Tag Archives: wsdot

News, Politics, Transportation

New 520 Floating Bridge’s Pontoons are “Disaster,” Inspector Tells KOMO

WSDOT photo taken during the SR 520 pontoon media tour on Nov. 14, 2012.

KOMO News has more allegations from a former inspector, who says that the construction quality of the pontoons for replacement 520 bridge make it a “disaster waiting to happen.” His fate is instructive, especially when it comes to the state Department of Transportation’s response to KOMO inquiries.

WSDOT says, for instance: “WSDOT’s SR 520 construction contracts include multiple requirements for Quality Assurance (QA) managers and other Quality Assurance staff.” That sounds reassuring, but when you read their documentation, you discover that construction firm Kiewit, the “Design-Builder,” is responsible for all “QA and QC for design.”

WSDOT provides Quality Verification (QV) staff, but they get to see the finished results, when there’s significantly more at stake in ordering Kiewit to redo a piece. In this case, with cracks–and leaks–appearing in the pontoons, Kiewit is being asked to fix them. It is not clear how the firm can “fix” instances of the wrong rebar being used, misplaced, or left out entirely.

How this process seems to have played out is that the whistleblowing QA inspector was hired by a subcontractor to Kiewit to oversee construction. After he began writing up non-compliant construction methods, he was reprimanded, he says, and finally laid off after Kiewit complained about his sticklerism. (This is a similar dynamic reported by building inspectors who report shoddy condo construction. Your dance card empties out.)

WSDOT, troublingly, seems unhumbled by an August 2012 performance audit (pdf) that noted: “In general, it appears the Quality Management Plan is not being adhered to by KG and not being enforced by QA or QV.”

This all follows on KOMO’s earlier reporting that two experts agreed the first six pontoons should be “do-overs.” KOMO’s watchdogging had already gotten a promise from Governor Gregoire that an independent expert panel would review the pontoons. (In the Seattle Times, Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond seemed impervious to alarm, pooh-poohing the issue of cracks in the pontoons: “I have no reason to believe we are going to reject pontoons.”)

Fixed and problem solved? KOMO’s Problem Solvers have since discovered that concrete in the next cycle of pontoons is cracking, as well.

Finally, you might ask what the hurry is? WSDOT has adopted a furious pace in shipping the pontoons, despite that fact that $1.4 billion in funding for the project remains to be found. Despite predicting traffic volumes of between 90,000 and 100,000 cars per day in the first year of tolling on 520, WSDOT reported that an average of 63,500 cars crossed the bridge weekdays, January to June 2012.

A recent budget update sliced $522 million from the project’s original $4.65 billion price, reducing it to $4.1 billion, which should help slightly with subpar toll revenue. But ultimately, moving money from pot to pot leads to stories like these: WSDOT is also said to have reduced the amount it was to pay MOHAI for its land to $4 million from $18 million (when I asked for details, a WSDOT communications officer told me she’d get back to me after a meeting on that topic, and did not).

News, Politics, Transportation

Op-Ed: Could the Tunnel Elect Mayor Mike McGinn Twice?

Mayor Mike McGinn, working amiably with Council members Sally Clark and Nick Licata, just like he always does (Image: City of Seattle)

Just over a year out from a November 2014 election, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is in the middle of a major political makeover. A few months ago, it was a foregone conclusion that the rookie mayor was a one-term placeholder until a real candidate came along.

Taking office in the teeth of the recession, McGinn has not had good news to report to citizens so much as less-bad news. But all that is changing, just as trouble-making tunnel tolls prompt legislative head-scratching.

McGinn came to office in part because of the divisive deep-bore tunnel plan, but after playing out his opposition for as long as possible, he lost that fight. Derided early on in editorial pages as Mayor McSchwinn, he’s become a lightning rod for the “war on cars” crowd. He’s had terrible weeks, and gotten bogged down in controversies of his own making, as well as those of Seattle’s other mayors.

But, just over a year out, McGinn has just one challenger: Charlie Staadecker, a former hospitality executive who sounds like a political rookie himself. And events seem to be conspiring in McGinn’s favor. As I mentioned earlier, the upside of Amazon’s entrenchment in South Lake Union isn’t simply windfall tax revenues:

Taking Amazon as representative of a new Seattle voting bloc–well-educated, well-paid, bike-toting urbanites who have a thing for rail–McGinn finds himself positioned nicely for re-election, with tax revenues getting a substantial boost between now and 2014, allowing him to spend money on all the things that get mayors re-elected: “McGinn is increasing the City’s annual investment in street repairs and maintenance by over $5 million.” And if his opponent is anti-bike and anti-rail, then they’re also going to be anti-Amazon, and by extension, anti-business.

