Tag: Washington State: Page 2

Roadbuilding

Can your bridges withstand a hit by a heavy semi?

A disturbingly large number of America’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete (see Better Roads’ November bridge inventory). But how many are “fracture-critical?” Washington State’s collapsed I-5 bridge was fracture-critical when it was hit by a heavily loaded truck. But it is far from alone in the state of Washington in that classification and […]

July 18, 2013

Roadbuilding

More than 200 Washington bridges are fracture-critical

More than 200 of Washington state’s bridges are classified as fracture-critical and could collapse if a key component of the bridge fails, according to KUOW. Of those bridges, at least three have been struck multiple times in the past five years, putting the bridges at a higher risk of collapsing. The Interstate 5 span that […]

July 17, 2013

Business

How collapsed I-5 bridge was reopened with a temporary span

Traffic is once again flowing over Washington state’s Skagit River as a temporary span has been set in place on the Interstate 5 bridge that suffered a partial collapse last month. According to our sister site Better Roads, the Washington State Department of Transportation reopened the bridge with restrictions. Vehicles traveling across are limited to […]

June 19, 2013

Roadbuilding

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation discusses infrastructure investment at bridge collapse hearing

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies met Thursday for a hearing, where the committee examined the Interstate 5 bridge collapse in the context of the overall status of the nation’s transportation infrastructure. AASHTO Journal reported that Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) chaired the hearing, “Crumbling Infrastructure: Examining the Challenges […]

June 18, 2013

Roadbuilding

States combat low gas tax revenues with hybrid-, electric-vehicle fees

In an attempt to battle lost taxes due to increased hybrid and electric car use, six states are working to create laws to tax fuel-efficient vehicles, Automotive News and Bloomberg reported. Electric and hybrid car sales have continuously risen in the last decade, while state and local gas tax revenues have fallen. In fact, inflation-adjusted […]

June 10, 2013

Roadbuilding

Washington airport launches bee-saving program

Sea-Tac Airport in Washington State has launched a new program to help honey bees repopulate, according to KOMO News. The program places a dozen hives in the far corners of the runways of the airport, which has 853 daily flights. Bob Redmond, who is spearheading the program, said the bees don’t pose any threat to […]

June 7, 2013

Roadbuilding

Goalposts and Speed Limits

Let’s say you want to set a speed limit of 20 mph on a neighborhood street. You need an engineering study and a traffic study, right? No. Not in Washington State. A new Neighborhood Safe Streets Bill empowers cities and towns to set lower maximum speed limits without going through those studies. This report comes […]

May 31, 2013

Roadbuilding

2013’s bridges: A Skagit River reminder

Did the collapse of the I-5 bridge across the Skagit River in Washington State demonstrate a need for increased investing in our increasingly substandard transportation infrastructure, particularly bridges? One argument says no. Then it sort of says yes as well. “No” in that the bridge was not failing and in desperate need of repair. “Yes” […]

May 28, 2013

Business

Funding isn’t there to rebuild partially-collapsed I-5 bridge in Washington

Despite the increased attention it has given to the problem, the aftermath of a partial collapse of a bridge on Interstate 5 spanning the Skagit River in Washington state also underscores the dearth of solutions the U.S. has for its aging infrastructure and lack of funding. Last Thursday, a section of the 58-year-old bridge collapsed after […]

May 28, 2013

Roadbuilding

I-5 bridge collapse highlights need for transportation funding

The Interstate 5 bridge collapse that occurred Thursday night in Washington State underscores a larger problem the state is facing: transportation funding. Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has said the bridge collapse reveals that lawmakers need to find ways to fund state transportation projects soon, the New York Times reported. Washington lawmakers are considering transportation […]

May 28, 2013

Roadbuilding

WSDOT announces I-5 detours

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has announced that Interstate 5 has been closed in both directions in Skagit County south of Burlington. The agency said via Twitter that drivers should avoid the area or expect delays. WSDOT suggested the following alternate routes: Southbound traffic: Take eastbound State Route (SR) 20, then south on […]

May 24, 2013

Construction Equipment

Disagreement between neighbors escalates into $300k bulldozer rampage

Apparently that old Robert Frost quote “Good fences make good neighbors” doesn’t hold up in every situation. After arguing for months with a next-door neighbor over a fence that made it difficult for for him to move his logging equipment in and out of his yard, Barry Swegle took action. Part of the equipment in question […]

May 15, 2013