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Agencies team up to ‘Take Winter By Storm’ with new
coordinated response plans
The Woodinville-Duvall Road was closed for five days in December after a windstorm.
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This year, the King County
Department of Transportation is synching up winter storm response
plans not only between the department’s roads and transit divisions; but
also between the county, the state, local cities, and public utilities.
As part of the annual “Take
Winter By Storm” program, KCDOT Director Harold Taniguchi announced
that efforts are underway to improve communication and storm response
planning between public work directors and utility coordinators serving
King County. This year’s
campaign
is a partnership between King County, the city of Seattle, Washington
State Department of Transportation, and Puget Sound Energy.
Executive Ron Sims was joined by representatives from the city, state and Puget Sound Energy to kick off the "Take Winter By Storm" campaign.
| There is a wide range of storm response activities being coordinated,
including:
- Puget Sound Energy has developed Utility Road Clearing task forces
to establish direct communication between line crews and field personnel
from other agencies to speed clean up and repair efforts – particularly
when downed trees interfere with efforts to restore power. This will
help reduce the amount of time that storm-stressed roads are closed.
- King County Metro Transit has been working with the county Road
Services Division, the state, and local cities to match up snow plowing
priority routes with bus routes. So far, 27 cities have joined Metro to
either map priority snow routes or tighten the linkages with transit
routes.
- Another new partnership teams up Metro and the Washington State
Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to provide more towing service for
buses that do become stuck. The agencies have a new agreement that
allows WSDOT Incident Response Teams to push Metro buses to the nearest
freeway exit to clear blocked lanes and ramps.
- More strategic use of variable messaging signs on King County roads
to alert motorists to closures ahead, such as those caused by flooding
or downed trees. The portable signs will be placed in locations where
motorists have a chance to turn around or detour before they get to the
closure;
- Chained bus shuttles to serve the Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride
when the steep roads connecting the park-and-ride to Interstate 90
become slick and snowy. The 40-foot chained buses will transport Metro
and Sound Transit bus passengers between the Highlands garage and the
Issaquah Park-and-Ride;
- More information on Metro Online about bus reroutes due to snow and
ice, including area of reroute and if chained shuttles are in use;
- From November through February, the Road Services Division will
continue last year’s practice of putting two crews on overnight patrol
throughout the unincorporated areas to respond to flooding, ice, and
other hazards that could disrupt morning travel;
- Staging additional de-icer equipment at four of the Roads Division’s
maintenance yards to cover more territory more quickly; and
- The Road Services Division also bought 50 new chainsaws that emit
fewer pollutants than older equipment. The new saws are lighter, have
more horsepower, and are more fuel-efficient.
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