Traveling This Holiday Week? The DOT Wants To Keep You Safe

As the holidays draw near and temperatures drop, the Washington State Department of Transportation has tips on how to be ready for winter weather driving and avoid Thanksgiving holiday weekend highway backups.

WSDOT has many to help drivers. Once on the road, monitor roadside information signs and radio advisories, or team up with a passenger to find information on our website or by calling 511. Those traveling to the Spokane area and through the Palouse area should expect snow today, with temperatures dropping overnight into the teens late Friday into Saturday. If possible, drivers are encouraged to travel Palouse-area roadways Sunday, after temperatures are expected to increase above freezing. Collisions caused by drivers who are unprepared for winter weather cause delays for everyone. Just one traffic collision or disabled vehicle can cause backups stretching for miles during winter storms and already-congested holiday weekends.

Drivers can expect heavy preholiday commutes out of metropolitan areas and during holiday parades and events, and if winter weather strikes it can add to travel times. WSDOT also offers information on when drivers likely will see Thanksgiving holiday travel delays <http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Congestion/ThanksgivingDay/2011/> on major routes, including Interstate 90, US 2, I-5 at the Canadian border and I-5 north of Olympia into Tacoma.

To give drivers a break from construction delays, work at most construction project sites around the state will move off the highway by noon Wednesday, Nov. 23, and restart Monday morning, Nov. 28. In some construction zones, drivers should be prepared for shifted lanes, roadway detours and reduced speed zones.