Deactivating the 511 Phone Number – and tools to use instead to stay informed

By Lisa Walzl

Starting Friday, May 19, Washington state travelers will no longer be able to access automated statewide travel information by calling 511.

For the past 20 years, the 511 phone number has provided a way to receive traffic impacts, crash alerts, current and future weather forecasts, mountain pass conditions and ferry information (schedules, fares and wait times) as well as reversible-express lane status.

So, why is 511 going away? Simply put, new technology has led to a dramatic decrease in the number of people using the service.

Despite high call volumes in the early years of the program, during the past decade, the number has received a steady decrease in usage every year. In 2009 511 had more than 2.2 million calls but in 2022 that number fell to less than 302,000 calls – that’s an 86 percent decrease.

There are a number of likely reasons for the decline in calls – most of them due to new technology. As most of us know, smart phones, the internet and social media have changed our daily life and routines. We think tools like our app and travel map, social media platforms, third-party mapping services and GPS systems integrated into vehicles all have made travelers less likely to call 511. That means it’s not the valuable tool it once was for many travelers.

The 511 phone system is also expensive to operate, costing more than $150,000 a year in hard costs and requiring many staff hours to continually update travel information in the increasingly antiquated technology and to maintain signs about the program.

The steady decrease in use, antiquated technology and cost were the deciding factors in the decision to deactivate the 511 phone number. Once discontinued, these resources will be reallocated to more efficient and emerging information technologies to better serve Washington travelers.

Alternatives to the 511 automated information

While 511 is being discontinued, there still are many ways travelers in Washington can receive timely and accurate travel information, including our app, our website with real-time travel maps, social media accounts, electronic highway variable message signs and highway radio stations – as well as several private mapping apps for smartphones and integrated GPS systems in vehicles.

Travel tools include:

• Our online tools, including the mobile app, traffic cameras and email alerts
• Our online traveler information for traffic, weather, ferry schedules and a real-time travel map
• Our social media accounts, such as our several Twitter accounts and Facebook
• Radio stations 530 AM and 1610 AM for highway advisory radio alerts

Travelers who do not have access to the internet/smart phone apps

While 511 is going away, there still are ways to get your travel information by landline phone. If you don’t have internet or smart phone access, you can contact us at the numbers below (you may also want to program some of these numbers into your phone or otherwise save them for easy reference):

• Washington State Ferries’ information phone number 888-808-7977
• Tolling information (Good To Go!) 866-936-8246
• Amtrak Cascades 800-872-7245
• Neighboring states 511 information
  Oregon 503-588-2941
  Idaho 888-432-7623
• Local weather
  Seattle 206-526-6087
  Spokane 509-244-5992
• Our Offices

Graffiti: A tale of two signs

By April Leigh and Tina Werner

Opinions about graffiti vary almost as much as the expression itself. It’s an art form to some and a nuisance for others. In the context of tagging along highways and bridges, graffiti poses many concerns for us.

Graffiti is illegal under Washington state law. It puts people in danger (those doing the tagging along a busy highway and our crews involved in the removal) and costs taxpayers thousands of dollars annually. It also takes away from other work we do to keep our transportation system in good working order like repairing potholes and guardrails.

We do our best to keep up with requests to remove graffiti, especially on directional signs and in areas that cause distractions for drivers. Unfortunately, our crews often report that a location is tagged again within days or even hours of graffiti removal.

Crews removing graffiti in the pedestrian/bicycle path above the Mount Baker tunnel in Seattle.

In February, graffiti was sprayed across two overhead directional signs on the off-ramp from southbound Interstate 5 to State Route 512 in Tacoma. The defaced signs posed a significant distraction for drivers and covered directions for traffic, so they had to be removed immediately.

These overhead signs on the southbound I-5 exit to SR 512 and South Tacoma Way had to be removed and replaced after they were tagged with graffiti.

These overhead signs are located along a very busy stretch of I-5 and have been repeatedly targeted. A temporary directional sign was moved to the roadside while maintenance crews started work on a fix. When all was said and done, both overhead signs had to be replaced and a catwalk removed from the sign structure to prevent future tagging.

Whoever vandalized the signs had to crawl across that catwalk to do it – endangering their life and the lives of everyone who passed underneath them.

Replacing signs – particularly overhead ones – is a timely and expensive task. In this case, the graffiti defaced the entirety of the directional signs, and they were not able to be salvaged.

How much does something like this cost? Our team is still calculating the final bill, but replacing both signs is estimated to be between $40,000 and $50,000. That includes labor, equipment and materials.

Crews use large trucks equipped with hydraulic arms and buckets to replace the overhead sign on the ramp from southbound I-5 to SR 512 and South Tacoma Way.

The cost of graffiti

Graffiti removal projects like this are paid out of our maintenance and operations budget. Our crews prioritize critical maintenance activities (PDF 187KB) like catch basin cleaning, snow and ice removal, mowing for sightlines and other work. The more resources we spend on graffiti removal, the less we have for this other work.

In the past two years, our maintenance teams have spent $1.4 million on graffiti removal. In the next biennium, we expect to spend even more to address the growing issue.

Graffiti vandalism on the rise

We’ve seen an increase in graffiti vandalism along our state roads over the past few years. Newly completed bridges, overpasses, walls, and other structures are often hot spots for these crimes as they offer a fresh blank canvass for taggers. Active construction projects with new or closed sections of roads also attract activity because there is no traffic there at night.

A section of a new wall along SR 16 in Tacoma before and after graffiti removal.

Crews often have to use special equipment to access the vandalized areas – like trucks with lifts to reach high places that would otherwise be used to maintain, inspect or clean state bridges. Using equipment like this also requires traffic control or a lane closure during daylight hours. This is a huge challenge when we’re also trying to keep traffic moving.

