Work Starts On I90 Wildlife Overpass

Geese using the Gold Creek wildlife underpass

The project to improve Snoqualmie Pass has already included building four underpasses to let The Yakima Herald says crews broke ground yesterday on the state's first freeway overpass for animals.
animals get from one side of the freeway to another. Soon, wildlife will have another option.

The 150-foot-long structure is expected to carry black bear, cougar, deer, elk, squirrels, mice and lizards. When finished, the section of I-90 from Hyak to Easton will have more than 20 underpasses and overpasses engineered for wildlife. Dozens of small culverts will also be rebuilt to allow easier passage.

Wildlife cameras are already recording deer, ducks, coyotes and river otters using the four existing wildlife underpasses.

From an engineering standpoint, it wasn't that tricky to lengthen bridges to create expansive undercrossings and enable streams and wetlands to meander naturally, according to project engineers.

For instance, the old bridge at Gold Creek, near milepost 55, was only 150 feet long and surrounded by embankments that animals couldn't navigate. The new version, finished last year, includes a 1,100-foot span that allows the creek to flow freely underneath and provide upstream passage for fish, like bull trout. The expansive opening also preserves wetlands and opens up a natural flood plain for Keechelus Lake. A separate undercrossing provides year-round passage for land animals, even when the lake is high.

No Parking At Pan Am Games

If you're a sports fan planning to attend the Pan American Games in Toronto in a couple weeks, don't plan to drive to the events says CBC News out of Toronto. Officials say that high-occupancy vehicle lanes and added public transit are at the core of their strategy to keep people moving during the multi-sport event. That means no parking at the Rogers Centre during the opening ceremonies or at the Pan Am Park at Exhibition Place on Toronto's waterfront. People holding tickets to events will be able to ride public transit for free however

They're also counting on residents working from home, carpooling and working flex hours to limit congestion during peak commuting hours.

Do You Have Road Rage?

You'd think it would be easy to tell if you're experiencing road rage right? Apparently not. News 13 out of Florida says that if you answer "yes" to any of the questions below, you may be susceptible to road rage. 

1. Do you regularly drive over the speed limit, or try to "beat" red lights because you are in a hurry?
2. Do you tailgate or flash your headlights at a driver in front of you that you believe is driving too slowly?
3. Do you honk the horn often?
4. Do you ever use obscene gestures or otherwise communicate angrily at another driver?

If you recognize the signs of road rage in yourself, DMV.org says to put some effort into learning new driving habits. 

Record Heat Causes Highway to Rupture

Yesterday's heat was so intense that it not only broke records across the area, it also broke an actual roadway! The Spokesman-Review reports that a stretch of U.S. Highway 195 ruptured Monday, baking the pavement of the northbound lanes near Mullen Hill Road until it actually split.

Crews closed the highway until they were able to get it fixed early this morning.

The heat broke a 1931 record of 91 degrees.

Parking Tickets As Art

From the looks of it, someone near Post and Main forgot to pay the parking meter. Don't be fooled though, the car covered in parking tickets is actually an art installation created by Eastern Washington University students.

According to the Spokesman-Review, professor Tom Askman
said part of the exhibition’s purpose is to create “wonder,” Students apparently want strangers to stop and notice the display.

The car belongs to one of the students. The class paid to reserve the parking spot and the City of Spokane bagged the meter. Even so, a real parking ticket was added to the pile of fake ones sometime Saturday. It was off of another car though.

Will Seattlites Trade Four Wheels For One?

Is the solution to Seattle's traffic congestion problems a small electric wheel? That's what some people think, according to MyNorthwest.com.

The Solowheel is like a unicycle but with no seat and you don't have to pedal. The electric wheel is rechargable and costs about 1.2 cents to ride for an hour. Riders lean forward to go and lean back to stop.

It's not ideal for long distance commuters because it has a limited range and goes about ten miles an hour.  It is however, fun, apparently. The developer of Solowheel says it feels like surfing to work.

It costs less than $2000

Local Construction Update

For more information on all the projects below, and to see them in relation to each other on a map, check out SRTC's 2015 Spokane Regional Construction Map here. The map is updated as new projects start and existing ones wrap up.

You may notice that projects underway now are more prominent while ones that will start later this construction season are more in the background.

