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Caltrans I -5 Boat Section Project Inspiring Public Cooperation on a Tight Budget

Caltrans I -5 Boat Section Project Inspiring Public Cooperation on a Tight Budget. American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials Jody Jones, District 3 Director, California Department of Transportation.

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Caltrans I -5 Boat Section Project Inspiring Public Cooperation on a Tight Budget

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  1. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Inspiring Public Cooperation on a Tight Budget American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials Jody Jones, District 3 Director, California Department of Transportation

  2. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • "Boat Section Background: • Originally built in ‘60s and ‘70s • Called the Boat Section due to: • Construction: 10’ thick concrete slab below adjacent Sacramento River water level, pins drilled 80’ deep • History of flooding • Drain system became clogged • Required constant monitoring and repairs during rains

  3. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • Project Objective: • To replace ¾-mile roadbed section of I-5 and • install new monitoring wells and drainage system. • One of the busiest sections of CA freeway • Carries 190,000 vehicles a day • Primary access to California’s Capitol • Major thruway for freight.

  4. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • Project Challenges: • Minimize traffic disruption: • Original plan would have spanned 5 years • Caltrans engineers revised plan to 1 year with partial lane closures on nights and weekends • Address work site safety issues for public, workers and emergency response needs

  5. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • Project Strategies: • Contractor C.C. Myers, Inc. proposed a faster, innovative approach which Caltrans approved: • Full closures in alternating N/S directions • Use emergency-style around-the-clock work schedule over 7 weeks • Use new rapid-setting slag-based concrete • Partner with Caltrans in outreach effort.

  6. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • Campaign Objectives: • Create a strong brand personality • Create close to 100% awareness that a one-mile section of Interstate 5 (I-5) would be closed • Enlist drivers’ help to reduce traffic by: • Using public transportation • Carpooling • Changing their travel times • Using alternate routes • Limiting trips.

  7. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • Branding Included: • Name that quickly communicated a positive goal of the project: Fix I-5 • www.fixI-5.com website • Visuals that identified the area • Logo using the orange cone to identify Caltrans and be a safety reminder • Positive call to action as the slogan: Keeping Sacramento’s Gateway Open

  8. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • Target Audiences: • Residents and commuters • Out of town travelers and truckers • Businesses in downtown, Old Sacramento, West Sacramento and the Riverfront Park district • Cities and public officials • Transportation Management Associations • News media

  9. Caltrans I-5 Boat Section Project Public Outreach and Advertising Campaign • Tactics Included: • 4 media events • Website as the primary source of communication and information • Outreach via public presentations • Paid Media • Partnerships • Direct Mail • Collateral: banners, posters and flyers • Daily media relations, press releases and project updates • Daily email blasts during closures.

  10. Website: FixI-5.com • Website Included: • Project Maps and Detours • Live Traffic Cameras • Email Alerts • What’s Happening: • Schedules and maps • Commute Alternatives: • Bus, light rail, carpooling, Park and Ride • Detour Maps • Boat Section History

  11. Website: FixI-5.com • Website Included: • FAQs • Contact Us • News Room • Sacramento Is Open for Business • “Freeway Frenzy” game • Links to: • Caltrans • Sacramento 5-1-1 • Slow for the Cone Zone campaign • California Trucking Assoc. site • Sac. Regional Transit.

  12. Media Buy Television: Sponsored reports on top-rated news station in the region (KCRA) and Univision for Latino audiences Radio:Sponsored traffic reports on 33 stations including Spanish radio Print ads: The Sacramento Bee, Caltrux Magazine (to reach truckers) and the Capitol Weekly. Bus side ads: King-size ads on Sacramento Regional Transit Web-based media: Streaming commercials and web banners

  13. Public-Private Partnerships • Partners included: • City of Sacramento • Downtown Sacramento Partnership • Old Sacramento Merchants Assoc. • California Trucking Association • Sacramento Regional Transit • Sacramento Commuter Club • SACOG/Sacramento Region 511 • Traffic Reporters • Sacramento River Cats • Sacramento Airport • Regional Transportation Management Assoc.’s • Truck Stops.

  14. Website Launch AnnouncementFebruary 29, 2008

  15. Project Announcement Press Conference – March 17, 2008 • Announced Expedited Project Plan • Speakers Included: • Caltrans Director Will Kempton • Mayor Heather Fargo • Caltrans District 3 Director Jody Jones • Contractor C. C. Myers • Press Coverage: • KCRA Channel 3 - NBC • News 10 - ABC • KTXL - Fox 40 • KOVR TV – CBS • CW31 – KMAX • KVIE – PBS • Sacramento Bee • Sacramento Business Journal • San Jose Mercury News • KFBK News Radio • Capitol Public Radio(NPR) Will Kempton, director California Department of Transportation

  16. Pre-Project Public Outreach: March - April • Direct Mail: • Mailed to 125,000+ recipients   • Public Open Houses: • Downtown • South Sacramento • Natomas • 250+ people attended • Direct Public Presentations: More that 60 presentations to neighborhood associations, State agencies, business associations, major carriers and civic groups Flyer

  17. Truck Driver Outreach Each big rig truck takes the place of 4 cars: Why so important? Each big rig truck takes the place of 4 cars • Outreach included: • Ads in CalTrux Magazine • Article in CalTrux Magazine • Flyers and Fact Sheets: • Hand-delivered to all truck stops in a 30-mile radius. • Mailed to another 59 truck stops from LA to Oregon.

