WASHINGTON — The Washington Department of Transportation says there's new technology that may prevent you from crashing, and they're installing it in two Puget Sound locations this weekend.
QUICK FACTS:
- New material gives tires more traction
- Surface installed on ramps problematic in rain
- Total cost to re-do intersections is about $300,000
It's a new material designed to give your tires more traction.
The 526 on-ramp to I-5 in Everett and the I-90 westbound ramp at 148th in Bellevue will both be closed for the weekend while the new surface is installed.
The state DOT says those ramps are particularly problematic in the rain; both had about 125 crashes in a five-year period and four out of five of those wrecks happened when the roads were wet.
Dina Swires, an engineer with WSDOT, says she can't stop the storm but she can lessen its impact.
"There's this new material called high friction surface treatment that's been developed," she explains, holding out a square that contains rock and glue fastened to concrete.
"Essentially it's a glue, an epoxy, and we just put down some finely crushed rock,” Swires says of the sample piece.
Other states have tried it and say it doubles the amount of traction your tires get on wet roads, reducing crashes by as much as 80-percent.
>> FAQ: Do you know these Wash. state road laws?
Swires says the Washington State Patrol was pretty pleased to hear that.
"It's awesome to know that DOT is using some of their engineers and expertise to limit some of those crashes," says Mark Francis with the WSP.
Curved ramps with blind spots like the ones in Everett and Bellevue are particularly dangerous for troopers to respond to collisions on.
If the two-year pilot program proves itself, other ramps will be resurfaced with the rock as well. Swires says she's ready for the next bout of rain.
"We want to keep people safe and keep people moving and this is going to be a great technology to try," she concludes.
The total cost to re-do both intersections this weekend is about $300,000.
The ramp in Bellevue will close Thursday at 10 p.m. and reopen at 5 Friday morning. Then, both ramps will close Friday at 10 p.m. and reopen just in time for the morning commute Monday with the new surface in place.
KIRO
