How WSDOT prioritizes warnings on highway signs

How does the Washington State Department of Transportation determine what drivers see on the highway message boards?

While long backups on I-405 will immediately affect your commute, the WSDOT maintains warning drivers of a weekend closure on I-90 is important.

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“I’m much more interested in whether to merge right to get on 520 than what’s happening five days hence,” commuter Pamela Tomczak said. “Isn’t there some middle ground here where all relevant info can be displayed?”

Travis Phelps with the WSDOT said those travel times can be checked online before you leave the house. Big, upcoming closures take priority over travel times.

“Spreading the word about these directional closures that have a regional impact takes top priority,” Phelps said. “We strike that balance with travel times, when we have those available anywhere else.”

But Phelps said they will change those messages if there is a crash or something more pressing that drivers need to know about.

“If there’s a collision, we need to make sure drivers know about that,” Phelps said. “So if we are advertising for a closure coming up on the weekend, we have a collision on that same route, or nearby affecting that route, we will focus all our attention on that collision. That’s what drivers need to know.”

The message boards are changed in the traffic management center in Shoreline. There is always someone in the center to make sure the messages are timely and accurate.

“What we don’t want to have happen is for drivers to miss the message, pack into an already congested highway, and be really upset later,” Phelps said.