WSDOT Crews Prepare For A Challenging Winter On The Roads

SEATTLE — The Washington State Department of Transportation is asking drivers to prepare for what is likely to be a challenging winter for travel, as the agency contends with multi-faceted staffing shortages.

"These aren't ordinary times, and this won't be an ordinary winter on our roads," WSDOT wrote in a blog post Friday. "Washington state is almost two years into a public health emergency of global proportions. Like many others in our state, this has affected our agency in a number of ways — including winter operations. Our staff began winter prep work months ago, but we also want the public to know that things will look different this winter."

In a typical year, WSDOT said nearly 1,500 people support its winter operations. As of late October, the agency was down about 300 people, due to several factors, including vaccine mandate departures, retirements and other pandemic-related constraints.

WSDOT detailed some of those challenges on Friday:

• An aging, close-to-retirement staff and pandemic-related hiring freezes, reduced revenue, furloughs, etc. left us understaffed going into last winter. Some of the positions we were able to fill were temporary and not permanent.
• This past year, we've seen a global worker shortage as well as very high demand for some of our key winter jobs, such as diesel mechanics and people with Commercial Drivers Licenses. It's not just in Washington, our fellow state DOTs are seeing the same challenges.
• Some of our open positions – especially mechanics – are a force multiplier because if we can't keep trucks running, that affects each employee who uses that particular plow throughout the day.
• Some of our internal promotions also create a secondary vacancy we then must fill.
• In October, we had some staff leave the agency due to the state vaccine mandate – 5.9 percent agency-wide – which affected the already-low winter operations numbers.

The agency said it is "actively and creatively" recruiting people to fill more winter roles and will be prioritizing and shifting resources to areas where storms hit hardest. But even as new hires are added, WSDOT said there will be a lag in filling the staffing gap, as new hires will also need to be trained.

"Our workers are incredibly dedicated and take the service they provide their communities personally," WSDOT wrote. "We know it's tough for them to not be able to provide the same level of service this year. But we simply can't ask these hard-working colleagues to do more with less. Safety is key here — we can't risk staff being injured or equipment being damaged by working crews beyond reasonable limits."

Here are a few of the impacts drivers should expect, per WSDOT:

• Some roads and passes will be closed longer than normal during and after significant storms.
• Some roads will not get the same level or service, may be only plowed minimally or will have snow and ice on the roadway for longer periods of time. Some areas may not be staffed 24/7.
• Especially during large storms or long-lasting ones, we won't have a deep enough "bench" of staff to respond 24/7 for several days throughout the storm.
• Some lanes of the freeway system may have snow and ice while crews focus on keeping just one or two lanes open.
• Lower speed limits in areas with variable speed limits.
• There may be slower responses to crashes and other emergencies, and it may take longer to clear major crashes or slide-offs.
• Less attention to secondary routes and recreation areas as crews focus on higher priority roadways.

Drivers can also do their part to help keep roads safe and clear of collisions, including making sure their cars are winter-ready, carrying chains and driving responsibly in wintry conditions.

"One person driving too fast or not having the proper equipment can close a pass down for everyone," WSDOT wrote. "In fact, on Snoqualmie Pass, most closures are due to crashes and spin-outs, not avalanche control work to remove higher mountain snow."

That advice could come in handy as soon as this weekend, with snow levels poised to drop down to 3,000 feet.

Travelers can brush up on the best way to prepare for winter trips on WSDOT's website, and find tools to track pass conditions and travel alerts before heading out the door.

More winter driving resources:

• Download the WSDOT mobile app.
• Follow WSDOT's regional and pass accounts on Twitter, the agency's Facebook site and online travel alerts.
• Sign up for email and/or text updates about road conditions – text alerts about Snoqualmie Pass delays is a subscription option.
• Carry chains and know current traction and chain requirements for mountain passes, which are also available on highway-advisory signs, highway-advisory radio and by calling 511.
• Preset your radio to 530 AM and 1610 AM for WSDOT's traffic information stations.