Capital Facilities - Primary building ages

2023

WSDOT primary buildings average 47 years old

The average age of WSDOT's primary buildings is 48 years. Of the 287 primary buildings, 57 (20%) are 25 years old or less, while 93 (32%) are between 26 and 50 years old, and 137 (48%) primary buildings are 51 years or older.

WSDOT typically manages planning and prioritization of its capital facilities in 10-year periods. By 2033, it is projected that 95% of WSDOT's current primary buildings will be more than 25 years old, the age at which assets managed to the lowest life cycle cost require considerable recapitalization investment. In 2033, it is projected that 62% percent of WSDOT's primary buildings will be over 50 years old—beyond their depreciated useful life. This is the expected duration a building or structure will function without needing major repairs.

In 2033, WSDOT is expected to have nine buildings over the age of 100 years. Without major renovations, buildings this old generally do not have the design characteristics or infrastructure to meet a modern workforce's needs and may result in challenging operations and investment decisions. Renovations alone will not solve the problems at many of WSDOT's maintenance facility buildings and sites. Older sites often have limiting characteristics that are cost-prohibitive to overcome, and some of these sites were built before the modern interstate system existed. Further investment in these sites and buildings would be a poor use of funds, and replacement is often the best path forward.

Southwest Region maintenance site in need of replacement

The Area 1 maintenance site in WSDOT's Southwest Region (which includes Clark, Cowlitz and part of Wahkiakum counties) was built in 1936. About 120 staff and half of the region's maintenance crews work out of the site's 11 primary buildings and perform 24-hour operations. These operations include: pavement and guardrail repair, striping, signals, bridges, traffic control, equipment maintenance, radio communications, signs, and the region's homeless response crew. The site also supports functions that are essential to the continuity of operations through a crisis event, such as communications infrastructure, vehicle and wireless radio shops, fuel storage, and direct support of critical infrastructure on lifeline routes.

The 87-year-old site relies upon original infrastructure, including galvanized water supply lines requiring almost yearly repairs, abandoned bathrooms due to a collapsed sewer line, and other buildings with poor sewer connections. Pavement across the site is in disrepair. Vehicle storage bays are too small for modern trucks, cranes are undersized, and overhead doors over 50 years old require frequent repairs. There is no fire protection for on-site buildings. While this meets minimum code requirements and has passed inspection, buildings of this type would require fire protection if newly constructed or substantially refurbished. Half of the building roofs on-site are in need of replacement and risk significant damage if a failure occurs.

Residential and light commercial buildings surround the 11.9-acre maintenance site, with entry gates on a major city thoroughfare and a residential neighborhood that cause access issues. Due to its operational capacity and location, the site has been identified as a key facility for continuity of operations should a major natural disaster occur in western Washington. WSDOT owns a 21-acre parcel in Richfield, located in Clark County, which was purchased in 2009 as the replacement site to house Area 1 staff and operations for the region. Development of this site would result in an $11.6 million reduction in the agency's primary building backlog.

2021

WSDOT primary buildings average 47 years old

The average age of WSDOT's primary buildings is 47 years old. Of the 286 primary buildings, 70 (24%) are 25 years old or newer, while 97 (34%) are between 26 and 50 years old, and 119 (42%) primary buildings are more than 50 years old, with 11% (32) of these built in the 1930s.

By 2031, 95% of WSDOT's current primary buildings will be more than 25 years old, and 62% percent will be more than 50 years old—the age that the Washington State Office of Financial Management considers them to be at end of their useful service life. Without major renovations, buildings this old do not have the design or infrastructure to meet a modern workforce's needs and may result in more difficult investment decisions. Renovations alone will not solve the problems at many of WSDOT's maintenance facility buildings and sites.

The Spokane Street Section Maintenance Facility in WSDOT's Northwest Region supports approximately 30 staff performing 24-hour operations, including drain cleaning, roadway sweeping, tunnel washing, guardrail repair, road surface repairs, and right of way cleanup operations. The facility includes four primary buildings—with 19,000 total square feet—that are more than 90 years old. The vehicle storage bays are too small to store modern trucks, and the aging administration building doesn't function well for staff. Site utilities are in poor condition, primarily because the site was built on fill with a high water table that negatively impacts water and wastewater utility connections.

Deficiencies identified in the condition assessment at the Spokane Street maintenance facility include boiler issues, poor insulation, minimal site lighting, and asbestos concerns.

The backlog of the four primary buildings (all in poor condition) is estimated at $3 million, but that investment would not change the underlying problems at the site.

2019

WSDOT primary buildings average 46 years old

The average age of WSDOT's primary buildings is 46 years. Of the agency's 284 primary buildings, 72 (25%) are 25 years old or less, while 102 (36%) primary buildings are between 26 and 50 years old. WSDOT owns 110 (39%) primary buildings that are more than 50 years old, with 34 (12%) of these having been built in the 1930s.

By 2029, 19 (7%) of WSDOT's current primary buildings will be 25 years old or less, 94 (33%) will be between 26 and 50 years old, and 171 buildings (60%) will be more than 50 years old. WSDOT follows guidance from the Washington State Office of Financial Management, which states that buildings over 50 years of age have reached the end of their useful service life.

2017

WSDOT primary buildings average 44 years old; 98 (35%) are more than 50 years old

The average age of WSDOT's 283 primary buildings is 44 years old. Less than one-third of the primary building inventory (29%; 81 buildings) is 25 years old or younger, and 37% (104) of primary buildings fall into the 26-50 years old category. The number of primary buildings older than 50 years stayed the same between September 2016 and September 2017; with 35% (98) of WSDOT's inventory in this category.

Three buildings aged into the "26 to 50 years" category, including the Mount Saint Helens office and storage building, the Union Gap vehicle and storage building, and the Union Gap project development modular office. The Wenatchee project engineering field office was removed from this category when it was demolished to make room for the new North Central Region administration building in December 2016.

Many WSDOT primary facilities are functionally obsolete

Within 10 years, 90% of WSDOT's current primary building inventory will be 26 years old or older. By 2027, 156 primary buildings will be older than 50 years.

As buildings age beyond 25 years, design features become outdated and typically cannot be changed without major renovation or replacement. Many older maintenance shops cannot accommodate modern roadway work equipment such as larger trucks, wider plow blades or taller cranes and hoists that WSDOT road crews use to maintain the highways.

Outdated office and crew spaces are less flexible to operational changes, which may lead to inefficient facility use or operational impacts to the program being supported. Crew rooms, supervisor offices, restrooms, data outlets and electrical service may be undersized or inadequate to support a modern work environment.