WA Wins Award for I-5 Work at JBLM

Washington State Dept. of Transportation (WSDOT) won a transportation award for work to improve the congestion around JBLM. 

The award was announced Sunday during the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Annual Meeting. AASHTO, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sponsor the America's Transportation Awards competition, which recognizes outstanding transportation projects.

WSDOT worked with a coalition consisting of federal, state, military and local leaders to creatively improve the traffic problem that stretches for miles along I-5 through the Lewis-McChord military base nestled between Tacoma and Olympia, an area seeing robust growth in economy and population.

Interchanges at military gates were improved with better alignment and better-timed traffic signals, gates that had never opened were unlocked so military personnel could access the base more easily, and tools such as Incident Response were quickly deployed to combat congestion, saving commuters plenty of time on the road.

A $10,000 check will go to WSDOT’s Memorial Foundation,which provides financial assistance to WSDOT employees who become disabled or are killed in the line of duty and their surviving spouses and children.  The Foundation also provides aid for the families of employees impacted by catastrophic injury or illness, and has an education scholarship program for employees of dependent children.

More information about all the projects is available at this link, and a video showcasing the 10 national finalists is available at this link.