Date:
Friday, December 28, 2007
Contact:
Mike Westbay, WSDOT Region Communications Manager 509-728-4712 (Yakima)
HYAK– Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Washington State Patrol (WSP) crews have worked hundreds of hours of overtime already this season to keep I-90 Snoqualmie Pass in a safe driving condition and to enforce the restrictions that prevent ill-equipped vehicles and impaired drivers from causing collisions and delays.
WSDOT maintenance crews have been working 12 hour shifts for several weeks without a day off. Ron Goodrich, a new member of the WSDOT “over the hill gang” who works to plow and de-ice the summit area of Snoqualmie Pass, has put in 77 hours of overtime in the past two weeks. He and 16 other plow drivers and mechanics worked on Christmas Day.
“This is my first year, but I understand that this is not unusual. It just depends on Mother Nature. The more it snows, the more we work,” said Goodrich.
Over one hundred inches of snow has fallen on I-90 Snoqualmie Pass in the past two weeks. That has kept everyone busy including WSDOT avalanche forecasters who have stopped traffic eleven times this season to do avalanche control work.
Lee Redden, a WSDOT veteran with 25 years of avalanche experience said, “We understand that we will have to work some weekends and holidays, that’s just part of the job up here.”
Extra workforce and equipment, from Seattle and Yakima is shifted up to Snoqualmie Pass when over 6 inches of snow is expected in a 12 hour period. This has been the condition 17 out of the last 18 days. The responsibility is shared among five WSDOT Maintenance Superintendents from as far away as Walla Walla. They coordinate shifting the resources from areas where there is no snow, to the pass where it is needed.
WSP troopers have set up a check point on eastbound I-90 at the Denny Creek interchange (milepost 47) to enforce the chain requirements eight times so far this season. When the heavy snowfall causes road conditions to get very slippery, chains are required on all vehicles except all wheel drive. That is when it becomes necessary to check every vehicle to see that they are equipped to make the journey across Snoqualmie Pass.
“It only takes one vehicle to lose traction, spin out and block a lane to cause a big back up and long delay,” said WSP Trooper Jeff Merrill.
There have been 182 collisions reported between Denny Creek and Snoqualmie Pass so far this season. The check point also reduces the number of vehicles per hour crossing the pass which makes room for the snow plows to do the clearing work necessary to keep Snoqualmie Pass open.
During the Christmas week of 2000, similar snowfall amounts caused spin outs and collisions that blocked lanes and closed I-90 Snoqualmie Pass for several hours. Many travelers returning from their holiday that year reported the journey across the pass took between 11 and 13 hours. WSDOT and WSP are making the extra effort to prevent that from happening again.
Know Before You Go:
WSDOT offers several ways to get up-to-date traffic and construction information from our Web site at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ before you leave your home or office.
• 511 - This driver information phone line provides current traffic, incident and closure information. TTY users can call 1-800-833-6388.
• At – www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/weather/ drivers can look at weather forecasts and road temperatures throughout the state.
• At - www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/trafficalerts/, the color-coded map shows statewide traffic conditions, including construction delays and highway incidents.
• Drivers with web service on their cellular phones and PDAs can access small-screen I-90 pass updates at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/small by clicking on the "mountain pass reports" link.
On the Road:
When driving on ice and snow, take it slow.
• Overhead and roadside electronic signs provide emergency and incident alerts.
• Highway advisory radio - Yellow signs with flashing lights - alert drivers to tune into radio frequencies (AM 1610 and AM 530) airing construction updates.
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