It’s not technically summer yet, but Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28, often brings summer-level traffic to state roadways. That’s why it’s important to have a holiday travel plan before heading out the door.
By following these steps, travelers can get where they’re going with fewer headaches:
- Check the Washington State Department of Transportation’s best times to travel charts to help plan your trip and avoid congestion.
- Get informed about WSDOT’s online tools, including the WSDOT mobile app, traffic cameras and email alerts.
- Visit online traveler information for traffic, weather and ferry schedules.
- Follow WSDOT’s social media accounts, such as Twitter and Facebook.
- Pre-program your vehicle radio to 530 AM and 1610 AM for highway advisory radio alerts.
- Call 5-1-1 for updated road conditions.
- Allow extra time for travel during the holidays to avoid rushing or distraction.
Most state highway construction work is suspended through the holiday weekend – including Monday, May 28 – to ease congestion. However, please stay alert for new lane shifts or work zone staging areas that may be remain in place.
Volunteer search teams and law enforcement officials from across the state continued a large scale forensic search in Kittitas County over the weekend. Investigators are searching for anything that may be related to the skeletal remains found last fall that were later identified as those of Lindsey Baum, a 10-year-old girl last seen on June 26, 2009, in McCleary on her way home from a friend’s house.
New City Council members met with top City staff on Thursday, May 17 at an all-day council retreat to discuss goals and set priorities for 2018/19. The Council was presented with information on a variety of topics, including governance, finance, City lands, and the 2018 budget. The purpose of the meeting was to bring the newly elected City officials up to speed on happenings at City Hall, and provide them with an opportunity to get acquainted with current issues and challenges facing the City.
The Port of Shelton Thursday announced it has received a $500,000 grant and $1,500,000 in low interest funding from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB). This funding is in the form of a Committed Partnership with Belco Forest Products that will include the construction of a 30,000 square foot warehouse building. These resources will also be used for site preparation, major electrical improvements and a fire sprinkler system. The estimated private investment is at least $750,000 with an estimated job increase of 38 permanent jobs to be created over the next five years. 
West Dayton Airport Road (State Route 102) north of Shelton is going to get a touch-up. The highway preservation work also helps prevent expensive repairs later.