SPOKANE VALLEY
Argonne Road at Knox Reconstruction- Reduced to two lanes each direction through mid- to late June for reconstruction of the roadway. Left turns are prohibited in all directions at the Argonne and Knox intersection. Business access remains available through driveways connecting directly to Argonne.

Argonne Road at Montgomery Reconstruction- Expect lane reductions as construction begins near the Argonne and Montgomery intersection. Pedestrians should follow signs for the pedestrian detour route.

Broadway from Fancher to Havana- Limited to one lane in each direction around the clock through mid-June. Access to businesses remains available.

Sullivan Road from Sprague Avenue to Mission Avenue- Reduced to two lanes northbound around the clock with curb-lane closures beginning Monday, June 8 at 6 a.m. through mid to late-June for stormwater drainage improvements and sidewalk work.

Sullivan Road Bridge Replacement Project Area- The southbound Sullivan Road Bridge across the Spokane River is closed until spring 2016 for bridge demolition and replacement work. All traffic is shifted onto the northbound bridge with one lane northbound and two lanes southbound between Indiana Avenue and the Sullivan Park traffic signal. Northbound traffic is restricted to vehicles ten feet wide or less.  Northbound oversized vehicles should use Barker Road or Pines Road as alternatives. Turns from Indiana Avenue onto northbound Sullivan Road are reduced to one lane.

WSDOT

US 2/Spokane Airport Vicinity Signage Upgrade- On Tuesday, June 9 (and possibly Wednesday, June 10) from about 10 p.m. until as late as 4 a.m. the following morning, the Airport exit on US 2 will be closed to install an overhead sign. Signs will direct drivers traveling from Spokane to continue west on US 2 to Flint Road to access the airport.

SR 290-Trent Ave./Sullivan Road to Idaho State Line- Thursday, June 4 from about 6 p.m. until as late as 6 a.m. the following morning, be alert for flaggers and/or pilot cars directing single-lane, alternating traffic. Crews will be doing test core drilling in preparation for an upcoming paving project.

SPOKANE CITY
Reduced Park Speed Limits- Slow down around parks and libraries as speed limits are reduced for the summer. The City Street Department will be installing 20 MPH signs over the next several weeks at the following parks and playgrounds: Cannon, Chief Gary, Mission, Shadle, Audubon, Comstock Park and Pool, Hays, and Lincoln.

Wall Street Closure- Wall Street between Spokane Falls Boulevard and Main Avenue (the North block of Wall Street) will be closed 3-8 p.m. on Friday June 5 for the Festival of Speed Car Show.

Marne Bridge Lane Restrictions- Marne Bridge over Latah (at Riverside & A Street) will be inspected Friday, June 5.  Lane restrictions will occur 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Flaggers will be in place with signs and cones.

15th Avenue Closure- 15^th from Regal to Mt. Vernon is closed until June 10 for new sewer and water connections.

Cook Street Closure- Cook St. between Springfield and Broadway is closed until July 2 for new water and sewer lines.

Gardner Street Closure- Gardner will be closed for one day on Friday, June 5 between Adams and Monroe in order for a crane and rigging to be hoisted to a rooftop at 1229 W. Boone.

High Drive Closure- High Drive is closed between Berard and Grand for storm and sewer work. After that, the road will be repaved. Work is expected to last through fall.

I90 Gateway Project- The project to beautify five locations near I90 and Division Street continues. There are no significant traffic impacts at this time.

Cascade Way Closure- Road construction of Cascade Way and Maple St. begin the week of June 8. Cascade Way will be closed from Panorama Drive to west of Maple. Maple will be closed from Cascade Way to Sierra Way.

SPOKANE COUNTY

Christensen Road Bridge- Bridge closed for demolition and reconstruction. A marked detour is in place.

Argonne Road Stormwater Retrofit (Upriver Dr. to Spokane River)- One lane traffic in each direction for upgrades to stormwater faciities. Expect congestion and delays.

Palouse Highway (Jamieson to Freya & Windmill to Jamieson)- 57^th to Freya is closed for pavement removal and replacement. A detour is in place.

Airline Sets Three Drink Limit

Pretty sure this guy sat next to me on my last flight.

Ever been on a plane where an intoxicated person has caused problems? There has been a lot of coverage in the news in recent years about having to land early to get inebriated people off planes or having them freak out and accost flight attendants or other passengers.