What about designed safe-graffiti spaces?

Some people have shared that they’d like us to allow for portions of our highways and other facilities to be safe-expression spaces for graffiti artists. Safety plays a big role in this effort along with consistent monitoring of the spaces for vulgar or offensive language.

We are aware and have been evaluating the innovative artist in residence program and how it could help address safe-graffiti spaces. However, we are currently in the middle of legislative session where bills have been introduced on this topic and we are awaiting hearing what the results are.

How graffiti removal is prioritized

While graffiti is a crime and a law enforcement issue, the cleanup is our responsibility and we do so as often as we can. We prioritize removing graffiti with vulgar or obscene phrases. As we are not a law enforcement agency and don’t have enforcement authority, we partner with law enforcement, but they must catch someone in the act of tagging to be cited for vandalism. Given that much of the tagging happens at night, this is a huge challenge.

We aren’t funded to have or hire specific-graffiti removal teams. It takes time and planning to coordinate a cleanup site. We try to roll this work into other projects occurring in the same area to minimize disruptions to drivers, and work with neighboring cities and counties on prioritizing large sections that draw noticeable concern. You can report highway graffiti online too – and we share that directly with our crews to address as time and resources allow.

We’re often asked why we don’t use our traffic cameras to help law enforcement capture taggers in the act. Our traffic cameras only provide the most current snapshot image. We don’t record footage from them as that would require a significant investment to support storing video from more than 600 cameras statewide. Law enforcement must catch someone in the act of vandalism to potentially arrest a person on state property.

Crews removed graffiti from this I-5 sign near Marysville at 88th St NE.

Bottom line: There’s always been, and likely always will be graffiti. Along with law enforcement, we will do the best we can within our resources to try to keep up, but ultimately it’s up to those committing the crimes to stop putting themselves and others at risk.

Looking at alternatives for I-5 through the Nisqually River Delta

By Mark Krulish

It’s the traditional home of the Nisqually Indian Tribe. Visitors to the ecologically diverse Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife Refuge know the area is home to bald eagles, waterfowl and a pit stop for migrating birds. The river at this location divides Thurston and Pierce counties. Within this setting sits Interstate 5 – the main mover of people and goods along the west coast, from Mexico to Canada.

How will this I-5 corridor look and feel in the future? That’s what we are studying right now. …and we need your input.

We are tasked with making the best decisions for the future of this critical connection. Every step of the way, we need you to help us make those decisions.

Now through March 1, we have several design options that we want your feedback on.

Studying the alternatives

Lately we have been busy looking at different alternatives to improve this roadway. As part of this process, we have been collaborating with local governments, local tribes, transit agencies, JBLM and the Federal Highway Administration.

A look at one of the design options for the Nisqually Valley project, including a new elevated I-5 interchange

In our February round of advisory meetings, we will look at these design options to get feedback from these representatives.

But we also need input from the public. This is where we need your help.

Submit your feedback

Through the end of February, our engage web page will host a few different design options under consideration.

A look at another design option for the Nisqually Valley project

We have simple improvements to reduce demand for single-occupancy vehicles. This would rely on coordination with local governments and entities to work in tandem with us to implement their own strategies for things such as express bus service and providing support for alternative travel modes – such as walking and biking. This option could also include environmental improvements for the Nisqually River channel by replacing the existing bridges with new structures.

We also have designs to widen I-5 in the area by adding general purpose or HOV lanes, converting general purpose lanes to HOV, or building a long, elevated bridge up over the Nisqually River Delta area.

Take a look at the designs on our engage web page. Once you have reviewed them, there will be a place to leave your feedback. This is the best way to ensure your comments are incorporated into final report.

Keep up with the latest news on our project page, where we post materials and videos of our meetings with local agencies. You can also sign up for email updates here. Simply click on the link and enter your email address.

Public input needed for PEL study that shapes the future of I-5 over the Nisqually River Delta

By Mark Krulish

Interstate 5 and the Nisqually River Delta are both important for multiple reasons. I-5 is the main mover of people and goods along the west coast, from Mexico to Canada. The Nisqually River is the traditional home to the Nisqually Indian Tribe, the local fish species and ecosystems that support it.

This month, we are meeting with advisory groups to begin identifying elements of a project that looks at improvements to I-5 across the delta. The first step is reviewing what is known as a Purpose & Need statement, and we need you to weigh in on this.

What is a Purpose and Need statement

Quite simply, a Purpose & Need statement lays out why a project is necessary. It is the foundation of any environmental review process. We will use it to look at different design alternatives for the I-5 corridor from Marvin Road to Mounts Road.

We may choose to adopt this Purpose and Need statement. Our goal is to not have to revisit the Purpose and Need during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. This is why we need your input now. This work will hopefully cut down on the amount of work needed as we eventually move into a NEPA review this summer.

Your comments will be incorporated into this process and will help shape our final outcome and, ultimately, what will be built.

A look at the Nisqually study area

How to participate

You can find the Purpose and Need statement several different ways. Our link on our Engage page has the statement and an easy way to leave feedback through our form. You can also find a link to the document on our project website. The contact tab on our project page has a phone number and email address at which you can also leave comments.

If you’re interested in staying in touch with us and hearing about the latest information on the project, we have a newly created email list specifically for this project. You can subscribe here. Click on the link and enter your email address.

Don’t miss your chance to let us know what your need is on I-5 in this area. Please note that we will respond to comments through our incorporation of feedback into the draft PEL Report rather than responding to individuals. The report will be available for comment early this summer.