News

Find news releases and announcements about the agency in our virtual newsroom. 

Replacing the Elwha River Bridge

Posted 11/21/2023

After serving the Olympic Peninsula for almost 100 years, the beloved Elwha River Bridge has reached the end of its useful life

That’s a wrap: Highway construction from Yakima to Walla Walla winds down for 2023

Posted 11/21/2023

YAKIMA – The approach of the calendar year’s end brings with it a number of significant highway construction milestones. With so many improvements made on highways between Yakima and Walla Walla in 2023, here is a brief recap of some of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s construction activity across…

Opening the next section of the North Spokane Corridor: full completion now in sight

Posted 11/21/2023

Whether you’ve lived in Spokane your whole life, or just recently moved to the Lilac City, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard or perhaps uttered these eight words: “It will never be built in my lifetime.” Sometimes those eight words come in the form of a rhetorical eight-word question: “Will it ever be built in…

Nearly 300,000 stuffing onto ferries for Thanksgiving

Posted 11/20/2023

SEATTLE – Carve out some extra time if your Thanksgiving travel plans include a state ferry ride. In addition to the long vehicle lines over holiday weekends, all passengers should prepare for possible last-minute schedule changes. Edmonds/Kingston route travelers should plan for reduced one-boat service due to…

I-5 HOV project in Pierce County aims to reduce bridge strikes on JBLM

Posted 11/20/2023

It happened again. On November 3, a semi-truck got stuck on Pendleton Avenue under Interstate 5 in Pierce County. It's the fourth bridge strike this year at this location. Every time it happens, we hope that the damage is superficial because those bridge girders are holding up the lanes of I-5. So far, we've…

Public invited to comment on Washington’s 2024-2027 program of multimodal transportation projects

Posted 11/20/2023

OLYMPIA – A compilation of prioritized transportation improvement projects is now ready for public review and comment through Tuesday, Dec. 19.

Busy 2023 construction season wraps for I-90 between North Bend and Ellensburg

Posted 11/17/2023

SNOQUALMIE PASS – From highway expansion to rock blasting, deck rehabilitation and roadway erosion mitigation, much was accomplished along the Interstate 90 corridor in 2023 from North Bend to Ellensburg.

Bridge building on SR 99 in Fife requires long-term bypass for northbound traffic

Posted 11/16/2023

FIFE - Construction of a new bridge on State Route 99 in Fife begins in mid-November and it requires a long-term traffic shift.

I-405 overpass replacement in Renton gaining momentum

Posted 11/16/2023

We took a big bite out of the project to replace the Lind Avenue overpass above southbound I-405 in Renton a couple of weeks ago, and now we're getting ready for the next part of the job.

Virtual public meeting for draft 2024 Highway System Plan on Nov. 30

Posted 11/16/2023

OLYMPIA – Draft plan recommends highway investment strategy for next 20 years

Slow down – lives are on the line. 

In 2023, speeding continued to be a top reason for work zone crashes.

Even one life lost is too many.

Fatal work zone crashes doubled in 2023 - Washington had 10 fatal work zone crashes on state roads.

It's in EVERYONE’S best interest.

95% of people hurt in work zones are drivers, their passengers or passing pedestrians, not just our road crews.