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In this issue of the Hood Canal Bridge Project Newsletter from the Washington State Department of Transportation:

Learn about alternate driving routes during the closure
Consider telework/telecommuting options for your workplace
Help get the word out
Find out about presentations in your area
Follow construction progress
Get involved

Getting Around
The Hood Canal Bridge, a 1.5-mile link between the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas, will be closed starting May 1, 2009 for six weeks while the east half is replaced.

During the bridge closure, people can take various alternate driving routes to their destinations. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is making highway improvements in anticipation of increased traffic throughout Kitsap, Jefferson and Mason counties.

Get driving directions to the Olympic Peninsula…

Get driving directions from the Olympic Peninsula…

For additional information about transportation during the Hood Canal Bridge closure (including estimated travel times, water shuttle schedules and transit options), visit www.hoodcanalbridge.com or call toll-free 1-877-595-4222.

Time for Telework

A Washington state-funded Telework Pilot Project is currently recruiting businesses and organizations in Jefferson and Kitsap Counties for a six-month trial period of teleworking from November 2008 to April 2009.

Teleworking, also known as telecommuting, allows employees to work from home or another alternate location such as a centrally-located Telework Center. Centers feature the technology and communication devices found in most offices.

With Telework Centers on both sides of the bridge, this could be an ideal time for businesses to try teleworking. The Telework Pilot Project will help participating employers set up, implement and evaluate a Telework Program that works for their organizations.

To assist employers, the Telework Pilot Project has devised an online Telework Toolkit using grant money from WSDOT’s Commute Trip Reduction program. Based on six months’ research and consultation with industry experts, the toolkit contains sample policies and forms, including a teleworking agreement. It also provides information on technology options, managerial and employee concerns and human resources issues.

Participating organizations have the option to continue teleworking at the end of the trial period or once the May-June 2009 bridge replacement is complete.

Although the Telework Pilot Project will begin helping employers establish their programs in November, the sign-up period for the pilot project ends in early December.

To learn more about the project, visit: www.KitsapRegionalCouncil.org/telework.html,
or contact Vicky Clarke at 360-377-4900 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Get the bug!

Help get the word out about the Hood Canal Bridge closure. Place a “Get Ready 5/2009” Web bug on your Web site. The web bug is a clickable icon that sends visitors to www.hoodcanalbridge.com. Placing this bug on your Web site is a great way to increase awareness of and preparation for the temporary bridge closure. To learn more about how to get the link, please contact Vanessa Lund at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 206-652-9506.

Upcoming meetings in the area

Dec. 2 – Sequim Dungeness Chamber of Commerce, Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course, noon-1p.m.
Dec. 4 – Chimacum Middle School, open house and public meeting, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Dec. 8 – Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce, Fort Worden Commons, noon-1 p.m.
Dec. 11 – Hoodsport Kiwanis, Hoodsport Library (tentative)
Dec. 12 – Jefferson County Small Business Roundtable, Public House Restaurant, Port Townsend, 8:30-10 a.m.

Meeting construction milestones
WSDOT is carefully tracking Hood Canal Bridge Project construction progress as it heads toward the May-June 2009 closure.

Recent construction milestones include work completed at the Port Gamble and Shine Pit park and ride lots. The park and rides are an integral part of WSDOT’s plan to help drivers get around during the closure. Drivers can leave their vehicles at the secure park and ride lots and catch buses to the water shuttle docks at South Point and Lofall or to destinations throughout the region.

· October – Crews finished grading eight acres and then installed special fencing and compost berm at the Port Gamble lot to ensure environmental protection for Hood Canal and nearby Port Gamble Bay.

· November – Fine grading for drainage and paved areas continues at Shine Pit, where 17.5 acres were graded. Site work is on schedule for Dec. 15 when WSDOT will assume ownership of the Shine Pit site and start installing lighting and adding striping.

Overall, the Hood Canal Bridge Project is now 86 percent complete. When finished, the Hood Canal Bridge will feature wider, safer lanes and improved mechanical connections for more reliable bridge openings. View pictures and learn more about construction progress.

Get involved

Organizations are already helping prepare for the spring 2009 closure by learning more about the travel options available, planning trips ahead of time and sharing closure information with others.

Getting involved in the project is easy:

· Sign-up to receive project e-mail updates and learn more at http://www.hoodcanalbridge.com

· Schedule a bridge or construction site tour for your group

· View the live construction site Web cameras

· Post a display board at your office or workplace

· Request a speaker from the Hood Canal Bridge Project team to speak to your members or colleagues

· Contact us . . .

