SR 18 Issaquah's Hobart Road The three-mile section extending to Issaquah Hobart Road was a two-lane undivided highway with the potential for high speed collisions. Eastbound and westbound traffic is now separated by a 48-foot median, drastically lowering the likelihood of head-on collisions. Crews also eliminated three intersections and improved visibility by reducing the dip in the road from the Cedar River to 236th Avenue Southeast.
WSDOT's Safety Commitment
Our highway safety funding has increased from 66 million dollars in 1995-97 to 193 million in the 2005-07 bieunium. The 2007-2026 Highway System Plan forecasts future needs.
WSDOT is accountable and transparent. Each quarter, WSDOT updates its Gray Notebook, to provide information on highway funding, including safety programs. Safety issues in the Gray Notebook include detailed and before and after collision data for highway safety improvement projects.
WSDOT is reducing traffic congestion, preserving transportation infrastructure and making safer roadways.
WSDOT's commitment to highway safety.
Safety takes effort and vigilance. Our efforts are working. Washington continues to see a decline in the number of deaths due to traffic collisions. Our traffic fatality rates are among the lowest in the nation, but we have a long way to go. Highway improvements play a key role in safety and we are committed to reducing collisions and preventing risk to Washington's drivers.
With our partners in law enforcement and education, we wrote Washington's Strategic Highway Safety Plan: Target Zero.
Target Zero is our commitment to Washington's families.
What is WSDOT doing to increase roadway safety?
WSDOT’s engineering and planning groups work to build safe roadways. We have committed funds to projects that will reduce collisions on state highways. Projects such as
are just a portion of safety projects in WSDOT's highway construction, ferry and rail program.
Our Traffic Operations Division develops and manages programs to prevent incidents. There are roadway features such as rumble strips and traffic barriers.
Our commitment to safety also helps decrease congestion as roadway incidents are one of the leading causes of congestion on the roadway. The Incident Response Team gets incidents off the road and traffic moving again.
We need the public’s help to keep the roadways safe. In the spring, we kick off our annual Give 'em a Brake campaign to remind drivers of driving in construction zones.
WSDOT's Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grants program was established to address the nearly 400 fatal and injury collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists each year. In addition to providing statewide safety funding, we offer bicycle and pedestrian safety tips.
Safety is also a major focus of our Maintenance Division. Just a sample of highway maintenance safety includes:
What’s New and What’s Next?
WSDOT continues finding innovative programs to increase roadway safety with the goal to provide for and improve the safety and security of
transportation customers and the transportation system.
In conjunction with national research groups, WSDOT is working to identify cost-effective solutions.
We are also working to increase workforce safety. In 2006, WSDOT kicked off a new safety initiative highlighting new expectations surrounding worker safety, better safety planning and heightened accountability for safety results at every level of the organization.
See the results of the 2008 WSDOT Employee Safety Survey.
All WSDOT employees have and share the responsibility for highway and workplace safety. This is our commitment to Washington's citizens and drivers.