A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Washington Jobs Now - ARRA project in central Washington keeps workers closer to home
Shar Elton is operating the roller for Granite Northwest on the SR 17 project near Moses Lake this summer. |
A central Washington project, funded in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), reached a milestone as crews began paving eight miles of SR 17 from the Grant County Airport in Moses Lake to the junction with SR 282. From there, crews will pave all five miles of SR 282 to the junction with SR 28 in downtown Ephrata. Crews also built more than four miles of passing lanes as part of this combined project. Two 12-foot-wide passing lanes have been added on SR 17 between the Grant County Airport and Rocky Ford Creek. All work should be complete by October.
WSDOT Project Engineer Eric Pierson said, “Without the ARRA funding, we only had the budget to build the passing lanes, but being able to pave the entire road surface dramatically improves the project for safety, smoothness, mobility and freight movement, as well as preservation.” The $6.2 million project which supports some 75 jobs, came in 22 percent below the engineering estimate. "This is a result of the efficiencies that came from combining the widening projects with the two stimulus pavers," said Pierson.
Randy Manry, Granite Northwest’s General Manager for central Washington, said most of his people were working for him already, but without this stimulus project, “Most would have been shipped around the state to work on other projects, away from home. The rest wouldn’t have had a job at all.”
Shar Elton, a Colville Tribal member from Omak was operating the roller the first day of paving on SR 17. This is her second stimulus job this year. The first one was a local project in Omak. She has done flagging in the past but did not have any work lined up prior to Granite Northwest hiring her this summer, “I’m just grateful to be working!”
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Maintenance & Operations feature -WSDOT adds new tools to deliver real-time traffic information
Traffic incidents and travel times are now at motorists' fingertips with new tools from WSDOT. |
One of the ways WSDOT manages traffic congestion is to give people more real-time information about highway and traffic conditions. With better information, motorists can make choices about when and how they are going to travel. Now it is even easier to know before you go. We've added new tools to deliver current travel times and incident information to Northwest motorists.
Drivers can now subscribe from their computer to get collision and lane information delivered via e-mail to their inbox. And, WSDOT has developed a way for travelers to use Twitter, a Web-based micro-blogging site, to get real-time travel times.
E-mail alerts
Drivers can sign up for e-mail alerts and have the incident information from the Seattle traffic Web page, www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/, sent directly to their inbox. Closure and incident information is delivered the moment traffic engineers post it to the Web for the public and media to see.
To subscribe, click the link for “E-mail updates” at the top right-hand part of the page next to the envelope.
Twitter
WSDOT already uses Twitter to provide updated mountain pass reports, and U.S. border wait times. Now, with a simple text message, Twitter will send travel times for the major highway corridors in and around the central Puget Sound. Twitter users can send a direct text message from any Web browser or cell phone using key words. Within minutes, WSDOT sends a message providing information on current travel times. For example, a Twitter user might text WSDOT, “tt Seattle to Bellevue” and receive the travel times for I-90 and SR 520.
For those not using Twitter, real-time traffic information and weather is also available at wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1. To learn more about what we’re doing, go to wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures videos, news and blogs.
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Update of projects under way
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass - WSDOT began construction Aug. 11 on the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project (I-90 Project), a project that will build five miles of wider, safer and more reliable highway for east-west travelers. The $595 million project was scheduled to begin in 2010, but a portion of the project was moved ahead a year after engineers developed a plan to build a detour bridge near the Gold Creek area at the Keechelus Lake reservoir to limit construction impacts on the movement of freight and people across Snoqualmie Pass. WSDOT expects to complete all improvements planned for the funded five-mile I-90 Project from Hyak to Keechelus Dam in 2015. The completion of the I-90 Project will:
- Reduce road closures associated with avalanche and avalanche control work by building a new, more efficient snowshed.
- Add a new travel lane in each direction to accommodate predicted increases in traffic volume.
- Replace deteriorating concrete pavement for a smoother, safer ride.
- Minimize the risk of rock and other falling debris from reaching the interstate by stabilizing unstable rock slopes.
- Build new and extend existing chain up / off areas.
- Improve sight distance by reducing sharp roadway curves.
- Re-connect wildlife habitats over and under the highway.
