by guest blogger Noel Brady

It’s the lure of the open road, the boundless horizon, the discovery of a dusty, old-west town and …a convenient place to recharge your car?

That’s right; road trips in Washington are going electric. In just six months a network of recharging stations along Washington’s Electric Highways – I-5 and US 2 to start – will break the range barrier for electric vehicles, making Canada-to-Oregon trips as easy as plugging in your laptop.

More than 1,500 people in Washington already drive the latest generation of electric vehicles (EV), such as the Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt, and markets indicate thousands more will be recharging instead of refueling in the years to come.

So far, EV drivers have been limited to short hops of 40 to 50 miles in city traffic before having to recharge. With limited options for recharging on the road today, they typically charge their batteries overnight at home. Soon, EV drivers will be recharging on the way to Stevens Pass (on US 2) or while visiting Oregon or British Columbia (via I-5).

California-based AeroVironment will supply the recharging equipment at nine locations to connect the EV grid in much of our state by Nov. 30. The stations will include DC fast-chargers, which fully charge any plug-in EV in less than a half hour, and Level 2 “medium-speed” chargers, a cheaper option that takes three to eight hours.

“It's all about offering choices,” said Jeff Doyle, director of public-private partnerships here at WSDOT. “People are choosing electric because it costs about 2 cents per mile, compared to 12 cents or more with gasoline. Most people who want to invest in an electric car are waiting for convenient recharging."

Doyle and his team looked at how EV drivers will fit recharging into their daily routine. They started scouting locations like malls, theaters, restaurants and large retail stores, where an EV driver might want to spend 30 minutes to a few hours while their car recharges.

They visited storefronts with a simple proposal for business and property owners – they provide the real estate (a couple parking stalls, usually) and we will help pay for the charging equipment with a recently-awarded $1.32 million federal energy grant for innovative petroleum-reduction projects.

Between Everett and Olympia, ECOtality will install additional charging stations through a federal program, The EV Project, administrated by the U.S. Department of Energy. Combined with Electric Highways, the two projects will connect Washington EV drivers along the entire 276 miles of I-5 between Canada and Oregon.

Electric Highways in Washington eventually will connect with similar projects in Oregon and California to the form the West Coast Green Highway, 1,350 electrified miles on I-5 from Canada to Mexico, serving more than 2 million EVs anticipated in western states by the next decade. Just imagine driving from Vancouver, B.C., to the Baja Peninsula without ever filling a gas tank.

by guest blogger Abbi Russell


A unique roadside feature greets drivers that cross the I-5 Interstate Bridge from Portland, Ore. into Vancouver, Wash. – a huge flowerbed shaped like Washington, welcoming them to the Evergreen State.

For years the “Welcome to Washington” flowerbed/sign was meticulously planted and maintained by Vancouver-based employee Sharon Morgan.  Every year she designed beautiful plantings that made the sign a living work of art and a pleasant sight for everyone who traveled northbound I-5 in Vancouver.

When Sharon retired in 2007 and the maintenance budget was cut back, the sign didn’t get planted for the first time in a long time. And boy, did we hear about it.

Drivers were upset that the famous sign wasn’t being kept up. Our Environmental team planted the flowerbed with a sustainable and perennial design of native northwest plants. Most things were planted in the fall so they could winter over and bloom in the spring.

The plants didn’t look like much that winter – some drivers thought the sign looked weedy and unkempt. Then a well-meaning citizen took it upon themselves to mow down the “weeds” without knowing that the native plants were poised to bloom in just a few months. Many plants died, so our crews removed everything down to bare dirt, and we all wondered – what do we do now?

Enter Vancouver resident Yvette Golemo, who contacted Roadside Maintenance Supervisor Bill VanAntwerp and asked about the Adopt-A-Highway program. Yvette wanted to know if she could adopt the “Welcome to Washington” sign. Bill was happy to bring Yvette and her volunteers on board, and in 2009 the sign was once again planted in all its glory.

Volunteer groups have planted the sign ever since. This year, we are working with the Washington State University Master Gardeners program (insert shameless Cougs plug here). The Master Gardeners grew all of the flowers and herbs we purchased for the planting; proceeds go to support Vancouver-area charitable programs.

Volunteers with the Master Gardeners program are planting the sign this Saturday in the shape of a state icon – a shiny red apple. Thousands of brightly colored petunias, begonias and salvia plants will be combined with alyssum, sage and parsley to create another living work of art along I-5 in Vancouver. Sharon would be proud.

Big thanks to the generous volunteers who are helping keep Washington a beautiful and welcoming state!

“It’s so great to be recognized and appreciated on such a grand scale for the good things we do,” said Al Stancil, a heavy equipment operator in South Central Region

This quote above is just one I heard today from one of the WSDOT Maintenance crews who came to the Washington State Capitol today for a very special honor, Senate Resolution 8634

"...Be it resolved, that the Senate recognize and commend the employees of the Washington State Department of Transportation on their work to maintain our state's transportation corridors during and after the storms of 2007, 2008, and 2009, and the employees of the Washington state patrol on their efforts to assist our residents during the storms of 2007, 2008, and 2009."

The men and women like Al who work for WSDOT are very proud of the job they do each day. And it sure is nice for them and their Washington State Patrol colleagues to hear that others appreciate their efforts. But, truthfully, most of them were in a hurry to get back to their trucks and shops.

A number of Washington State Senators offered their thanks for WSDOT and WSP's efforts. TVW also broadcast the ceremony live and it's available on their website.