I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Design Concept Animation

Fly-through animation of the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Hyak to Keechelus Dam Project under construction. This project expands the highway from four to six lanes and improves fish and wildlife passage while reducing closures due to avalanches.
More work needs to be done from Keechelus Dam to Easton. For more information please visit: www.wsdot.wa.go...
And for more about this corridor watch; It’s Our Lifeline at: • I-90 Snoqualmie Pass E...
Animated fly-through created by WSDOTs Visual Engineering Resource Group.

[@scottayres7585]

I have driven this pass for over thirty years and decided to quit guessing what it's going to look like. Very nice design and presentation. It would nice to also hear a presentation on the engineering and how it's going to function in the winter time.

[@sherrystevenson5352]

This will definitely make a great trip to Spokane Thanks so much!

[@JoesGLI]

Who members rushing to beat the cutoff before all traffic shutdown for rock blasting? It seemed like it took forever to finish with that faze of the never ending project. In all serious I just drove over 90 and it's looking really good. Soon!!!

[@monbob6673]

Two projects ,I90 and I5 by Tacoma just never end 20 + years and counting.

[@1101millie97]

WDOT should do renderings of how the new and improved I-90 will operate in winter (not just summer time), particularly a really bad and snowy winter.

[@wsdot]

Thanks for the suggestion. We'll see what we can do.

[@QueenFanIII]

Well, as a Systems Designer in IT, I love to look at systems. What I see in the visualizations are great but I have 2 caveats: The Lower crossings under the elevated spans are great, but they need to also have a physical break to keep wildlife from running up that highway long grass median. The BIG caveat though is that overpass. I love the blending into nature part as much as anyone, but, in the event of a wildfire, which is possible in increasingly unpredictable weather and drought, I worry about it bridging and spreading a wildfire. It's beautiful, and you are known as the rainiest state, at least that's what most of us think of aside from Coffee when we think of Seattle! But, I just ask that you add more evaluation into the element of wildfire. Perhaps it's a dirt only overpass? or a dirt and some sort of non poisonous whatever plant? I know you need to hold the dirt in place, Grass does that, so does trees. I don't engineer land, just computers, so I just wanna offer that. Your doing some great things here. Please suggest this to Governor Hogan here in MD, it's really nice!

[@ahlomawilkens9023]

+QueenFanIII - So, I am not a WSDOT official though I live in the region, drive the route frequently & have viewed the plans, so I think it's OK to mention that currently there is no access to that grassy median (rock blasting staging to the north & a large lake to the south) unless traveling a few miles on the actual roadway from the nearest exits, onto where the grassy areas start. The underpasses shown have no access to the land median above & are at least 30 feet below the bottom of the decks. Also, the land bridge for wildlife connects a very rocky mtn side, with a tree lined access point, to the vegetation around the aforementioned large lake. If a fire were to spread in this area it could not jump the huge lake to continue due south. Thought that might alleviate some concerns. Cheers!

[@MrDarebear65]

Nice design. Unfortunately it is not very trucker friendly. I hope its as friendly to us truckers that use MORE than any 4 wheeler. I travel across Snoqualmie Pass 4 days a week.

[@kimkremer8915]

I'm curious why it's not trucker-friendly. I recognize that y'all see the interstate through very different eyes than the rest of us do. Given how critically important I-90 is to truck traffic - and how important truck traffic is to the economy - I have to believe WSDOT got input from the industry when designing the upgrade.

[@demetriusdavis95]

Kim Kremer not sure why he feels like that I take 100+ ft airplane wings across I-90 from either lafeyette Indiana or Davenport Iowa to Seattle or Puyallup and I’ve never had a problem on this stretch of 90 headed west or coming back east.

[@JoesGLI]

Hey keep right unless you are passing! :P

[@jfmo2451]

wow, wonderful! what software did you use for the alignment design and the 3D model?

[@VERGDV]

The roadway design software used is Bentley InRoads and all of the 3D modeling and animation was done with Bentley MicroStation SS3 CAD software.

[@scottruff04]

Why is the east bound rest area being taken out? It is very important to us truckers.

[@garyjohnson1787]

real truckers don't need rest

[@dgr8zod]

And I'm sure signs where put up to direct animals to the underways, and overways. Something I suppose is good in this, but..

[@wsdot]

We will start building the wildlife crossing next summer. Large fences will direct wildlife over the crossing. We have done years of researching other successful wildlife crossings, including the one in Banff Canada.

[@francesb7515]

wsdot Your work is so important and appreciated! Thank you for being a leader! The bridge underpasses may allow for some wildlife travelling also right?

[@lilyluvsulots]

+dgr8zod animals aren't stupid. They don't like cars. They try to avoid them, but since the highway passes through their migration routes they take unneeded risks. Put a bridge and they will cross it. One will cross leaving its scent and others will follow. Its simple.

[@davidbanks566]

... the 82 km section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park began to be upgraded from two lanes to a four lane divided highway in 1981. Having reached completion in January 2014, there are now 38 wildlife underpasses and six overpasses from Banff National Park’s east entrance to the border of Yoho National Park. There is also one underpass in Yoho National Park. Highway fencing in Banff National Park has reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 80% and, for elk and deer alone by more than 96%. Wildlife crossings are designed to connect vital habitats and allow safe movement of animals across busy roads. Banff National Park has the most numerous and varied wildlife crossing structures in the world. It also supports the world’s longest, year-round monitoring program and largest data set on wildlife mitigation. In 2012, eleven species of large mammals have been recorded using wildlife crossings more than 150,000 times since 1996. This includes grizzly and black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, moose, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and more recently wolverine and lynx. There is a "learning curve" for animals to begin using wildlife crossings after construction. For wary animals like grizzly bears and wolves, it may take up to five years before they feel secure using newly built crossings. Elk were the first large species to use the crossings, even using some while they were under construction! Research has shown that grizzly bears, elk, moose and deer prefer wildlife crossings that are high, wide and short in length, including overpasses. Black bears and cougars seem to prefer long, low and narrow crossings. DNA-based research is exploring how crossing benefit species such as bears and wolverine. DNA hair samples are collected using barbed wire strung at crossings or at strategically placed “hair-snagging sites” on the broader landscape. -- Parks Canada

[@davidbanks566]

From Parks Canada How do we know where to put future wildlife crossings? Over the years, information about where different species are most likely to cross the highway has been collected using: radio telemetry monitoring animal tracks in the snow wildlife observations, and road kill hot spots Wildlife movement models were built using mapping software to predict the most likely locations for wildlife travel across the TCH based on topography and habitat data for five species (black and grizzly bears, wolves, elk and moose). Locations for future wildlife crossing structures were then identified. ---

[@SusiePerez-d7o]

Clark Gary Martinez David Garcia Michael