From the Regional Administrator
Welcome to our December 2010 newsletter.
This month we highlight our 2011 construction, engineering awards, and have a quick overview on pedestrian crossings at signalized intersections. Of course, as always during this time of year in the Inland Northwest, please “winterize your driving” by slowing down and not following so closely during snow and ice conditions.
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 .
Highway Construction for 2011
We have a fairly long list of construction projects already on tap for 2011. A number of these are jobs that are already underway, the largest being the three North Spokane Corridor projects. Other major jobs coming up include the pavement rehabilitation on I-90 from the west edge of downtown Spokane to the top of the Sunset Hill. We’ll also be widening I-90 in the Spokane Valley from Sullivan Road to Barker Road, and resurfacing the I-90 bridge decks at the Altamont Street and Havana Street overcrossings.
You’ll also see a lot of rural “chip seal” projects in 2011. We’re using the chip seal process to extend the life of existing highway pavements at a reasonable cost.
We’ve put a list of projects with a brief description and a locator map on our web page. You can see it at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/Eastern/ , then click on the “Eastern Region 2011 Construction Project Map & List” link under the projects tab.
This list was created in late November and could change as the Legislature refines the project list during the upcoming session.
Engineering Awards
We had a busy construction season during the past year with a number of particularly challenging projects. With that in mind, it’s always exciting to report that a number of projects, along with the contractors and engineering teams behind them, were award winners.
Two of our paving projects picked up awards from the Washington Asphalt Paving Association (WAPA). This group looks at a variety of components that make up the quality of the pavement and the complexity of the project. The US 395/Spokane County to Loon Lake project with contractor Knife River and the engineering team from Bob Hilmes’ office picked up two awards, the First Place Asphalt Pavement Construction Quality award for Eastern Washington and the Carl Minor Award for the top quality asphalt paving project statewide. Darrel McCallum and his engineering team plus Inland Asphalt Company also received the Certificate of Merit from WAPA for their work on Interstate 90 from Hamilton Street to Havana Street in Spokane. A paving job so smooth that one TV reporter noted it was, “like driving on a pillow-top mattress.”
Managing construction projects on State highways can be complex and require considerable attention to detail. It’s with that in mind that the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Associated General Contractors (AGC) join forces to look for projects that exhibit the best in cooperation between the private contractors and the project engineering team. These Excellence in Contract Administration awards recognize the teams for delivering the projects in a timely manner with innovative problem solving, overcoming challenges during the work, and a variety of other project-related criteria.
Picking up Excellence in Contract Administration awards in the Eastern Region for projects submitted in 2010 were: Chad Simonson’s project engineering team for the US 2/SR 211 to Newport paving project built by Inland Asphalt. Bob Hilmes’ project engineering team received awards for the Eastern Region Roadside Safety Improvement project and the North Spokane Corridor/Freya to Farwell Portland Cement Concrete Paving project built by Acme Concrete Paving.
Congratulations to these teams for the great work.
Pedestrian Crossing Signals
We’ve noticed that there can be some confusion on how traffic signals handle pedestrian crossings-specifically, why doesn’t the white “WALK” signal stay lit long enough for someone to cross the street? The answer is: The white WALK signal indicates the amount of time available for a pedestrian to ENTER the crosswalk. After the WALK signal changes to the blinking DON’T WALK, pedestrians are not allowed to step off the curb and begin crossing the street, but those folks who are already in the crosswalk should continue to cross. There should be sufficient time to complete the crossing while the blinking DON’T WALK sign is lit. The DON’T WALK sign usually stops blinking at the same time the light for vehicles turns yellow, and that means there’s only a few more seconds to finish the crossing.
All of the signals owned and operated by the WSDOT Eastern Region have a seven-second WALK cycle with the blinking DON’T WALK time period based on the length of the crosswalk. We base that timing on an average pace of four feet per second to allow sufficient time for someone to cross the roadway. It’s important to note that these walk timing periods are at WSDOT signal controlled intersections. Signals operated by cities or counties may have slightly different timing policies, depending on the community.