Traffic Payout

There is a lot going on lately in transportation in the transportation world in Washington state.  Thought I would put a summary together to let you know what all is happening.

• Big construction weekend for those in or who commute through Lacey/Olympia area.  3 of 4 southbound lanes will be closed on I-5. Can you believe that concrete lasted 25 years longer than we expected it to!  It's really quite amazing. 
• Opening of the North Cascades pass commenced, wouldn't you know it it's been snowing on those guys like crazy! Be sure to catch the daily updates Jeff Adamson sends by subscribing to the North Cascades Highway e-mail update list.
• The SR 519 project in downtown Seattle near the stadiums is nearing completion.
• No new settlement on the SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct.
• We launched a beta version of a mobile application for those with Android based phones, go to the market and search for the term "WSDOT".  We will be working on the iPhone version next.  For those who have mobile devices with internet access be sure to try out this url: http://wsdot.gov/small/
• The deadline to remove studded tires was extended to April 17 due to the continuing snow that is falling in the mountain passes.  What a crazy April huh?
• Construction of the new ferry boat, the Chetzemoka, is showing great progress.  It was moved via tug last weekend up to Everett shipyards for completion, see photos of that move.
• We launched a new traffic homepage to make it easier to access the items on our Web site that help you make the most informed decision before traveling.
• We are inviting you to post your favorite safety photos to our Flickr group for Workzone Awareness week April 19-23 (more on that coming soon, we will be changing the entire site orange again).  I even got in on the chance to show support for our workers on the roadway with a staff photo (I'm on the left with the great pants!).
• Active Traffic Management signs are starting to go up in the Seattle area, we are very excited about the possibilities these signs offer for safety and collision reduction.
• Lots of dowel bars are being added to I-90 in the Seattle area to improve the strength of the roadway to enable HOV lanes between Seattle and Bellevue.
• We are improving safety along SR 14 by removing loose and unstable rock near White Salmon.  Check out a very cool video of some of that work.
• In Yakima, the I-82 Valley Mall Boulevard interchange project started work on April 5.  This project was made possible due to ARRA stimulus funding.  If you haven't seen it yet we talked to some folks who gave us great personal stories about how stimulus funding helped save their jobs.  And for those of you who love roundabouts, there are three of them being built on this project.
• Work continues on I-405 between NE 8th Street and SR 520 in Bellevue.
• Work on I-5 in Blaine will close D Street/Peace Portal Drive for 50 days.