I-405 Bellevue - WSDOT’s study into the use of “quieter” pavement on western Washington highways continues on northbound I-405 through Bellevue. Crews will close all but one northbound lane during the weekend of Aug. 15 to place quieter asphalt pavement test sections. The latest segment of quieter asphalt pavement is the third test section in the region for this study. This test section will be installed over existing concrete. WSDOT engineers want to know if installing quieter asphalt pavement over a rigid concrete base improves the pavement’s durability and noise reduction capability. Previous sections were applied over asphalt. The paving is part of a $124 million construction contract that adds lanes to both directions of I-405 in south Bellevue. Construction is scheduled to be completed this year and includes one new northbound lane between 112th Avenue SE and SE Eighth Street and two new southbound lanes from SE Eighth Street to I-90.
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Announcements
WSDOT picks the Aberdeen Log Yard as its preferred site for SR 520 pontoon construction
WSDOT selected the Aberdeen Log Yard as the preferred location for a new construction facility to build SR 520 bridge pontoons.
The Aberdeen Log Yard was identified as WSDOT’s preferred site because the site development is less costly, and the conditions below ground pose fewer construction and schedule challenges. WSDOT has also been evaluating a project site in Hoquiam. A number of risks and opportunities weighed in favor of the Aberdeen site, including environmental effects, engineering constraints, construction and schedule risks, and coordination with regulatory agencies and Tribal nations.
WSDOT will issue a request for proposals on August 24 to contractors to construct pontoons at the Aberdeen Log Yard. A short list of contractors will be asked to submit bids for design and construction at the preferred site. The design-build contract will be worth $300 million to $500 million. The project is expected to create more than 2,000 project-related jobs at the height of construction. Testing of potential pontoon construction methods will begin in September at Satsop Business Park.
Identifying a preferred alternative allows WSDOT to pursue early environmental consultation and permit coordination with regulatory agencies. Both the Aberdeen and Hoquiam sites will be fully evaluated in the environmental process to ensure either one can be used if further investigations uncover new information. A draft environmental impact statement evaluating both sites will be released for public and agency comment at the end of this year.
Second Amtrak Cascades train to Vancouver, B.C. begins service August 19
WSDOT announced Aug. 12 that the long awaited second daily Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. will begin service on Wednesday, August 19. The Canadian government approved the second train service on July 3 as a pilot project to start as soon as August 1 until after the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games. WSDOT worked with Amtrak, BNSF Railway, U.S. Customs, and other stakeholders to get the additional Amtrak Cascades service operational as soon as possible.
With the addition of this second train service, travelers from Oregon will now have direct round-trip service between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, B.C. The second Amtrak Cascades train service will begin with a northbound arrival from Portland, Oregon into Vancouver, B.C. at approximately 10:45 p.m. The next morning, the southbound Amtrak Cascades train will depart Vancouver, B.C. at 6:40 a.m. arriving in Portland at 2:45 p.m.
Amtrak Cascades consists of four daily round-trips between Portland and Seattle, with service between Bellingham and Portland, via Seattle; between Eugene and Seattle, via Portland; and between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Amtrak Cascades is operated by Amtrak in partnership with the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation. For Amtrak Cascades fares and schedules, visit http://www.amtrakcascades.com/.
WSDOT seeks bids for up to three more new ferries
The plan to improve Washington’s ferry fleet takes another step forward with the advertisement of a contract to build at least two new 64-car ferries. The bid package was posted on WSF’s contracts Web site on August 7. WSF will open bids on the 64-car ferries contract this fall.
The Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division (WSF) is building four new ferries in the next five years to replace its aging fleet. Nine of WSF’s 20 auto-passenger ferries are between 40 and 60 years old and must be replaced in the next 20 years. The 2009 Transportation Budget provided $114.8 million for construction of 64-car ferries in the 2009-2011 biennium, and $69.4 million in the 2011-2013 biennium. WSF awarded a $65.5 million contract to Todd Pacific Shipyards in December 2008 to build one 64-car ferry, which is scheduled to be delivered in summer 2010.
WSF will pursue a contract for the second and third 64-car ferries with an option to purchase a fourth 64-car ferry. However, if sufficient resources are available to build one 144-car ferry prior to exercising the option to build the fourth 64-car ferry, WSF will pursue procurement of a 144-car ferry instead of a fourth 64-car ferry.
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August open houses, meetings and events
22, Saturday, 1 - 2 p.m., Ribbon-cutting ceremony, US 395 North Spokane Corridor - Spokane: Transportation, state and local officials will hold an event to celebrate progress on the North Spokane Corridor. Following the celebration, the first section of the corridor will be opened to traffic. Location: North Spokane Corridor near the BNSF railroad tunnel in Spokane.
Express Lane Archive
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