From the Regional Administrator

It’s been a busy winter and we are looking forward to warmer weather. Of course, that also means that our construction season is just around the corner. Just like everywhere else, our budget is very tight. We’ll be working hard to handle our increasing highway construction and maintenance needs efficiently, on time and on budget. 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 Metcalf

2009 Construction highlights

Two major projects in the Spokane area top our list of work this summer.

First, the North Spokane Corridor(NSC)/US 2 Lowering and Bridges project will be underway in north Spokane. This job essentially creates the NSC/US 2 interchange on the Newport Highway near Farwell Road. There will be extensive excavation to lower the level of US 2 to pass under the new freeway, then six new bridges will be built. Some extensive lane restrictions will affect traffic in that area. More details will be posted on our web site and in the news as work intensifies.

The next big job is resurfacing work on Interstate 90 between Division Street in downtown Spokane and the vicinity of Havana Street, a few miles to the east. We’ll be smoothing out the concrete pavement with a grinder from Division Street to the Hamilton Interchange, then we will place a two layer asphalt overlay on the roadway from Hamilton out to the vicinity of Havana. In addition to work on the main freeway lanes, we’ll be paving many of the on/off ramps in the Spokane metro area. We will do a vast majority of this work during the evening and overnight hours to reduce the effects on traffic.

As always, please drive safely at all times, especially inside our construction zones.

Upgrades and new locations coming to the highway camera network

The Department will have a couple of projects that will add a fiber optic line along I-90 along with adding some new camera locations and a variable message sign.

The new line will extend from the Sullivan Road Interchange east to the vicinity of the Idaho border. New cameras will be located near Knox Avenue, (which is east of the Liberty Lake Interchange), and the Idaho Road Interchange near the state line. The new variable message sign will be visible in the westbound lanes near the Liberty Lake Interchange.

Existing cameras at the Barker, Greenacres, and Liberty Park Interchanges will be upgraded. Another camera will be added in a separate job, construction of a new Washington State Patrol Port of Entry.

Work will get underway on this system later this year with the cameras coming on line in spring 2010.

The camera network is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the Spokane Regional Transportation Management Center (TMC). Center operators monitor traffic for potential problems and alert incident response crews to occurrences, control message signs that warn drivers of accidents and delays, and post warning messages to area highway advisory radio stations. All this is done in an effort to help citizens avoid congestion and backups. It is a partnership with the Cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley, Spokane Transit Authority, Spokane County, Washington State Department of Transportation, and the Spokane Regional Transportation Council.

Spokane area cameras can be viewed on the internet at: http://www.srtmc.org/ or www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic .

Kudos from our customers

We’re always pleased to receive letters from the public regarding our service. Here’s two recent notes about our work:

I am writing this note to thank the WSDOT Incident Response Team.

I am a semi-truck driver and I made the mistake of running the truck out of fuel about 10 miles from the truck stop. As I sat on the shoulder of the road, the Washington State Patrol called the Incident Response Team and within 20 minutes Carl Remmers arrived with a five-gallon container of fuel. He was knowledgeable about the truck fuel system and within a few minutes I was rolling west to the truck stop.
Everyone involved helped me get out of a tight jam.
I just want to say thank you.

Curtis Means

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Thank you from the Soap Lake Girl’s Basketball team. We were in Davenport on December 29th during the big snow storm. Thanks to your efforts, we traveled safely home to Soap Lake that evening and so did our fans that had followed us.

Robin Devines-Coach

From all of us, thanks to Curtis and Robin for writing.