  18. Governor’s Executive Order Press Conference – May 16, 2008 Announced Governor’s Order Encouraging Transit Options • Speakers and Partners: • Director Kempton • Cal EPA • U.C. Davis • Chevron • Key Messages: • Encouraged transit options • Announced research project to study traffic effects • Press Coverage: • All local news radio & TV • Sacramento Bee, • Sacramento Business Journal Will Kempton, director California Department of Transportation

  19. Media Relations During the Project • Caltrans spokesperson Mark Dinger, made himself available to the media from 4:30am to 11pm, 6+ days a week. • Caltrans staff issued: • More than 20 news releases • Media updates before every new closure and during each day of a closure

  20. Media Relations During the Project • 6 interviews on Community Affairs programs including KFBK, KXJZ, Y92 • 4 Press Conferences at key completions • Daily communication meetings with C.C. Myers’ Media Consultant, Beth Ruyak, to clarify messages and come up with story ideas. Clint Myers, CEO – C.C. Myers Inc.; with Will Kempton, director - Caltrans Beth Ruyak – C.C. Myers Inc. consulting with Caltrans engineer

  21. Documentary Project KVIE – PBS Special Access for Local PBS Documentary Project • Historical value • Advance planning • Safety requirements • Extended shoot schedule • End result

  22. Freeway Re-Opening Press Conference – July 28, 2008 Announced: All lanes re-opened • Speakers Included: • Director Kempton • Contractor C. C. Myers • Project Engineers • Press Coverage: • KCRA Channel 3 • News 10 • Fox 40 • Univision • Sacramento Bee • KFBK radio • KXJZ radio

  23. RESULTS How successful was the campaign?

  24. News Coverage • Newspapers Articles: • Sacramento Bee: More than 56 storiesArticles appeared prior to the project start, before each closure, at the completion of stages and each day during closures. Nearly all stories ran on front page or Metro page 1. The campaign made the front page on 3 out of 4 sections of the Bee on Mon. 6/16/08 • Sacramento Business Journal:4 stories, 2 front page • Capitol Weekly • San Jose Mercury News • Modesto Bee • Woodland Daily Democrat • Sacramento Union (online)

  25. News Coverage • Magazine Stories: • Concrete Products Magazine (cover story) • AGC Constructor (cover story) • State of California Supervisors Association Magazine

  26. News Coverage Editorial Support:

  27. News Coverage • Radio: • KFBK (16 recorded stories, with multiple airings and 50 different readers) • KGBY • KSTE • V101 • KXJX • KUOP • KKTO • And many more • TV: • KCRA • KQCA 58 • News 10 • Fox 40 • Univision • KMAX 31 • CBS 13

  28. News Coverage • Online: More than 120 online news stories and blogger reports were posted on: • Sacramento Bee • Sacramento Business Journal • Sacramento Union • San Francisco Chronicle • San Jose Mercury News • KCRA Channel 3 • Capitol Public Radio • CBS 13/CW31 • News10.net • Fox 40 • My58.com • CBS 5 (Bay Area)

  29. RESULTS • Paid Media Delivered: • General Audiences: 640.7 million gross media impressions • Hispanic Audiences: 33 million gross media impressions • Messages on the only area media in Hmong, Russian and Lao languages.

  30. RESULTS Partnership Value: Partnership contributions, including donated media value, totaled $918,037.00. That included more than 7,500 embedded messages by traffic reporters who referred listeners to the FixI-5 website during traffic reports. This increased the effectiveness of the paid media budget by nearly 800 percent.

  31. RESULTS • Driver Participation on FixI-5.com: • More than 1.7 million website visits in 5 months • More than 6,000 drivers signed up for daily Fix I-5 email blasts • More than 3,500 emails to the project in-box from drivers with questions and comments about the project

  32. RESULTS • Driver Feedback • A Sacramento Business Journal survey of readers asked: • “How bad was the first round of closures on I-5 in downtown Sacramento?” • Awful, it added a ton of time to my daily commute 2% • Bad, but it could have been much worse 14% • A mere inconvenience, especially after learning alternate routes 51% • I-5 was closed, when? 33%

  33. RESULTS • Most Importantly: • Thanks to cooperation and support of the public and the media, a traffic catastrophe was avoided. • May 30th, as C.C. Myers’ crews were preparing to close down the first section of I-5, the chief engineer reported only a half dozen cars in a several minute period. His response: “You DID it. Everyone knows!”

  34. RESULTS • In many cases, traffic was lighter than normal during the project: • Overheard by an employee at the Energy Commission discussing how much lighter the traffic was than normal: • “I wish they’d fix I-5 more often!”

  35. RESULTS Thanks to the hard work by Caltrans, C.C. Myers, Inc., suppliers, subcontractors, our partners and the cooperation of the public, the Interstate was re-opened to traffic in both directions in just 37 work days – despite delays due to unexpectedly thick concrete demolition, smoky air and extremely high heat. FixI-5: DONE!

  36. RESULTS

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