Tag: Washington State

Death by Trench

Expect more criminal charges in trench deaths

June 11, 2018

Roadbuilding

Foxx urges careful consideration when determining placement of roads

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is encouraging road developers to think carefully before placing a highway through the middle of a neighborhood. The Atlantic reports that Foxx’s grandparents lived such a neighborhood, and the result was a disconnection of the cut-off part of the neighborhood from the city and opportunity. Now, Foxx wants to do something about that. The news […]

April 7, 2016

Roadbuilding

Bertha is nearly ready to start tunneling again

The massive tunnel-boring machine that’s been sidelined in Seattle for two years could be back to boring by New Year’s. The Washington State Department of Transportation announced that the Seattle Tunnel Partners had begun the final preparations before drilling gets started again with soil and sand being poured into the 120-foot-deep access pit on Sunday. Bertha […]

December 17, 2015

Roadbuilding

Bertha delayed again; won’t restart drilling until late December

The Seattle Tunnel Partners have once again delayed the restart of drilling for the State Route 99 tunnel, with Bertha not expected to start work again until Dec. 23. The Washington State Department of Transportation announced the revised schedule Thursday and said the tunnel most likely would not open until April 2018. That puts the project two years and four […]

October 26, 2015

Roadbuilding

Asphalt truck driver hospitalized after rollover in Washington

A woman driving an asphalt truck in Cel Elum, Washington, was sent to the hospital after a rollover crash earlier this week. The Yakima Herald reported that Claire Piper, 39, was driving the truck on Interstate 90 early Tuesday morning when she went off the road and overcorrected twice. Piper lost control and the truck swerved across […]

July 31, 2015

Roadbuilding

Washington governor signs bipartisan package of bills for 16-year, $16 billion transportation investment program

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a transportation investment package of bills that will fund transportation projects over a 16-year period at a cost of $16 billion. Dubbed “Connecting Washington”, the program is estimated to create 200,000 jobs. Most of the funding will come from a two-tier gas tax increase. The tax will rise 7 […]

July 17, 2015

Roadbuilding

Toll roads, P3s and creative financing will bring short-term gain, long-term disaster for the road building industry

For the last half-century gas and diesel taxes collected at the pump have been the primary source of funding for almost all our highway infrastructure. But Congress hasn’t  increased the gas tax or adjusted it for inflation since 1992. Anti-tax advocates claim this as a victory, but it’s not. With the highway trust fund running […]

August 8, 2014

Roadbuilding

Several deficiencies exposed in Skagit River Bridge collapse

Several deficiencies have been exposed following the collapse of Skagit River Bridge on Interstate-5 near Mt. Vernon, Wash. The collapse happened when the bridge was struck by a truck carrying an oversized load. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found a series of problems after investigating the collapse. First and foremost, the driver of the […]

July 22, 2014

Roadbuilding

Trucking parking bans instituted in Washington state

Washington’s Pierce County became the state’s second county this month to bar truck parking on residential streets in unincorporated areas. Pierce County commissioners voted 7-1 for banning trucks with gross vehicle weights exceeding 10,001 pounds and trailers longer than 20 feet from parking on neighborhood streets between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The ordinance institutes […]

July 21, 2014

Roadbuilding

5 freeway bridges in need of repair following accident

A truck hauling an excavator caused some major problems for the Washington State Department of Transportation after colliding with five freeway overpasses. Cost of the repairs have not yet been determined, but all five bridges will need to be repaired. “It’s too early to say how much the repairs will cost,” Doug Adamson, WSDOT spokesman […]

July 18, 2014

Roadbuilding

Washington named most ‘Bicycle-Friendly State’ for 7th year

For the seventh consecutive year, Washington state has earned the top spot among the League of American Bicyclists’ “Bicycle-Friendly State” rankings. Each year, the organization numerically ranks each U.S. state according to the efforts the state have taken to make biking easier and safer. The rankings are released annually at the start of National Bike […]

May 2, 2014

Roadbuilding

Washington State’s Willapa River Bridge opens

The Willapa River Bridge on State Route 6 in Pacific County, Washington is set to open to motorists on Wednesday, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced this week. WSDOT noted that contractor Rotschy Inc. intends to shift traffic to the new bridge by Wednesday afternoon. Construction on the 36-foot-wide concrete bridge began last […]

April 29, 2014