As a result, one European airline is imposing a three-drink limit on passengers purchasing alcohol on board its flights, according to USA Today. Scandinavian Airlines is making the change in an effort to reduce mid-flight disturbances. The alcohol limit would apply to flights within Europe.

SRTC Board Meeting and Retreat Next Week

Some participants in last year's retreat.

We're doing something a little different next week for our monthly SRTC Board meeting.

Instead of meeting here at the SRTC offices, the meeting will be held offsite at 12 p.m. on June 11, 2015 at the Enduris Training Center, 1610 S. Technology Rd. Ste. 100 in Airway Heights, WA.

The meeting will be short (approximately 30 minutes), immediately followed by a Board retreat at approximately 12:30 p.m. on the topic "SRTC in the Future."

Members of the public are welcome to attend both the meeting and retreat. The meeting and retreat agenda is here.

Move Over Bike to Work Week, San Francisco Launches Bike to Worship Week

You've heard of Bike to Work Week, but what about Bike to Worship Week? It's an interfaith community event led by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition members of all different faiths in partnership with the San Francisco Interfaith Council and California Interfaith Power and Light.

According to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, various congregations worked from May 24-31 to raise visibility of biking to worship and anywhere else.

For many bicyclists, while they ride everywhere else, biking to church is not a normal part of their routine Sunday. The participating churches promoted the event with regular announcements through weekly emails, a quarterly newsletter, announcements following the sermon, the printed bulletin,  Facebook pages and more.

Vancouver, B.C. Really Knows How To Get People Out of Their Cars

In most North American cities, about 80% of people drive to get wherever they're going, whether it's to work, school, the doctor, shopping, etc. The other 20% ride the bus, walk, bicycle, ride skateboards or get to work some other way other than driving.

In Vancouver, B.C., that "mode split" is closer to 50-50! That means only about half of all trips are by car. According to Planetizen, daily automobile trips declined from 980,000 in 2013 to just 918,000 in 2014, while walking, cycling, and public transit trips rose from 893,000 to 905,000.

These numbers are attributed to the city’s efforts to improve walking, cycling and public transit, plus policies that create compact, multimodal neighborhoods. Most of the people who aren't driving anymore are bicycling, which doubled from approximately 50,000 daily trips in 2008 up to 100,000 in 2014, in response to an investment in quality cycling facilities.

Besides less crowded streets, low automobile travel rates have other benefits; the Vancouver region has 3.9 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents, one of the lowest among North American cities. Despite the growth in bicycle travel, crashes involving bicycles have not increased.

For more facts and figures on this impressive mode shift, check out the link above.

Sullivan Road Bridge Replacement Web Cam

Never grew out of the phase where you like big trucks and construction equipment? Think the process of tearing down an old bridge an rebuilding it is cool? Well now you can watch demolition and construction of the new southbound Sullivan Road Bridge across 

the Spokane River without driving to the site.  A link to the construction site webcam has been posted to the City of Spokane Valley's project web page at http://earthcam.net/projects/spokanevalley/sullivanbridge/

Tools on the screen let you get up close to the action by changing camera views, zooming in on sections of each image, or panning from left to right or up and down.  Or, watch a time-lapse video of the all the photo images of construction to date. And if you miss a day of watching the webcam, you can use the webcam calendar function to view each of the photo images from a particular day.

Replacement of the bridge, which was built in 1950, has been a priority for the City of Spokane Valley since 2009 when an annual bridge inspection resulted in a rating of "structurally deficient."  Weight restrictions were posted in June of 2011, and subsequently removed when temporary repairs were completed in 2012.

The new southbound bridge will be 65 feet wide, with four lanes that will safely accommodate future traffic flow.  It will also help relieve congestion at the high-traffic intersection south of the bridge at Sullivan and Indiana. 

Also included in the project are a ten-foot-wide multi-use pathway and three river viewing platforms. 

Liberty Lake Maps Out Priorities for Street & Capital Improvements For Next Few Years

Every year, SRTC puts together a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), a program of transportation projects to be constructed or implemented in the coming four to six years. We're not the only agency to do so, every other jurisdiction has to make their own TIP if they hope to get state or federal funding.

