Date:
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Contact:
Sylvia Ross, WSDOT Communications, 360-905-2058 (Vancouver)
Alissa Bateman, WSDOT Communications, 360-905-2078 (Vancouver)
VANCOUVER – Snow and ice on highways throughout Southwest Washington have kept Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) maintenance crews working around the clock. Maintenance crews are busy clearing snow, treating roadways with de-icing agents, and helping motorists stranded on state highways.
There are a number of trouble spots throughout Western Washington. Snow accumulation and ice have caused backups on I-5 in northern Lewis County and further north along the I-5 corridor. There is also snow and ice accumulation on state highways in Pacific and Wahkiakum counties. Delaying your trip through the worst areas is advised. If you do need to travel, WSDOT urges motorists to check the routes prior to travel, and be prepared for significant delays.
How can motorists find the latest information on the highways they plan to travel?
- Check the web before you head out to get an accurate picture of conditions. www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/
- Drivers can go to our Highway Weather Update web page for the most updated information on all roads across Washington State: www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/weather/updates
- Drivers can call 5-1-1 from any phone to get timely updates on the road. If you’re on the road, have a passenger call 5-1-1 to get timely updates on the road. You can also view our traffic page, including mountain pass reports, on your cell phone or PDA’s
What can drivers do?
- In areas where snow and ice is at its worst, don’t travel if you don’t need to.
- Drive for winter conditions. Driver should slow down and keep extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you.
- If traveling over a mountain pass, carry chains.
- If you find yourself stranded, be safe and stay in your car, put on your flashers, call for help and wait until it arrives.
What about freezing temperatures and ice on the roadways?
- As with snow, don’t travel if you don’t have to.
- Anti-icer does not work below 25 degrees. The chemicals can prevent or melt anything 25 degrees and over, but not below that.
- Sand does not work when the ice sheet is solid. It just blows off the slick surface.
- Traffic volumes continue to be at their regular high, which prohibits our plows from being able to properly treat the roads.
Crews across the Southwest Region have began their winter schedules, and spent the last month stocking up on solid and liquid chemical anti-icers and de-icers, gearing up and testing all snow and ice removal equipment. The main anti-icing and de-icing chemicals used in Southwest Washington are solid and liquid forms of Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride. The liquid is applied in advance of a storm to prevent ice from forming or snow from sticking, and after a storm to melt existing snow and ice. The solid is used to melt hard packed snow and ice after a storm.
WSDOT’s Southwest Region operates 78 trucks with snow and ice removal capabilities (plows, liquid and solid chemical applicators, etc.); and has a total of 240,700 gallons of liquid anti-icer/de-icer and 5,341 tons of solid de-icer stored at multiple locations across the region.
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Drivers can now get real time traffic and weather information by dialing 5-1-1 from most phones. This new traveler information system builds upon the highly successful Washington State Highway hotline that managed 4.6 million calls each year. Callers can also use 5-1-1 to get statewide construction, mountain pass condition, and state ferry system information, as well as toll free numbers for passenger rail and airlines. TTY users can call 1-800-833-6388.
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