From the Regional Administrator
Welcome to our February 2011 newsletter. This report covers some of the items that happened during February.
This month, weather and our Incident Response program are on tap.
This month’s newsletter includes some engineering awards, a new Keller Ferry information service, the Pine Creek Bridge, and the new Port of Entry on I-90.
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 .
- - - - - - - - -
Winter comes back
On Wednesday, February 23 and Thursday, February 24, we received another visit from winter. A heavy storm pounded the Inland Northwest in two waves, with the first blast mid-day on Wednesday, then up to a foot of snow that fell from Wednesday evening into mid-day on Thursday. The snow, along with winds of up to 25 miles per hour, caused visibility problems and snow drifts across several highways. Hardest hit was US 195 between Rosalia and Spangle. That highway section was closed from about 3:30 a.m. until around 7:15 a.m. on Thursday morning. The winds continued throughout the day, causing visibility issues on SR 27. We finally had to close that highway from Tekoa to Fairfield around 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon. It was reopened to traffic at 3:15 p.m.
Our crews were still on winter shift so they were able to respond quickly, but the wind and the snow were a formidable challenge. This brings up a reminder: While we make the best effort to keep drivers informed of road conditions through our website and the media, it’s very important that motorists use their own judgment when traveling in winter conditions. It’s a pretty sure bet that when there is lightweight snow and high winds in the Palouse or Lincoln and Adams County, the possibility of poor visibility and drifting snow is very high.
The WSDOT website and 5-1-1 phone system lists general road conditions for the highest traveled highways in our seven-county region, but there are hundreds of miles of roadways that our crews can’t monitor on a constant basis, and conditions can change very rapidly. Drivers need to not only check our website, but look at other weather information as they make their travel plans.
Above all, be prepared for severe winter driving at all times and be safe.
- - - - - - -
Incident response
Our Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Incident Response vehicles and crew stay very busy. These specially-trained employees and their trucks patrol Interstate 90 every weekday looking for motorists with disabled vehicles, assisting the State Patrol with traffic control around collisions, or removing debris from the roadway.
The winter months can be especially busy. For example, since November 1st, our Incident Response rigs have responded to 1,021 incidents, either by stopping to help someone along the highway, dispatched by the Spokane Regional Traffic Management Center or called out by the Washington State Patrol. Nearly 550 of these were disabled vehicles. There were 161 collision responses, 110 reports of debris in the travel lane, and 156 abandoned vehicle checks. All of this occurred in just a four-month period. There were 44 other miscellaneous calls.
The goal behind this program is to clear incidents from the roadway as soon as possible and get traffic back to a regular flow. This helps reduce congestion on the freeway, especially during peak commute hours.
This can be dangerous work. There have been two recent incidents involving drivers that rear-ended incident response vehicles on Interstate 90. Remember, the law in Washington State requires drivers to slow down and “move over” when they see flashing lights on a law enforcement or emergency vehicle.
As you drive through the Spokane area, keep an eye out for the WSDOT Incident Response vehicle and crews. They’re out there assisting in clearing incidents off the roadway and helping drivers.