days earlier than we did in 2007, and 9 days earlier than we did in 2006. The road opened on June 29 in 2005 and June 30 in 2004. And the road opened on July 15 in 2003.
Every year we field questions and comments from business owners, locals and tourists wanting to know when the road will open and why it hasn't opened already. Here is a list of what we usually respond with.
- We have to coordinate our work with the US Forest Service because they own and operate the lands and trails surrounding the highway. We coordinate our efforts with them, making sure they're ready to open as well.
- We either borrow equipment from other areas of the state or rent equipment to help with the snow removal. If we're borrowing, then we have to wait for the equipment to get freed up for our use. If we're renting, then we want to rent it at the optimal time so that we don't have to pay when we're not using it (e.g., over a holiday weekend).
- The road to Artist Point is nearly a mile above sea level. Since it's so high, it's subject to inclement weather (and snow) far later into the season than lower elevation areas. And, since the road is bombarded with nasty weather, it's void of many of your typical safety features, like guardrail, to protect drivers. They just wouldn't last long enough to make it worth it. We have to make sure the road is safe to open to drivers and that weather/snow threats have subsided before opening.
- We have to schedule around other projects crews are doing.
- Then there's a little thing called the budget that we have to stick to as well.
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Update of projects under way
US 395 & SR 240 - A portion of a $16 million project to build a new interchange and two roundabouts on US 395 between Columbia Drive and SR 240 is one step closer to being finished. Portions of SR 240 and Columbia Drive have been closed since June 1 while WSDOT and KLB Construction, Inc. worked to build the new roundabouts. After nearly three weeks of closures WSDOT opened the new roundabouts to traffic one day earlier than anticipated on June 20. Crews working on the project, are building a new interchange, including the two roundabouts, to relieve congestion and improve safety in this heavily traveled freight and commuter route. The project also is nearly $5 million under budget and ahead of schedule. The entire project is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year.
SR 518 SeaTac - WSDOT completed a major road project by adding a new eastbound lane on SR 518 from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to I-405 and I-5. It is the latest of several airport access improvements that WSDOT, the Port of Seattle and Sound Transit are combining resources to complete. In addition to building a new lane on SR 518, crews rebuilt and separated two closely situated on-ramps from North Airport Expressway and International Boulevard (Highway 99) to improve safety and reduce delays for traffic merging onto SR 518. Link light rail is expected to further relieve traffic congestion when it begins service from Seattle to Tukwila and opens its Tukwila Station overlooking SR 518 next month. The Port of Seattle, which owns and operates Sea-Tac Airport, contributed about $10 million to the project. WSDOT funded the project with $20 million from the 2005 gas tax and the Federal Highway Administration contributed another $5.6 million.
SR 520 Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, Seattle - The SR 520 floating bridge opened to drivers Monday at 4:55 a.m. after WSDOT crews completed their annual weekend-long inspection of the bridge. During the weekend closure, crews inspected the mechanical system and tested the main power supply to the bridge. They also tested the bridge’s vertical guide rollers to check their condition. The vertical and horizontal guide rollers play a critical role in making sure the bridge opens quickly and smoothly. Other work included maintenance of the traffic gates at midspan, lubricating the draw span’s track, pavement repairs, drain cleaning and graffiti removal.
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Announcements
WSDOT Ferries Division sells Steel Electric class vessels to California recycler
WSDOT's Ferries Division (WSF) has sold four 1927-built Steel Electric class vessels to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, Calif. The Washington State Department of General Administration approved the sale on Wednesday, June 17 followed by completion of the signature process on Thursday, June 18. Receipt of the payment was confirmed late on Friday, June 19. The total combined sale price for all four ferries is $200,000.
In November 2007, Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond ordered the Quinault, Illahee, Nisqually and Klickitat removed from service due to safety concerns. In 2008, the Washington state Legislature directed WSDOT to sell the vessels. WSF had been in discussion with potential buyers up until their sale on Friday to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc.
The ferries are currently tied up in Bainbridge Island at the ferry terminal and Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility. The ferries are scheduled to be towed to Ensenada, Mexico beginning in mid to late-July – pending weather conditions and completion of towing preparation – where they will be recycled.
Ferry Weather Update
WSDOT's Ferries Division (WSF) is working with the University of Washington Atmospheric Science Department on a solution that will allow five WSF vessels to continue providing inland weather information for the UW’s Ferry Weather Web site. The vendor that collects and transmits this data on behalf of WSF, Meteor Communications, was originally scheduled to discontinue this service as of June 30. However, the vender has agreed to extend this service for three months while WSF and UW replace old equipment on the vessels and develop a new system to collect and transmit this data.
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June & July open houses, meetings and events
June
30, Tuesday, 6 - 8 p.m., open house, Columbia River Crossing - Vancouver: Project team members will hold an open house to present tolling scenarios for the Columbia River Crossing. Location: WSDOT Southwest Region Headquarters, Room 102, 11018 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver.
July
1, Wednesday, 10 - 11 a.m., groundbreaking, SR 532 Corridor project, Stanwood: State and local officials will join WSDOT for a groundbreaking ceremony, celebrating the start of the SR 532 Corridor project. The project will address safety and congestion issues by replacing the General Mark Clark Bridge, adding turn lanes at intersections and building truck climbing lanes along the 10 mile SR 532 corridor. Location: Lenz Enterprises, 5212 SR 532, Stanwood.
1, Wednesday, 6 - 8 p.m., open house, Columbia River Crossing - Portland: Project team members will hold an open house to present tolling scenarios for the Columbia River Crossing. Location: Jantzen Beach SuperCenter, Community Room, 1405 Jantzen Beach Center, Portland, OR.
6, Monday, 4:30 - 6 p.m., opening event, SR 304 Bremerton Tunnel - Bremerton: WSDOT will host an opening event to mark the completion of a new vehicle tunnel at the Bremerton Transit Center. The new tunnel routes off-loading ferry traffic from the terminal to Burwell Street, resulting in improved pedestrian safety and less congestion in Bremerton's waterfront area. Location: Downtown Bremerton, Burwell Street between Park and Pacific avenues.
For more details, please visit the WSDOT Calendar of Events.
Express Lane Archive
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