McGinn’s administration is in line to receive two Amazon-fed windfalls: Firstly, from Amazon’s purchase of the Vulcan properties they currently lease, and secondly, from their purchase of a 12-acre triangle from Clise Properties. The timing could hardly be better. But again, there’s the sense that the bicycling mayor is on history’s (and business’s) side when Amazon proudly includes a cycle track in its plans. (This is not to mention the boost McGinn could get from the news of a Sonics return to a Seattle arena.)

History does not, on the other hand, appear to be on the side of paying for the tunnel. Washington’s Department of Transportation had to spend half of the project’s cash reserve just to get enough bidders to apply. Then the toll models couldn’t find enough people willing to pay them. (Danny Westneat has an article on how aggressive toll-collecting has become.) The $1.96-billion tunnel, proposed as the only solution to surface-street gridlock, was, if tolled as planned, actually going to disperse 30 to 50 percent of Viaduct traffic to surface streets.

In a Roads & Bridges editorial (via Seattle Times‘ Mike Lindblom on Twitter) Bill Wilson muses about the cost : “Since Washington state lowered its tunnel toll goal from $400 million to $200 million, more is going to have to be pulled from the statewide bridge fund to make up the difference, meaning more needed span projects will meet the ax….” For close-to-home contrast, the South Park bridge replacement cost was estimated at $131 million. “[House Transportation Committee Chair] Clibborn’s crew needs to pull off a rescue here—or it will quickly turn bloody,” concludes Wilson.

From now until November 2014, any blood spilled over the tunnel’s funding is likely to going to rosen McGinn’s image. McGinn has his haters — though many of the most vocal seem not to live in Seattle — but at the moment, the electorate might give him a C-. If he’s allowed to repave some troublesome streets, rehire some librarians, and push forward on a new waterfront park — while the tunnel’s costs increase — Seattleites might decided to keep the incumbent around.

News, Weather

Seattle, Facing Rainy Weekend, Tries to Remember How This Works

Rainclouds on the way (Image: UW Atmospheric Sciences radar)

So much for our endless summer. While lighter showers are predicted to shuffle through Friday and Saturday, dropping up to half-an-inch of rain, more significant rainfall is expected Sunday and Monday.

As always, the exact amount of precipitation will be easier to lock in once the coastal radar gets a glimpse, but at this point the Seattle office of the National Weather Service expects higher elevations to soak up the worst:

MORE SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON OR SATURDAY EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THAT PERIOD OF ABOUT 60 HOURS SHOULD BE ROUGHLY 3 TO 8 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS…WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS OVER THE OLYMPICS AND NORTH CASCADES–AND EVEN HEAVIER AMOUNTS OVER SOUTHWEST BRITISH COLUMBIA.

There’s an indication from models that the storm track may push northward 50 to 100 miles, so the supersoaker would be then aimed at our Canadian compatriots. That would please local football fans–there’s a UW Huskies game Saturday at 4 p.m. and a Seahawks game Sunday at 1 p.m.–but KOMO still has one to two inches penciled in for Seattle, so bring something rainproof.

Despite the heavy rains in the mountains, river flooding isn’t feared, in general, because there hasn’t been any rain to speak of for more than 80 days and everything is dry as a bone, ready to soak up whatever rain comes its way.

The question now is whether people are ready for rain at all. (KOMO’s Scott Sistek cautions, “…we’ll have to see if this winter follows a similar script. But one thing is for sure, if you believe in the law of averages, we’re seriously due for some wet.”) On Twitter, Washington’s Department of Transportation warned drivers: “As you meander out and enjoy the smell of the first rainfall, remember that roads will be slick because of it. #winteriscoming.” So far, the Seattle DOT Twitter stream is free of a cavalcade of collisions due to slippery conditions.

Seattle City Light says you may want to watch their outages map once the rain begins in earnest, though. In their latest release, officials spelled out what they’re worried about:

“What we are seeing is the possibility of outages due to a couple of issues,” says City Light Systems Control Director Pawel Krupa. “For overhead power lines, summer can bring a buildup of dust. When it rains after a long dry spell, that dust gets wet and can cause electricity leakage or short circuits. You might hear a buzzing sound when this starts to happen. That sound is the coating of the insulators burning off. When the coating is gone, a short circuit happens, creating an outage. A heavier rain will wash away the dirt and dust better.

