From the Regional Administrator
Welcome to our October 2011 newsletter.
This month we highlight a major milestone in the North Spokane Corridor project, tying up construction jobs for the winter, and an introduction to our winter snow and ice strategies.
You can always find out where construction work is located by checking the Weekly Update on our web site.
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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North Spokane Corridor/US 2 interchange slated for opening
We are pleased to announce the opening of the next component of the North Spokane Corridor (NSC). The NSC/US 2 interchange will open to traffic on Wednesday, November 16th. There will be a short ceremony in the early afternoon and the interchange will be opened up a little later in the day.
This $43 million project has been underway since December 2008 with Graham Construction and Management of Spokane handling the work. Funding for the job came from the 2003 Transportation funding package.
Three more NSC contracts are underway and will be completed over the next year or so. The segments will be opened up to traffic as they are ready.
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2011 construction season wrapping up
The Eastern Region had one of the biggest construction seasons ever during 2011. Not only did we have three major jobs on the North Spokane Corridor, there were three big projects on I-90 as well.
As noted above, one of the NSC jobs will be opening in a couple of weeks; the other work will continue as weather allows. On Interstate 90 our project office teams and the contractors are working together to button these jobs up for the winter.
The pavement grinding and concrete panel joint repair work just to the west of downtown Spokane will be done for the season within a few weeks and will resume in 2012. Drivers may notice a little rougher ride than usual as they bump over the repaired joints in the unground areas. The entire surface in these yet to be ground segments will be smoothed out to the same level in the final phase of this project next season.
In the Spokane Valley, the widening project from Sullivan Road to Barker Road is also getting set up for winter. We are working with the contractor and hope to get traffic back to a fully-divided freeway configuration before the snow flies. We will be paving using temporary asphalt to allow this traffic change to be made. That asphalt will be replaced in the spring. Last spring, this project had to remain on winter suspension longer than anticipated due to the extremely wet ground so work has gone into the fall a little further than we expected. The contractor will continue to work on some of the center barrier and noise walls as weather permits.
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WSDOT crews readying for winter road duties
With winter upon us, crews from the Washington State Department of Transportation, Eastern Region, are getting prepared to handle snow and ice control duties. About 200 crew members working two shifts, seven days per week are assigned to the 1,600 miles of state highways in the seven northeastern counties in the state, including Washington’s highest mountain pass - Sherman Pass at 5,575 feet above sea level. The Region snow and ice control cost is about $13.7 million for the two-year budget cycle.
Snow and ice control crews and equipment are based at 20 locations throughout the Region. The crews use nearly 100 truck-mounted snowplows, most of which include a system to spread sand or granular de-ice chemical. The Region also operates 14 liquid anti-ice chemical trucks. When the big snowfalls are combined with high winds, three highway snow blowers are put into service to clear drifts. Maintenance teams are normally on duty from around 4:00 a.m. to midnight or later. The exact hours of each shift will vary slightly at different locations. If needed during a storm, shifts are extended to provide 24 hour coverage.
Ultimately, drivers are responsible to operate their vehicles in a safe manner during winter road conditions. Most winter collisions result from drivers traveling too fast for conditions or following too closely.
Our crews make every effort to keep the highways open for travel, but weather experts are predicting that La Nina will return to the Pacific Northwest this season so drivers should be prepared for wintery driving conditions.
We have some resources for winter driving on the Internet. Just follow these handy links:
Winter Driving web page
Winter Driving Guide brochure (pdf 950k)
WSDOT Snow and Ice Plan Roadway Treatment Goals (pdf 950k)