By Alice Fiman

Starting today, our workers will be installing a unique structure designed for use during wartime to keep traffic moving in rural Thurston County.

Thurston County requested use of part of our Bailey-style bridge to temporarily replace a bridge out of service on Littlerock Road, south of Olympia. Once our crews get out there later this morning, they should have the bridge pieces together, up and open to traffic within two days. The plan now calls for it to be in place by Friday, March 21.

And yes, you did read that correctly – they are just borrowing part of it.

That’s because a Bailey bridge isn’t a whole thing, but actually just pieces, or panels, for those who may be more familiar with that sort of thing. You can see the full Wikipedia description here. The panels are made to be light, portable and not require any special tools or equipment. But they are strong enough to carry tanks. The Bailey bridge design is close to 75 years old, but can be installed to handle 21st century travel.

We own enough Bailey bridge parts to build close to three, 150-foot-long Bailey-style bridges. These are built by assembling various parts, similar to a large tinker toy set. Bailey bridges were designed for soldiers to build the structure using only manpower, no cranes or heavy equipment needed.  We keep these bridge parts stored in the Tacoma Narrows Bridge anchor gallery for safety and protection from the elements.

For what’s known as the L-4 bridge on Littlerock Road, our crews will install what they call a “triple single,” which will be one stack of three panels on each side of the roadway (the same configuration as the first picture). The bridge will be designed to carry most loads including cars, school buses and fire trucks. Check with Thurston County for more information on traffic control.

Bailey Bridge used on SR 142 in Klickitat County in 2012

We own a Bailey bridge for the reasons you may think – we have lots of water in Washington (and other stuff you may need to cross). If something happens, we are ready to assemble these pieces to keep traffic moving. In 2007, crews put up a 180-foot bridge in six days over the Chehalis River near SR 6 in Lewis County. And, more recently, we put up a Bailey bridge in Klickitat County in 2012.

by guest blogger Jef Lucero

New Hawks Prairie Park and Ride Lot

If you build it, carpoolers will come. With blue skies and sunshine serving as a warm and welcome backdrop, leadership from Intercity Transit, Thurston County, the city of Lacey and WSDOT convened on Jan. 25 to cut the ribbon on the new Hawks Prairie park and ride near Lacey. The facility—located just north of I-5 at Marvin Road—provides commuters with 332 parking stalls, and the view looks great from all of them.

“This project addresses a significant need and benefits the public we serve,” said former three-term legislator and current Thurston County Commissioner Sandra Romero. “This park and ride represents innovation, smart land use, public stewardship and strong partnerships.”

Created with the aid of a grant from WSDOT as part of its Regional Mobility Grant program, this project represents a bold and unique vision made possible thanks to the help of a strong, dynamic set of partners. Peppered with modest landscaping flourishes and modern amenities, it bears no resemblance to the landfill once housed at the site. Built above 25 to 60 feet of garbage and 148,000 tons of fill, the park and ride also features four electric-vehicle charging stations and 24-hour security cameras.

This park and ride isn’t just built atop a landfill: Considering the immediate surroundings slope down and away from the facility, it’s rather perched atop it, seemingly vaulting up from where it sits. From almost any perspective, the view sweeps toward the horizon. If ever there was a picturesque park and ride, this surely is the one - proving once and for all that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. Or, park and ride.

Addressing the crowd, Commissioner Romero expressed her appreciation for the project’s partners. She cited the efforts of IT, WSDOT, the city of Lacey and the contractors on the project for collaborating to make the park and ride a reality. “This is a great example of a public-private partnership come to life,” said Commissioner Romero.

About 100 people and two dogs attended the celebration. Joining Commissioner Romero were Lacey Mayor Virgil Clarkson; Tumwater Mayor Pete Kmet; IT Acting General Manager Ann Freeman-Manzaneres; executives from the Washington State Transit Association, Sound Transit, and the Thurston Regional Planning Council; officials from the IT Board of Directors; and members of the Lacey and Olympia city councils.

WSDOT’s Regional Mobility Grants program delivers transit-mobility projects that are cost-effective, reduce travel delay for people and goods, improve connectivity between counties and regional transportation centers and are consistent with local and regional transportation and land-use plans. Funded through the multimodal transportation fund, the program has provided $161.2 million to support local projects since 2006.

How do you know what your commute is going to be like? If you’re like a lot of people, you might check out one of our many traffic cameras. We have several hundred cameras statewide showing road conditions along a variety of big interstates and smaller state highways. Add to that our data loops that give you a color-coded clue of whether traffic is stop-and-go (black) or free-flowing (green), and our travel alerts page, and drivers can get a pretty good idea of what to expect on the road before they ever get in the car.

But some stretches of highway are what we call our blind spots. With no cameras and no data loops, the only way to know what traffic is like is to be there. Or have ESP. And on the highways, the unexpected is rarely good news.

Fortunately for drivers, we’ve recently added to our arsenal of cameras. In February, we brought 18 new cameras online between Everett and Arlington and hooked up one new camera to show conditions at the I-90/SR 18 interchange. But wait, there’s more: Later this month, seven new cameras in Pierce and Thurston counties will give drivers a bird’s-eye view of traffic between Lacey and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. And by June, drivers in southern Thurston County can use six new cameras to check their commute, too.

If you’re adding it all up, that’s 32 brand spankin’ new cameras covering a whopping 36 miles of highway: 16 miles in northern Snohomish County, one new mile along I-90 in North Bend, 11 miles in Pierce County and eight in Thurston County.  Goodbye blind spots, hello travel planning.

If you’re one of those people who’s more curious about how long your commute will take – in minutes rather than black and red dots on a map – you’re in luck, too. Travel times from Tacoma to Olympia (and vice versa) will start appearing Monday, March 12, on our Tacoma and Olympia traffic pages. Add that to the travel times already available on the Seattle Traffic page, and drivers can get a pretty good estimate of how long it will take to travel from Seattle and points north to Tacoma and points south. All with the click of a button (or two).

So the next time you head out for a road trip, or just hit the highway for your morning or evening commute, make sure to check out our new travel times and cameras. You might just save yourself some time (and frustration) now that you can know more before you go.