Date:
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Contact:
Meghan Soptich, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4788 (Seattle)
Kelly Stowe, WSDOT Communications, (360) 480-3648 (Tumwater)
If the high winds hit as expected, crews will close the SR 520 Evergreen Point Bridge late tonight. High winds also are likely to close the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge to motor vehicle traffic and possibly disrupt ferry schedules.
WSDOT’s goal is to get all of the Seattle Seahawks traffic across the SR 520 bridge by 11 p.m. and then begin the closure. The bridge would remain closed to traffic until the storm passes Friday morning.
“The forecast is pretty clear,” said WSDOT Maintenance and Operations Manager Pat Moylan. “Between midnight and 8 a.m., wind gusts will very likely reach the criteria we use to close the 520 bridge.”
WSDOT closes the SR 520 bridge when sustained winds reach 50 mph for 15 minutes. The Hood Canal Bridge is closed when winds sustain at 40 mph for 15 minutes.
Forecasts are calling for destructive winds as high as 70 mph in the region this evening and into tomorrow morning. Crews will be monitoring the SR 520 Bridge, the Hood Canal Bridge, and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
WSDOT has never closed Tacoma Narrows Bridge for high winds. WSDOT crews, in cooperation with the Washington State Patrol, will monitor the bridge. If it is deemed unsafe for motorists, crews will close the bridge.
Decisions regarding the cancellation of ferry runs vary depending upon the individual routes and ferry captains, who gauge how the boats are handling the rough waters.
For real-time traffic/bridge/ferry information, please call 511 or visit the Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov./traffic.
What is WSDOT doing:
- We will activate the emergency operation centers in Shoreline, Tumwater and Olympia.
- We have more than 50 people on the road and bridges tonight at 6:30 p.m.
- We will put experts on the bridges in the early evening to stay on top of the windstorm as it comes in.
- We are prepared to close the SR 520, Hood Canal and Tacoma Narrows bridges if necessary.
- We are allowing our technical staff to take vehicles home to allow them to get to the scene more quickly if needed.
- We are coordinating in advance with WSP to man both ends of the bridges if necessary.
- We will call Qwest Field before the end of the Seahawks game to let fans know whether the bridges are open.
- Qwest Field announcers will make the announcement.
- We will have a coordination call at 10 p.m. to confirm the 11 p.m. SR 520 Bridge closure.
- We will close the SR 520 bridge at 11p.m. between 92nd Avenue NE and Montlake Boulevard.
- We will have a mechanical engineer on the SR 520 bridge and a structural engineer on call during the storm.
- We will staff the I-90 floating bridges for the unlikely possibility of a closure.
- We will fully staff the traffic management center with traffic engineers and communications staff.
- We have plow and truck drivers set to work early Friday morning to handle any snow that follows the windstorm.
What drivers should do
Drivers should stay informed and:
Drivers can also:
- Take alternate routes
- Consider staying home during the storm
- Treat all dark intersections as four-way stops
- Treat all downed power lines as live, energized lines
WSDOT’s primary concern during this storm is driver safety. We will do everything we can to get drivers where they need to going the safest way possible. We need drivers to do their part and obey all laws and pay attention to changing weather conditions. This will allow us to help you.
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