WSDOT 5-1-1 deactivation nears

OLYMPIA — The state Department of Transportation will deactivate the 5-1-1 automated travel information system on Friday, May 19.

The system, which has aided motorists for more than 20 years, has seen a steady decline in use over the past decade, according to a WSDOT press release.

The system, which logged more than 2.2 million calls in 2009, only received 302,000 calls in 2022.

The department points to fixed hardware costs of $150,000 per year plus staff time to update traffic information in the system and to maintain 5-1-1 highway signs across the state.

The department has several other sources of travel information available to travelers including the WSDOT app in the Apple and Google stores as well as accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

Travelers may also access real-time road and traffic information at www.wsdot.com/travel/real-time or the interactive travel map at www.wsdot.com/travel/real-time/map.

Travelers without smart phones or internet access may still access some information by phone:

• Washington State Ferries’ information phone number — 888-808-7977.

• Tolling information (Good To Go!) — 866-936-8246.

• Amtrak Cascades — 800-872-7245.

Additionally, the radio stations 530 AM and 1610 AM will still be used for highway advisories.

More in News

On the brink of a federal shutdown, the House passes a 45-day funding plan, sends it to Senate

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking and Stephen Groves The Associated Press WASHINGTON… Continue reading

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Olympic National Park visitor Sandra Schmidt of Leipzig, Germany, right, looks over a map of the park with interpretive ranger Emily Ryan on Friday at the park's visitor center in Port Angeles.
Federal shutdown appears imminent

Coast Guard to work without pay during shutdown

Mount Walker Lookout Road closed again

Olympic National Forest engineers have closed Mount Walker Lookout Road… Continue reading

tsr
Salish Sea on cusp of losing tufted puffins

One nesting pair reported on Protection Island

Work slated to winterize Hurricane Ridge

The plans as of Friday were for American Abatement… Continue reading

Year-round tourism aim for Peninsula

Businesses emphasize winter, shoulder seasons

EYE ON THE PENINSULA: Capital plan, strategic plan before county panels

Government meetings across the North Olympic Peninsula

Leo Wright, 3, of Port Townsend examines an end-of-season sunflower at the Sequim Botanical Garden near the Albert Haller Playfields at the Water Reuse Demonstration Site on Wednesday. The garden features a variety of flowers and plants maintained the city and by local gardening groups. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Close-up look

Leo Wright, 3, of Port Townsend examines an end-of-season sunflower at the… Continue reading

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., joined by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, right, and other GOP members, talks to reporters just after voting to advance appropriations bills on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday night. McCarthy is digging in on his refusal to take up Senate legislation designed to keep the federal government fully running beyond midnight Saturday. (J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press, File)
If shutdown occurs, parks will close

National sites will shutter and services will be reduced

Most Read