“The same is true in our underground system. Underground power lines are insulated and designed to float in water that fills the concrete vaults, but over time the insulation becomes brittle. As temperatures begin to drop and with shorter daylight hours, demand for power increases. The increased flow of electricity puts more stress on the cable, increasing the risk of failure. If the insulation on an underground cable cracks, any water in the vault will cause a short,” adds Krupa.

The site Take Winter by Storm provides a number of tips for-the-prudent. If you are not prudent by nature, make a note of who is among your neighbors, so you know where to go when the lights go out.

News, Transportation

New War on Cars to be Led by Roads

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Over the weekend, reports KOMO TV, a family was driving I-5 near Northgate when a chunk of concrete from the road flew up, smashed through the windshield, and hit the driver. “The rock hit me so hard in the chest, it literally took my breath away,” Henry Jessop told KOMO.

What may take your breath away is the response from Washington Department of Transportation‘s Paula Hammond: “As our transportation system has more wear and tear on it, and as we go longer without revenue dollars to just take care of the system that we have, we’re unfortunately going to see more of this kind of thing.”

You may well ask why.

Here is WSDOT’s budget for the 2011-13 biennium. About 27 percent of the $9.4 billion comes from gas taxes (37.5 cents per gallon), the rest from bonds, licenses and fees, and ferry fares. In 1921, when Washington State began implementing a gas tax, it was just one cent per gallon. But throughout the 1950s and ’60s, the state’s gas tax in today’s dollars was higher than it is today. As a percentage of the price of gas, today’s tax is even more negligible: if you pay more than $3.75/gallon, it’s just ten percent or less. In 1960, it was 24 percent of the retail price.

Combine that with declining federal dollars, and you just get less. Yet new roadwork hasn’t gotten less expensive. Take the 520 bridge replacement. With just $2.43 billion of its total anticipated $4.65 billion cost “in hand,” WSDOT is pushing ahead with construction. State gas taxes fund about twelve percent of the bridge’s cost. And then there’s the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project, which is budgeted for just over $3.1 billion. That draws down $1.7 billion of gas tax funds. (The less expensive surface/transit/I-5 option contained funds to deal with the I-5 bottleneck through Seattle–the tunnel plan does not.)

Meanwhile, WSDOT currently has 230 separate maintenance projects on its “backlog of underfunded and unfunded highway preservation needs,” that it hopes to deal with using ARRA funds. In Seattle, the situation is no better, due to some of the same pressures. SDOT gets funding from WSDOT, for one thing, so state gas taxes play a part, but they also have the tension between expensive new projects and maintaining the roadways we already have. To date, maintenance has taken a back seat.

News, Transportation

Alaskan Way Reroute Begins 2nd Week of May

(Image: WSDOT)

Moving ahead with the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement project, Washington Department of Transportation crews will reroute Alaskan Way traffic south of Spring Street to a newly improved road below the viaduct. That in turn will change the way you get to the ferry toll plaza at Colman Dock. On the bright side, you have until 2014 to get used to the new arrangement, so it should sink in eventually. Study the graphic to the right carefully (or download this PDF: Ferry-Detail-Handout). There will be a pop quiz, probably during rush hour.

For you bus riders, please note that the bus stop for Metro routes 16 and 66 is moving to a new bus island in front of the ferry terminal. That’s right, you get a whole island! Pour us out a mai tai.

Specifically, making this shift will allow WSDOT to expand its tunnel staging area north to Yesler Way, and let them get the area ready for the world’s largest tunnel boring machine (a “57.5-foot-diameter, $80-million drill”), set to begin its work in 2013. There’s no way construction on this scale won’t be disruptive, but officials say they are trying their best to keep traffic flowing.

The Washington State Department of Transportation and the Seattle Department of Transportation are rerouting existing roads along the waterfront and in Pioneer Square, and implementing strategies to keep traffic moving while maintaining access to businesses in those neighborhoods, including:

  • Allowing drivers to use Yesler Way to exit the ferry terminal
  • Increasing the width of Alaskan Way between Yesler Way and Spring Street to accommodate ferry holding lanes
  • Adding more than 60 temporary on-street parking spaces on Alaskan Way between Spring and Pike streets

To try some POV-preparation, watch this video that WDOT has put together for you, which features huge, levitating street signs that are unfortunately not available in real life.