There’s construction on our Washington roads all year as needed, but this is the time of year when the major projects get done due to the improvement of the weather conditions.

Since I don’t drive, knowing which roads are going to be shut down for a hour, a day, a weekend, or maybe even longer, isn’t a huge priority for me–as long as the bus driver knows where to go, it’s all good for me. But if you’re a driver, being able to know in advance what’s going on out there on the roads is a major benefit.

The WDOT has made it super easy for you to be prepared for road closures and/or construction delays: just visit their 2009 Construction Season page and select by highway or special event to see what construction jobs are in the pipeline. For example, there are a ton of projects that will shut down various lanes on I5 for a short amount of time this week and a bridge inspection will close down the left lane of SR 18 at the Green Rive from eight a.m. to noon tomorrow. I-90 is one of my least favorite roads in Washington state, but I’m glad to hear that there’s a Seismic Retrofit going in to make it safer: commuters are probably glad to know that they’re doing this Thursday night from 10 pm to 5 am.

If you’re out on the road and want to know what’s going on, dial 511 from your mobile phone.

And for the sake of all that’s good and right, please slow down as you approach workers on the road, keep alert, and don’t hit any of them.