Becky Hixson, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 253-305-6450

Joe Irwin, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 253-305-6412

Becky Dolan, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 253-305-6413

WSDOT Hood Canal Bridge Project
950 Broadway Suite 501, Tacoma, WA 98402

USA Today

National parks can be wonderlands in winter
USA Today – USA
… storm-watching in Washington’s Olympic National Park, ice-fishing in Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, fireplace-snuggling at Triangle …
See all stories on this topic

It’s more than a tagline.  Every year since the first year, 2003, that ULHRA has come to Port Angeles WA, the Unlimited Light championship has been decided on Port Angeles Harbor.  The event is called Strait Thunder, presented by Victoria Express Passenger Ferry, because the famous Strait of Juan de Fuca is just off the harbor, separating Washington State with Vancouver Island and picturesque Victoria, British Columbia. 

In 2003 it was Jerry Hopp clinching his first championship in Unlimited Lights after being part of the series since it began in 1995.  It was Jerry who became the first Unlimited Lights’ titlist to elect to race as UL-1 signifying the national champion. The Hopp Racing team won 4 straight titles, clinching all of them at Port Angeles including 2005 when Michael Flaherty in the UL-72 Miss Boat Electric “ran the table” by winning all 4 heats at Port Angeles, only to wind up 83 points short of the championship. 

On October 4^th and 5^th they’ll do it again.  Greg Hopp and Kayleigh Perkins enter Port Angeles separated by a mere 283 points. With up to 1640 points available and 400 points for each heat victory, this is a race that’s very close.  Adding to the points’ race complexity is a program established by the ULHRA Board of Directors this season.  Unlimited Lights teams that choose to race ULHRA events exclusively earn Participation Points at each race they attend.  If they attend them all their Participation Point totals escalate, starting with 30 points at the first race and by their 8^th consecutive race (Port Angeles) a team would earn 240 Participation Points. As a result Ms. Perkins’ team will receive 240 Participation Points added to her total if she makes a legal start bringing the Miss Boat Electric team within 43 points of the lead.  One item to be aware; don’t think a “legal start” is an automatic. Remember Greg Hopp’s flip in qualifying a year ago.  Incidentally, Participation Points apply to the National Championship but have no effect on individual race results.  The Boat Electric and Graham Trucking teams each earned 100 Bonus Points for competing at the season opener at Phoenix AZ.  There were an additional 200 Bonus Points for participating at the Pickwick Landing TN exhibition but neither team was able to attend.

John Lynch “Voice” of ULHRA Racing        Photograph credit:  Mark Sharley

Port Angeles, WA – The Clallam County Family YMCA announced today that tickets are available for the 2nd annual “A Taste of the Peninsula,” to be held Saturday, November 1st from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Elks Naval Lodge, 131 East First Street, in Port Angeles.  The event, which is sponsored by Westsound Bank, features the bounty of North Olympic Peninsula farms and food producers, local wineries and our area’s fine culinary talent.

Wineries will pour their wines for tasting and chefs will provide samplings of foods prepared with many locally harvested ingredients.  The event is a benefit for the YMCA Community Art Program and will showcase an exhibit of Y-ARTS student and instructor works.  Live jazz will be provided by the Al Harris Sextet.  Items for the silent auction can be previewed at ccfymca.org/auction_items.html.

Food participants this year include Oven Spoonful, Joy’s Wine Bistro, Michael’s Seafood & Steakhouse and Raindrop Desserts & Chocolates of Port Angeles; Cedar Creek Restaurant, Alder Wood Bistro, Yvonne’s Chocolates and Bell Street Bakery of Sequim; and Mt. Townsend Creamery and Pane d’Amore Bakery of Port Townsend.  All seven North Olympic Peninsula wineries will be present—Black Diamond, Camaraderie Cellars, Harbinger Winery and Olympic Cellars from Port Angeles; Lost Mountain Winery from Sequim; and Sorensen Cellars and FairWinds Winery from Port Townsend.  Princess Valiant Coffee of Port Angeles will provide a signature coffee roast just for the event. Participating farmers and food producers include Nash’s Organic Produce, Lazy J Tree Farm, Graysmarsh Farm, High Tide Seafood, and Sunny Farms Country Store.

Tickets, which include a 2-week YMCA fitness pass, are $45 and are available at the YMCA, 302 South Francis Street in Port Angeles, and at three Westsound Bank locations—602 East Front Street in Port Angeles, 1320 West Washington Street in Sequim, and 2500 West Sims Way in Port Townsend. 

For more information call the YMCA at 360-452-9244 or visit www.ccfymca.org.