From the Regional Administrator
Welcome to our April newsletter. This month we are talking about winter, our paint striping program, and the Keller Ferry.
As always, if you have any questions on items in this newsletter, or other transportation issues, please let me know. Give me a call at (509) 324-6010 or drop me an e-mail at metcalk@wsdot.wa.gov
Keith A. Metcalf, P.E., Regional Administrator
WSDOT Eastern Region
509-324-6010
metcalk@wsdot.wa.gov
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Will winter ever end?
On Tuesday, April 26th, starting at approximately 7 a.m. the Eastern Region experienced a heavy rain and snow storm event north of the Spokane metro area. On SR 206 near Mt. Spokane it was snowing heavily from Milepost 8 to the State Park gate at milepost 15 with approximately 2 to 3 feet of snow measured at the park gate.
The weight of the snow brought down between 50 and 75 trees of various sizes (the largest appearing to be 30” in diameter) across the highway. The roadway was closed between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. while the crews cleared snow and fallen trees from the highway. The project was complicated due to live electrical power lines entangled at one location. The maintenance superintendent estimates that the crew will have another month or two of cutting and chipping the downed trees once the snow melts.
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Potholes
It has been a tough winter in the Inland Northwest and that means potholes in our highways and local streets. But, how do they form? The process usually starts with one little crack that fills with water. When water freezes, it expands, and when the water inside the crack expands, it pushes the asphalt outward and upward. Repeat that process over a few freeze/thaw cycles, add some vehicle traffic over the spot, and pretty soon the loose asphalt falls apart and comes out of the hole.
During the cold winter months, regular hot mix asphalt is not available so the crews use a “cold-mix” asphalt material to fill potholes. The pothole must be dry or the freeze/thaw cycle will just break up the surface again. Most of the time, the cold mix will hold up just like hot mix; however, in some instances, the crews will need to make a more permanent repair during warmer weather.
The crews try to repair these as soon as possible, but potholes can form pretty quickly. Drivers need to keep a close eye on the road, and, of course, let us know if they spot one so we can get them filled as soon as possible.
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It’s time to paint
Each year, the Region paint striping crew loads up their specialized striping truck and heads out to re-stripe the centerlines and fog lines on the 1,570 miles of state highway. It’s really more than that because many highway sections have multiple lanes. It works out to 3,673 “lane” miles of roads that need to be repainted every year. It takes the crew most of the spring and summer to get the all the stripes painted.
To do that, the crew uses about 85,000 gallons of reflective, yellow and white, water-based paint. And, although the paint is reflective, it is on a flat surface. To help drivers see the stripes at night, the paint is mixed with tiny glass beads. These beads raise the paint slightly above the level of the roadway and vehicle headlights reflect off the painted surface making the stripe more visible.
Because of our seasonal weather, highway paint striping is an annual process. The combination of winter traction sand, plowing, and studded tires wears down the paint and beads making the stripes harder to see or even removing the stripe altogether. On some highways, we install a permanent, plastic inlaid stripe on the road and sometimes a recessed reflective pavement marker. These often help, but they also lose reflectivity and need to be maintained.
Unlike highways in Puget Sound, we don’t use the raised pavement markers on this side of the state. Those work very well but are removed quickly by the steel snowplow blades in the winter.
The Region striping crew is getting geared up for their 2011 season. It’s been a slow start with the lingering winter conditions, but as soon as the roads are dry and the temperatures warm up a little more, they’ll be busy.
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Keller Ferry route disruption
There was a disruption of service on the Keller Ferry route during April. On Thursday, April 7th, while the crew was moving the floating dock and vehicle loading ramp to the alternate, low-water landing on the north shore, the flotation bag holding up the steel ramp failed and the heavy hinged unit lowered into the water making it impossible to set the ramp on the concrete landing. A crane was brought from Spokane, over Sherman Pass, to lift the ramp out of the water and set it on the landing. The vessel returned to service on Tuesday evening, April 12.
The crew needed to move the ramp because the water level behind Grand Coulee Dam is dropping steadily. The alternate concrete landing location enables the ferry to operate when water levels drop as much as 80 feet below the full pool elevation.
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Keller Ferry Vessel
There’s good news for users of the Keller Ferry. The budget that was recently passed by the House and Senate contains funding to construct a new boat for the route. The transportation budget includes about $12 million with the Colville Confederated Tribes contributing $2 million of that total for the vessel. The measure is now awaiting the Governor’s signature.
A replacement vessel has already been designed. It’s expected that the Department will advertise for construction bids sometime this summer and the new vessel could begin service in 2013.