Litter and the Ecology Youth Corps

Ever seen those Ecology trash bags full of litter on the side of the road and wonder how they got there? They 're brought to you by the Ecology Youth Corps.

The Youth Corps program, supported by the Department of Ecology, removes more than 1.1 million pounds of litter and illegally dumped materials annually from along Washington's roadways.

The youth, ages 14 to 17, work in two, four-week sessions. The litter crews will be at work from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, June 24 to July 18 and again from July 22 to August 15. Crews work in teams of five or six with an experienced adult supervisor. Each crew cleans four to ten miles of roadway per day.

On rainy days, or when the weather is too hot, the crews will take a break from the road to receive classroom education that focuses on climate change, waste reduction and recycling. Or they might visit a park or rest area to educate the public about litter issues.

They aren't the only ones who assist in the highway clean up effort. Other participants include county community litter-cleanup programs and state agencies, Corrections, Natural Resources, Parks and Transportation (through the Adopt-A-Highway program). You can read more about the who's who of litter clean up.

Can you believe that even with a fine of up to $1,025 for littering there are over a million pounds of litter to be cleaned up from the roadways every year?

If you happen to see report litter coming from a vehicle and want to report it, call toll-free to 866-LITTER-1 (866-548-8371). Learn more at www.litter.wa.gov.

Just like the WSDOT workers, highway cleanup crews all follow roadway safety rules - cones, reflective vests, hardhats, etc. - and they get extensive safety training. With these young people at the roadside, we can not over emphasize that you need to Give 'em a Brake.

Got an idea?

One of my co-workers stumbled on this site and it generated a lot of talk within our office. A cabinet office in the UK has come up with a very clever campaign entitled, "Show us a Better Way. Their slogan is:"Imagine a government agency that asks people what they want, and rewards them for good ideas." (http://showusabetterway.com/) The best part is that they are offering a cash reward to implement the best idea.

Although we don't have any money to offer, what would you like to see us do differently on the Web? We are always looking to improve, innovate and make WSDOT information and services easy to access and use, but what are we missing? Could we make simple changes and provide big improvements? What service do we offer that you wish could be improved? Is there WSDOT data that you'd like to see? Do you struggle to find something because it's hidden under a topic you hadn't thought of?

Please don't posts rants, but if you have implementable ideas we would love to hear about them. What could we do to improve the information or services we provide?

Opening Artist point...

Remember when the Tacoma Narrows bridge expansion joint traveled across the state and you were able to follow its progress. The reason you could do that was a clever little gps device that we attached to the truck.

We thought it would be really cool to put that same unit on a snowblower working at opening Artist point. (If you didn't know where that is, Artist point is in Whatcom county, near Mt Baker, see map on right.) I haven't been up there myself but I hear the view is fantastic.

We are planning to use a combination of photos, video and this mapping tool to show you the progress. Keep checking back in with the Artist Point opening site to get the latest update.

Heads up, the unit is dependent on cell phone signals. Those can get spotty up near Mt. Baker, but we are hoping not to lose the signal. Snowblowers don't move very quickly either, so don't be surprised if the vehicle doesn't fly across the map.

Once you've seen it, let us know what you think of this test run. Would you like us to do the same thing for North Cascades pass next year?

Busy week...

The first full week of summer and wow, what a week! Lots going on around here, sorry if this seems a little scattered but I thought it fascinating that there is so much going on all across the state in the land of WSDOT.

• The Hood Canal Bridge will have a 45 minute closure tomorrow June 26, they are building the new pontoons off site and need to make sure they will fit when they are floated in next spring.
• The SR 520 bridge project had an open house last night, June 24 and will have another one tonight, June 25. You can also attend an
  
• The Viaduct project is having an open house on June 26. The recent inspection showed no additional settlement, so we are good, so far.
  
• The SR 169 bridge near Black Diamond decided to take a dip, 10 feet of dip, so there are crews out there stabilizing that hillside.
• US 12 - Frenchtown to Walla Walla project, building eight miles of new four lane divided highway to make us 12 safer to drive.
• I-90 Hillside stabilization project wrap up - making sure no rocks fall on the roadway
  
• We launched new wait times for all four Canadian border crossings.
• There is an open house in Bellingham on Thursday to talk about the future of I-5 through that area.
  
• A schooner ran aground and a couple of ferry boats were able to help
  
• Manette bridge, in Kitsap county, is closed to reinforce the bridge
  

We had another reminder recently also of how dangerous work zones can be. A flagger was working in a work zone and was struck and killed. Summer is construction season since the weather is nice enough to get a lot done on the many projects all across the state. Please drive safe out there and Give 'em a Brake whenever you pass through a workzone.

This only scratches the surface of what is going on with us. If you are interested in keeping up with these types of updates and more be sure to check out our Express Lane. It's a weekly roundup of news and activities.