The Liberty Lake City Council has recently been taking a look at their TIP and what's on the agenda for the next six years. That city's TIP includes street and pathway upgrades, a freeway interchange at Henry Road, and preservation for streets like Country Vista from Broadway to Liberty Lake Road, Liberty Lake Road from Sprague to Country Vista and from Country Vista to Appleway. In all, there are approximately $16 million planned for 18 projects between 2016 and 2022.

The Liberty Lake Splash has a closer look at the city's TIP, as well as planned Capital Facilities Improvements for parks and other infrastructure.

Obama Threatens to Veto Transportation and Housing Bill

President Obama is threatening to veto a $55 billion Republican funding bill for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, According to an article by The Hill. Obama will apparently reject the measure, known as THUD (the best government acronym yet right?), on the grounds that it underfunds transportation and housing programs and includes several policy riders involving travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba and truck driver scheduling.

The measure, approved by the House Appropriations Committee in May, provides $55.3 billion in funding the departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. That's $1.5 billion more than the current 2015 spending level, but $9.7 billion less than President Obama requested.

Democrats have criticized Republicans for attaching a number of nonbudgetary issues to the bill, such as restrictions on the administration’s efforts to begin normalizing the nation’s relations with Cuba. And truck safety groups say Republicans are using the appropriations process to undo a series of trucking regulations they say makes U.S. roads safer, including limits on the length and weight of trucks.

Top 10 American Cities Where You Can Walk to Work

How many jobs are within a 10-minute walk of your home? Twenty minutes? Streetsblog.org reports on a new study from the University of Minnesota that ranks the 50 largest metro areas in America according to the accessibility by walking of jobs. Researchers measured the number of jobs reachable in a 10-minute walk for the typical worker in each metro. Then they measured how many jobs were reachable within 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 minutes. To create the city rankings, those figures were weighted to emphasize the potential for short-distance walk commutes.

For example, in New York City, about 5,000 jobs are within a 10-minute walk of the average residence. In Birmingham, the numbers drop to 180 jobs. Here are the ten top-ranking cities:

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Los Angeles
4. Chicago
5. Washington
6. Seattle
7. Boston
8. Philadelphia
9. San Jose
10. Denver

You can check other major cities at the link. Seattle comes in at number 15.

Come Visit Us At Fire Demo Day & Wellness Fair This Weekend

If you're looking for something fun to do with the kids this weekend, and that's free, we've got a great event for you. And you can visit with us there. The Spokane County Fire District 9 2015 Demo Day and Wellness Fair has a little something for everyone. There's auto extrication demonstrations, fire demos, Smokey Bear will make an appearance, you can trade your burn barrel in for a compost bin, there's CPR training, chair massages, blood pressure checks, the junior firefight challenge course, the MedStar helicopter and tacos! Even if I wasn't working I would want to go!

The event will also have community partners like SRTC there to talk about what they're working on. And again, it's free! So stop by, talk to Smokey Bear, watch stuff get set on fire and talk to us about your transportation concerns on Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Spokane County Fire District 9, 3801 E. Farwell Rd. (Click to view flyer full size).

Local Road Construction Update

For more information on all the projects below, and to see them in relation to each other on a map, check out SRTC's 2015 Spokane Regional Construction Map here. The map is updated as new projects start and existing ones wrap up.

You may notice that projects underway now are more prominent while ones that will start later this construction season are more in the background.

WSDOT

No local projects with impacts to traffic underway currently.

SPOKANE VALLEY

Argonne Road at Knox- Reduced to two lanes in each direction  through mid- to late June for reconstruction of the roadway. The east and west side of the Argonne and Knox intersection will be closed around the clock to all traffic through late May-early June. Left turns are prohibited in all directions at the intersection.Weather permitting, expect nighttime lane reductions through May for paving.

Sullivan Road Bridge Replacement Project Area- The southbound Sullivan Road Bridge across the Spokane River is closed until spring 2016 for bridge demolition and replacement.  All traffic is shifted onto the northbound bridge with one lane northbound and two lanes southbound between Indiana Avenue and the Sullivan Park traffic signal. Northbound traffic is restricted to vehicles ten feet wide or less.  Northbound oversized vehicles should use Barker Road or Pines Road as alternatives. Turns from Indiana Avenue onto northbound Sullivan Road are reduced to one lane.

SPOKANE CITY

Marne Bridge Lane Restrictions- Marne Bridge over Latah (at Riverside and A Street) will be inspected Friday, June 5.  Lane restrictions will occur 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Flaggers will be in place.

