Date:
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Contact:
Mark Pettit, WSDOT Communications, (509) 577-1942 (Yakima)
Jen Watkins, I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition (206) 675-9747 x 203 (Seattle)
SEATTLE – WSDOT and I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition selected two winners from students around the state who participated in the third annual Bridging Futures Contest. The winners created drawing and essays to bring attention to human and wildlife safety along Interstate 90’s Snoqualmie Pass East project.
I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition and WSDOT co-sponsored the art and essay contest. The two finalists were honored last night by WSDOT Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald and Coalition Director Charlie Raines at the Hope for a Wild Future auction at the Woodland Park Zoo.
“The I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition partners with WSDOT to educate children and families on how animals and human can safely co-exist on the roads we all travel,” Charlie Raines said.
Students ages six to 11 participated from schools and organizations in Seattle, Tacoma, Bothell, Ellensburg and Wenatchee.
The two winning student artists are:
- Sandra Brown, 10, fourth grader, Jefferson Elementary, Tacoma
- Brenda Medina, 10, fourth grader, Mission View Elementary, Wenatchee
The winners’ art is displayed on billboards in Seattle and Ellensburg, sharing the message of safety with motorists across the state. The billboards are located in Seattle on Aurora Avenue near the Woodland Park Zoo and in Ellensburg off I-90. The Seattle billboard will run from June 18 through Aug. 18, and the Ellensburg billboard will run from July 2 through Sept. 2.
WSDOT announced a design for the I-90 Snoqualmie Past East Project that includes two wildlife overpasses and numerous underpasses. The Bridging Futures III Contest encouraged children in Washington State to submit ideas for how the wildlife bridges might look.
“WSDOT has a simple vision for this project,” said MacDonald. “We want to create a better safer highway through the Cascade Mountains. We want it to be more convenient and safer for drivers and we also want it to be safe for wildlife moving from place to place in the mountains. Most importantly, we want the drivers and the animals not to run into each other, an often deadly occurrence. We congratulate the winners who help us all get the picture.”
The I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition started the Bridging Futures Contest in 2005 to engage children statewide in transportation and wildlife issues. The contest enables WSDOT and the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition to share the children’s important and creative vision with drivers through billboard displays. The I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition is made up of nearly 40 local and national organizations that advocate for high quality wildlife passage in the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project.
“Our Bridges Coalition is working together with the WSDOT to deliver our message of animal and human safety to children in the classrooms and their families,” Coalition Director Charlie Raines said.
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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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