WSDOT releases Gray Notebook 67

By WA Dept. of Transportation • December 6, 2017 1:30 pm
WSDOT releases Gray Notebook 67

WSDOT highlights its strategic direction in this edition of the agency’s quarterly performance report, the Gray Notebook. This 67th edition emphasizes the agency goal of Practical Solutions and asset management as it analyzes annual progress made in terms of maintaining, preserving and improving the state’s aviation system, ferries vessels and terminals, and capital facilities.

Gray Notebook 67:

  • Analyzes how well WSDOT is using the agency goal of Practical Solutions to effectively manage, maintain and improve its aviation, ferries and capital facilities assets.
  • Explores the Workforce Development strategy of providing Train the Trainer instruction to first responders assisting with highway incidents to better coordinate and manage traffic incidents.
  • Discusses how WSDOT and the Federal Aviation Administration will be conducting a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program disparity study that examines the utilization of women- and minority-owned businesses for projects at public-use airports.

We recently published the November 30, 2017 edition, which can be found online. While performance measures are reported throughout the Gray Notebook, here are some highlights from this issue:

  • WSDOT’s Airport Aid Grant Program leveraged $923,300 in state funding to make $76.9 million in federal funds available for airport investments in fiscal year 2018. Airport inspections found that 86% of runway pavement at 32 airports was in excellent or good condition.
  • The number of WSDOT Ferries vessel systems needing to be replaced held steady at 11% between FY2016 and FY2017. Approximately 88% of WSDOT Ferries terminal systems were in fair of better condition at the end of calendar year 2016.
  • WSDOT-owned primary buildings have an average age of 44 years; 35% are more than 50 years old. WSDOT’s 10-year unmet needs backlog for capital facilities is $475 million.
  • WSDOT responded to 16,356 incidents during the quarter ending September 30, 2017, providing about $25.8 million in economic benefits. WSDOT cleared incident scenes in an average of 12 minutes and 36 seconds, reducing traffic delay and the risk of secondary incidents.
  • Ferries made 97.4% of its regularly scheduled trips in the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 while ridership was approximately 7.51 million, about 53,500 (0.7%) more than the corresponding quarter in FY2017.
  • On-time performance of Washington’s Amtrak Cascades trains dropped from 74.8% in FY2016 to 56.3% in FY2017. Nineteen of 20 federally funded rail projects were complete and one was in construction as of September 30, 2017.
  • Passenger vehicle registrations increased 3.2% while the number of licensed drivers in Washington state increased 4.3% between 2014 and 2016. Transit ridership on urban commute corridors during daily peak periods increased 8% from 88,150 in 2014 to 95,300 in 2016.
  • WSDOT mapped 99.1 centerline miles of its stormwater conveyance system during FY2017, exceeding its goal of 79.5 centerline miles. It also built 129 stormwater treatment and flow control facilities in FY2017.
  • WSDOT completed three Transportation Partnership Account projects, bringing the total completed to 380 of 421 Nickel and TPA projects. WSDOT removed 15 projects from its Watch List during the first quarter of the 2017-2019 biennium; 11 remain.

The Gray Notebook and the Gray Notebook Lite (a summary of selected performance topics covered in this quarter’s publication), can be viewed and printed from the WSDOT accountability website.