A Weekly Summary of WSDOT News and Activities
Washington Jobs Now - Recovery Act funds deliver new Grape Line buses
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Three new, larger buses will be added to the Grape Line inter-city service between Walla Walla and Pasco. The new buses will seat 20 passengers and includes wheelchair accommodations. |
By about mid-January, three new Grape Line buses funded by federal stimulus dollars will begin carrying passengers between Walla Walla and Pasco. The new Grape Line buses are the latest fruits from $1.9 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants for the Travel Washington Intercity Bus Program. Indiana-based bus maker Turtle Top Inc. manufactured the vehicles, each of which will carry up to 20 passengers.
“Federal stimulus funding is giving Travel Washington’s intercity bus service a great boost to meet growing needs and demand,” said Stephen Abernathy, WSDOT’s Intercity Bus Program Manager. “The program is linking travel hubs and providing travel options that commuters in Washington’s rural areas have been lacking.”
The buses are equipped with high-back reclining passenger seats, a wheelchair lift, two wheelchair stations, a bike rack for two bicycles and luggage storage areas. The same model is already in use on the program’s Dungeness Line on the Olympic Peninsula, and has proven to be economical to operate and comfortable to ride.
The new buses are getting new Grape Line paint and other final preparations. A fourth bus is scheduled to arrive in February for Travel Washington’s Apple Line service between Omak and Ellensburg. Five more new ARRA-funded buses will join the Travel Washington fleet by springtime.
This month marks the second year of operations for the Grape Line, which now offers three scheduled round trips daily between Walla Walla and Pasco in southeast Washington under a partnership with WSDOT and Greyhound. It provides efficient and reliable connections in Pasco with Greyhound, Amtrak, and Ben Franklin Transit, and in Walla Walla with Valley Transit, Milton-Freewater Bus, and Columbia County Public Transportation.
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Maintenance & Operations feature - WSDOT's snow and ice removal operations
This photo, taken in December 2008 on I-5 north of Bellingham, serves as a good reminder to take it slow when winter weather arrives. |
During the winter months, WSDOT maintenance crews work around the clock to keep more than 7,000 miles of state highways drivable by using salt and anti-icing compounds, or sand when temperatures fall too low for chemicals to work. We focus on preventing snow and ice buildup on the roadways and removing snow and ice from the roadway when unfavorable winter weather arrives.
WSDOT's maintenance supervisors check weather reports and move equipment, materials, and personnel where needed most. WSDOT crews start anti-icing and snow removal on heavily traveled state routes, clearing the far right lanes first. Initial efforts are on areas where drivers are most at risk: hills, curves, ramps, bridges and interchanges. It takes time to complete the work, especially if the storm conditions continue to produce low temperatures, ice, freezing rain and snow.
No one can guarantee ice and snow-free roadways, so motorists must always be cautious when driving in wet and cold weather. Remember, Ice and Snow, Take it Slow.
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Update of projects under way
US 12 Yakima County - Work continues on the US 12 / Tieton River Crossings West and East - Replace Bridges project. This project is located on US 12, 10 miles west of the US 12 and SR 410 junction. WSDOT will replace two structurally deficient bridges spanning the Tieton River. Crews will construct two new bridges alongside the existing bridges. Blasting existing rock faces will provide the space needed to realign US 12 and connect the new bridges. Blasting operations will take place on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. through Friday, Jan. 8 at 6 a.m. During blasting operations US 12 will be closed to all traffic from milepost 173 (Rimrock Retreat Community) to milepost 184 (Oak Creek Elk Feeding Station). The roadway is rough through the work area (milepost 176). There will be daily lane closures from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Flaggers will alternate traffic through the work zone. Drivers may experience short delays during daylight hours.
US 395 North Spokane Corridor - Blasting work resumes Monday, January 4, on the North Spokane Corridor/US 2 to Wandermere-Lanes and Bridges project. Blasting is part of work to construct twin bridges connecting the North Spokane Corridor to existing US 395 at Wandermere. Crews will also grade, lay an asphalt base and final concrete surface for the new freeway. During blasting operations, for safety and possible debris cleanup, US 395 traffic will be stopped for about 15 minutes between Wandermere Road and the Little Spokane River Bridge. Drivers should expect delays following each blast while built-up traffic clears. Blasting is not done during snow storms. In general, Wandermere Road is closed from US 395/Division Street to approximately 50 feet south of the Wandermere Estates and Golf Course entrance through March 1, 2010. US 395 is open with no travel lane restrictions other than the blasting noted above.
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Announcements
WSDOT advances statewide tolling program
WSDOT signed a contract December 23 with Electronic Transaction Consultants (ETC) of Richardson, Texas, to establish and operate a new statewide customer service center for toll operations. Under the contract ETC will provide customer service for the Good To Go! electronic tolling program, as well as payment processing, violation collections and business management. The five-year contract will begin Jan. 11, 2010, and is valued at approximately $23 million.
“We are moving forward with a statewide tolling system that is focused on the customer,” said Craig Stone, WSDOT Toll Division Director. “Drivers will use their Good To Go! accounts at any tolling facility in the state; they will have one account, one transponder and one customer service center contact. We will implement some of the most advanced technology in the industry to provide drivers with improved traffic conditions and a cohesive, streamlined system.”
ETC was selected through a competitive selection process from among five bidders. ETC will take over operation of customer service activities for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and SR 167 HOT lanes, as well as initiate customer service activities for the SR 520 bridge, which will begin all-electronic tolling in spring 2011.
ETC is known in the tolling industry for its leading innovations in large-scale electronic toll collection systems. ETC’s systems currently collect about one-third of all toll transactions in the U.S.
WSDOT announces best value proposal for SR 520 floating bridge pontoons
WSDOT announced on December 23 that Kiewit-General Joint Venture has submitted the apparent best price and technical proposal for building new State Route 520 floating bridge concrete pontoons in Grays Harbor County.
Kiewit-General’s bid price of $367.3 million is $180 million less than the state engineer’s estimate for the project. The contractor team appears to have the best combination of bid price and technical score, which reflected proposed plans for a pontoon construction facility, how quickly the new pontoons could be built, and environmental protections. Three teams were pre-qualified by WSDOT to compete for the contract.
The contractor team will:
- Design and build a new pontoon construction facility in Grays Harbor County – scheduled to begin in late 2010.
- Design and construct 33 new floating bridge pontoons.
- Store pontoons until they are needed for the SR 520 floating bridge.
By combining design and construction in one contract at a fixed price, the contractor team has more opportunities for innovations and WSDOT and taxpayers are assured that costs are controlled. A final contract is scheduled to be signed in coming weeks.
The pontoon construction project is one project under way to replace the SR 520 floating bridge. The state Legislature has authorized approximately $2 billion out of a $4.65 billion budget using a combination of state and federal funding and future SR 520 toll revenue. Tolling is scheduled to begin in spring 2011 and toll rates will be set by the state Transportation Commission in 2010.
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January meetings and events
5, Tuesday, 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., Joint Transportation Committee presentation, WSF vehicle reservation study - Olympia: WSDOT's Ferries Division (WSF) will present the Draft Vehicle Reservations Predesign Study to the legislative Joint Transportation Committee. In spring 2009, the state Legislature directed WSF to conduct a pre-design study on vehicle reservations. This study is intended to identify the technology and needed capabilities for a vehicle reservations system that could be applied to all WSF routes, if found appropriate. Location: John A. Cherberg Building, 304 15th Avenue SW, Olympia.
Express Lane Archive
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