For incident management, coordinated collaboration is key – with first responders at the ready; pre-arranged support from partner agencies; back-up staff and extra equipment in the wings; and plans well-honed to keep people across the City informed. To do all that we can, we have and will continue to enhance our Traffic Incident Management program and our own preparedness.

Strengthening team response.

The SDOT Maintenance Operations Division has long provided traffic incident response, with designated staff trained to respond quickly. The goal is to keep streets open and serviceable during and after all types of emergencies, including collisions, stalls, and even landslides and snow storms – 24/7. This year, we are growing this capability to offer more assistance.

Raising awareness.

Awareness is critical to successful incident response; to increase that, we created the Steer It Clear It Pamphlet with new information for drivers. We shared it with Metro, the Seattle Police Department, and the Seattle Fire Department to help disseminate the important points:

• What the law requires in a traffic incident.
• How drivers can clear the roadway in non-injury collisions.
• Ways to improve safety and keep traffic flowing.

Preparing for the tunnel.

With regional partners, we’re preparing to respond to incidents in the new SR-99 tunnel, developing and teaching new protocols. Our staff participated in half-day training exercises focused on tunnel incident scenarios, and we’re gearing up for full-scale training exercises on Sept 27, 2018. Our collective efforts will make the tunnel a safer place to travel, through the collective efforts of the:

• Transportation Security Administration (TSA);
• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA);
• Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT);
• Washington State Patrol (WSP);
• Seattle Department of Transportation;
• Seattle Office of Emergency Management (Seattle OEM);
• Seattle Police Department (SPD);
• Seattle Fire Department (SFD);
• Port of Seattle;
• King County Metro;
• King County Department of Transportation (KC DOT);
• King County Office of Emergency Management (KC OEM);
• American Medical Response;
• Tow Operators; and the
• Washington State Fusion Center.

Together for major incidents.

The Seattle Area Joint Operations Group (SAJOG) is a partnership, formally established in March 2018, bringing together WSDOT; SDOT; WSP; SPD; SFD; and KC Metro. Joining together in information sharing and response on major incidents, the SAJOG approach enhances congestion management. The effort is supported by the University of Washington and Challenge Seattle consortium.

To keep people safe and ensure access, we will continue these Traffic Incident Management efforts – building on them to better serve you.