Storm-related closures of Interstate 5 and Interstate 90

Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Freight Systems Division

WA-RD 708.1

Tech Report

Washington

Final.

Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation

NTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-Economic Impacts ; NTL-FREIGHT-FREIGHT ; NTL-FREIGHT-Trucking Industry ; NTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-Traffic Flow ;

This report documents the economic impact analysis undertaken by WSDOT’s Freight Systems Division in response to the

storm-related closures of I-5 and I-90 in the winter 2007-2008. The closures were the result of severe weather that

overwhelmed the roadways and disrupted freight and passenger movements across the state and the West Coast. In all, the

highways were closed for eight days, four days for I-5 and four days for I-90. In an effort to obtain a more complete picture

of the statewide economic impacts of the highway closures than is typically available through traditional economic impact

assessment methods, WSDOT contracted with Washington State University’s Social and Economic Sciences Research

Center (SESRC) to conduct survey research and economic analysis of the two storm-related events. WSDOT staff and

SESRC researchers worked together to design and develop a new economic assessment methodology that would provide the

state’s citizens and decision-makers with a reality-based, comprehensive analysis of the effects of the closures on the state’s

freight industry and economy as a whole.

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