Puget Sound Transportation Projects

My thoughts on transportation in the Puget Sound area and transportation issues in general.

Archive for the 'Statewide' Category


Watch For Ice Statewide

From WSDOT: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2012/01/18_IceWarning.htm Due to heavy snow in Western Washington and snow in Eastern Washington, coupled with cold air, ice is expected on area roads Wednesday night. Stay safe out there. Ben

Gregoire Proposes 3.6 Billion Transportation Package

From KOMO News: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Gregoire-calls-for-36B-transportation-package-137031788.html Governor Gregoire has proposed a 3.6 billion transportation package to maintain roads, funded in part by a $100 fee on electric vehicles and a $1.50 fee on oil produced here. While times are tough, something needs to be done about transportation in the state. The state is still doing well despite [...]

Washington Needs $21 Billion for Transportation

From KING-5: http://www.king5.com/news/local/Washington-needs-21-billion-for-transportation-135593588.html A task force reports the state needs $21 billion over the next 10 years for transportation needs. With gas tax collections down due to more fuel efficient vehicles, other funding sources will be needed to handle these needs. Ben

WSDOT Winter Driving Website

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/winter With possible snow in Friday’s forecast, may be time to review these tips from WSDOT. Ben

Seattle On List of Most Congested Cities

From MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45305427/ns/local_news-seattle_wa/#.TsPnDvFi4sd Seattle ranked in the top 40 for issues commuting into Downtown Seattle from both the North and the South. And this is yet another reason why I ride the Sounder daily. Ben

Anti-Toll Initiative Rejected

From KOMO-TV: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/133583528.html Initiative 1125, which would have taken the setting of tolling rates from the tolling committee and passed it to the legislature, among several other measures, has failed. This is a good thing as letting the legislature set tolls would be a nightmare. We have already seen what political gridlock does. Furthermore, things [...]

Washington Gets $31 Million to Improve Rail Service

From WSDOT: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2011/09/21_USDOTAnnouncesAmtrakCascadesFunding.htm  Washington is getting $31 million to improve passenger rail. This money will be used on numerous projects along the line from Canada to Oregon, and access routes to the Port of Vancouver. This is great news, as high speed passenger rail, and local commuter rail, are great transportation options. More: http://wsdot.wa.gov/passengerrail  http://www.pugetsoundtransportation.com/hsrail  [...]

Washington Inspecting Steel Bridges

From WSDOT: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2011/09/16_steelbridgesreviewed.htm  WSDOT is reviewing inspection reports of 10 bridges built with the same kind of steel as the Sherman Minton bridge in Indiana. This bridge was recently found to have cracks. It is good to see WSDOT being proactive in cases like this. We don’t want to see another Silver Bridge disaster here. [...]

WSDOT Website Will Be Down Saturday Night

From WSDOT: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2011/08/25_website_outage.htm  The WSDOT Website will be upgraded on Saturday, August 27th and will be unavailable that evening. Ben

Want to Count Bikes and Walkers?

From WSDOT: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2011/08/2011BikePedCount.htm  On September 27, 28 and 29th WSDOT is looking for volunteers to count users of bikes and pedestrians. It is all for National Documentation Project. Ben