Connect to Transit Boone Street Closure- Boone Street between Nettleton and Chestnut will have lane restrictions during ADA ramp installation, June 1-12. This federally funded project consists of the construction of ADA accessible curb ramps, sidewalk, pavement patching, utility adjustments, and other related items.

Grand Boulevard Grind and Overlay- Work starts Monday, June 1 to grind and overlay Grand Boulevard from 22nd Avenue to 29th Avenue. 

"HAWK" lights activated this week- Spokane’s first-ever "HAWK" lights will begin operating this week. The newly installed signal at Ruby Street and Boone Avenue will be activated on Tuesday, June 2; the light at 18^th Avenue and Grand Boulevard is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, June 3.

High Drive Phase II Underway- High Drive from Bernard to Grand is closed as asphalt removal continues with water and sewer work beginning. This project includes pavement reconstruction, storm, sewer, swales, and water main replacement.

SPOKANE COUNTY
Christensen Road Bridge Closure- Closed until further notice for demolition and reconstruction of deteriorating bridge. A detour is in place.

Argonne Road Stormwater Retrofit- One lane of traffic in each direction between Upriver Drive and the Spokane River while crews upgrade stormwater facilities.

Palouse Highway Pavement Removal and Replacement- 57th to Freya closed to traffic for reconstruction of the roadway. A marked detour is in place.

"HAWK" Lights to be Activated This Week

Spokane’s first-ever “HAWK lights” will begin operating over the next week. The newly installed signal at Ruby Street and Boone Avenue will be activated tomorrow Tuesday, June 2. The light at 18^th Avenue and Grand Boulevard is tentatively scheduled to be turned on Wednesday, June 3.

Work began earlier this year on the new High Intensity Activated Crosswalks (HAWK lights). The signals are part of a pilot program. The pedestrian traffic between the university and surrounding residential neighborhoods and the numerous retail businesses in the area make Ruby and Boone a good location to test their effectiveness. New residential and retail construction in the area will add to the foot and bicycle traffic that already uses the retail corridor.

A HAWK signal will flash yellow when a pedestrian pushes the signal button, change to solid yellow and then to solid red, which requires all drivers to stop. Drivers can proceed when the red light starts flashing as long as pedestrians have cleared the crosswalk.

Southbound US 195 Construction Project Open House

Decades of traffic pounding the pavement has taken its toll on the concrete surface of southbound US 195 in Spokane. You're invited to an open house next month to learn more about a project to rehabilitate an eight-mile section between Interstate 90 and Excelsior Road.

The open house is Tuesday, June 9, 2015 from  5-7 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 5810 South Meadowlane Road.

Washington State Department of Transportation staff will be on hand to explain this project. It starts July 6 and is expected to go for 16 weeks. The project will improve the southbound lanes of US 195 using several techniques:

·         Over 650 concrete panels will be removed and replaced.

·         About 190 panels will be partially replaced.

·         Contractor crews will also jack up more than 120 panels. That involves pumping grout under the concrete panel to bring it up to the same level as the others.

·         Cracks in other concrete panels will be sealed. 

·         After the repair work, the entire surface of the concrete will be ground smooth.

One lane of southbound US 195 will be open at all times during the work. There may be some minor disruptions to traffic near the on/off ramps and intersections.

This section of southbound US 195 was initially installed in two phases. The first segment was installed in 1955 and the next part was built in 1969.  The concrete surface is now worn with numerous cracked and broken panels, plus wheel path ruts have appeared in many locations.

Results Are In From the 2015 Bike Swap

Some great news from this year's Spokane Bike Swap. Nearly 4,000 people attended the fourth
annual Swap in April, with 58 exhibitors and over 900 used bikes registered to sell in the bike corral. In the first year of the event, 169 bikes were sold in the corral. This year that number was 673- a nearly 400% increase. Yes, you read that right. 400%. In total, there were $161,831 in bike sales this year.

Proceeds from the Swap each year go to the Friends of the Centennial Trail to make improvements, expansions and repairs to the trail. This year $38,000 was raised for the Trail.

Preparations are already underway for next year's Bike Swap and, due to the demand demonstrated this year, the Swap will be expanding and taking up even more space at the Spokane County Fairgrounds in 2016.