WSDOT's Bill Churney closes the I-5 express lanes
Bill Churney has been with the department since 1989. He's orginally from Pittsburgh. If you spend time with Bill, you need to be prepared to move CONSTANTLY! The day I went with Bill to take pictures and talk to him about the express lanes was cold and gray which was okay because we were moving non-stop.
"We have 30 minutes to complete this operation. If we are late, people are delayed," he told me as we hopped in and out of his truck.
There are two teams - A and B. Bill is the A team (in more ways than one!).
At 11:15, we moved into the express lanes and put the truck on the shoulder. He called into dispatch and reported that he was prepared to start the operation. He opened the control boxes and pushed buttons that changed the signs from "OPEN" to "CLOSED". We waited for traffic to clear. Then, he pushed another button that closed all the southbound gates.
I took this photo as Bill hauled out this heavy pole that locks into place and holds the dragnet across the southbound entrance at Northgate.
In a moment, we were back in the truck headed to Mercer Street.
From Mercer, it was Howell/Stewart, the Metro Bus Tunnel, 9th and Pike, Cherry/Columbia. At every stop, we close gates, put up signs, take down other signs, double check to make sure the signs display correctly, grab trash laying around and hop back in the truck. (Oh and give directions to a wayward driver at 9th and Pike) and finally a call into dispatch at 11:47.
"Talking to you made me two minutes late," he said to me. "You're lucky traffic is light today." Thanks, Bill, for letting me ride with you.
WSDOT's Bill Churney closes the I-5 express lanes
Bill Churney has been with the department since 1989. He's orginally from Pittsburgh. If you spend time with Bill, you need to be prepared to move CONSTANTLY! The day I went with Bill to take pictures and talk to him about the express lanes was cold and gray which was okay because we were moving non-stop.
"We have 30 minutes to complete this operation. If we are late, people are delayed," he told me as we hopped in and out of his truck.
There are two teams - A and B. Bill is the A team (in more ways than one!).
At 11:15, we moved into the express lanes and put the truck on the shoulder. He called into dispatch and reported that he was prepared to start the operation. He opened the control boxes and pushed buttons that changed the signs from "OPEN" to "CLOSED". We waited for traffic to clear. Then, he pushed another button that closed all the southbound gates.
I took this photo as Bill hauled out this heavy pole that locks into place and holds the dragnet across the southbound entrance at Northgate.
In a moment, we were back in the truck headed to Mercer Street.
From Mercer, it was Howell/Stewart, the Metro Bus Tunnel, 9th and Pike, Cherry/Columbia. At every stop, we close gates, put up signs, take down other signs, double check to make sure the signs display correctly, grab trash laying around and hop back in the truck. (Oh and give directions to a wayward driver at 9th and Pike) and finally a call into dispatch at 11:47.
"Talking to you made me two minutes late," he said to me. "You're lucky traffic is light today." Thanks, Bill, for letting me ride with you.