Commercial Vehicle Pass System

1. Commercial Vehicle Pass System Paula Hammond Secretary of Transportation Chris Christopher Director of Maintenance Operations 1

2. Closures in Washington State Caused$75 M Economic Loss 2007 – • Flooding closed I‑5 from Dec 3 – 6. • The detours added over 400 miles to trips taken around the closure. 2009 – • Flooding closed I‑5 from Jan 7 - 9. • All mountain passes were also closed due to avalanches - no detours available. Flood damaged I-5 – December 2007 I-5 southbound – January 2009

3. I-5 Closure Detour Map: 2007

4. WSDOT’s Freight Notification System 3 Components of the system: • Develop situational awareness • Set up a robust distribution service • Maintain the freight customer database • Send targeted messages in simple English with links to maps and diagrams. • Focus on road conditions and safe and legal detours for trucks. • Provide predictive information so shippers and carriers can plan ahead. • Sent whenever there’s a change in conditions • Distributed directly to customers through WSDOT’s freight listserve and multipliers. (4,000 contacts currently)

5. WSDOT’s New Commercial Vehicle Pass System • WSDOT, the Washington State Emergency Management Division, and the Washington State Patrol have developed a new Commercial Vehicle Pass System to safely and efficiently authorize emergency, essential and other goods delivery to and through affected areas during a highway disruption from 3 to 7 seven days duration. • Washington State has set three goods categories in priority order: • Category ‘A’ Emergency - set by the State EOC and event dependent, • Category ‘B’ Essential - food and water, fuel, health care supplies, perishable livestock and feed, parcel trucks, cash, and empty trucks returning to resupply these goods, and • Category ‘C’ Other - all other goods as detour capacity allows. • Operational in January 2010, the online system: • Authorizes use of detours, when there is reduced capacity. • Allows trucking companies to apply for Pass online and print it at their location. • Controls volume on highway detours to ensure safety. Requires Governor’s Proclamation of Emergency to Implement

6. Steps for Implementation • Identify closure that will last several days • Determine alternate route • Determine capacity of alternate route • Identify “Emergency Goods” needed in affected communities • Acquire necessary staff and equipment • Implement Pass System • Monitor conditions and adapt changes as needed

7. Commercial Vehicle Pass System http://b2b.wsdot.wa.gov/CommercialVehicle/Detour/Priority/

8. How will the CV pass system work? • CV passes will be authorized in real-time based on the prioritized categories. They will be issued for a three-hour time window on a specific date, and trucks arriving before or after that time period will not be allowed access to the detour. • CV passes will only be valid for the date and time period indicated on the pass, and if conditions change and a safe detour is no longer available, they may be revoked. • Once a pass is authorized on-line and printed at the users’ location, the commercial vehicle driver may proceed to the highway traffic control check point any time during the three-hour window on the date indicated on the CV pass. The CV pass will be affixed to the truck cab window and used to authorize entry onto detours at highway checkpoints. • Random spot checks will be administered at vehicle check points to enforce the system. If a commercial vehicle doesn’t display a valid pass and appears at the check point, they will not be allowed access to the detour and will be turned around. 8