FHWA Talking Freight

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FHWA Talking Freight
Can Your State Recover from Major Disruptions to
Freight Systems? Eight Steps to Resiliency
Barbara Ivanov Washington State Department of
Transportation Freight Systems Division
Co-Director November 18, 2009
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Why Do Freight Disruptions Matter?2007- 08
Closures in Washington State Caused 75 M
Economic Loss

• 2007
• Due to record-high floodwaters, a 20-mile section
  of I-5 near Chehalis, Washington was completely
  closed from December 3 6. The two detours open
  to all trucks added 476 or 577 miles to trips
  taken around the closure.
• 2009
• Severe flooding closed I-5 near Chehalis,
  Washington from January 7 - 9. The states
  mountain passes were also closed due to
  avalanches and slides, so there were no detours
  available.

Flood damaged I-5 December 2007
I-5 southbound January 2009
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I-5 Closure Detour Map 2007
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What happened during the 2008 I-90 closure in
Washington State?

• Due to record snow fall, warm temperatures in the
  mountain passes and resulting avalanche danger,
  WSDOT closed I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass from
  January 29 through February 2, 2008.

Washingtons other east-west routes, Highway 2 at
Stevens Pass and Highway 12 over White Pass, also
had to be closed for avalanche control and to
clear accidents. The severe weather caused
Oregon DOT to close I-84, their major east-west
freight corridor, so that all east-west detour
routes were closed for a time.
Tanker truck stuck on I-90 after an avalanche
January 2008
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I-90 Closure Detour Map January February 2008
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What was the freight-related economic impact of
the I-5 and I-90 closures in 2007/08?

• The loss to Washington States economy due to the
  closures of I-5 in 2007 and I-90 in 2008 was
  close to 75 million.
• Over 47 million was lost due to the impact of
  the I-5 closure in December 2007.
• Almost 28 million of losses were caused by the
  I-90 closures from January 29 through February 2,
  2008.
• The total economic loss includes
• Direct impacts - the additional costs and lost
  sales revenues incurred by freight-dependent
  industries during and immediately after the
  closures. It also includes investments companies
  make to lessen the impacts of future disruptions.
• Indirect damage - occurs to the freight-dependent
  sectors suppliers and customers.
• Induced impacts - happen as decreased spending
  and lower efficiency cascades through the states
  economy.

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How Can We Develop Resilient Freight Systems?

• Resiliency is defined as the ability to rapidly
  restore service after a disruption.
• WSDOT worked with the MIT Center for
  Transportation and Logistics to develop a freight
  system resiliency plan that any state can use. It
  includes
• Best practices of public-sector
• freight system resiliency planning in
• the U.S.,
• A logical approach to develop a
• statewide freight system resiliency
• plan,
• Stakeholders roles and tasks
• to implement a resiliency plan.

I-5 Corridor Flooding in Washington
State December 7, 2007
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What Are the Eight Steps of a State Freight
System Resiliency Plan?

• Identify the customers of the states freight
  transportation system. In Washington State the
  meta-supply chains are
• Global Gateways
• Made in Washington
• Delivering Goods to You
• Set goals and metrics for recovery that meet
  those customers needs, for example
• Global Gateways Return container flow through
  the ports to 70 percent of previous level within
  five days of event.
• Delivering Goods Restore truck access on an
  urban freight corridor to 90 percent of previous
  level within three days.
• Analyze vulnerabilities of the regions
  transportation network and consider
• Independent actions of private firms,
• Infrastructure and modal interdependencies, and
• Vulnerability of different customer segments.

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Freight Resiliency Planning Steps

• 4. Engage private sector partners.
• Build relationships and develop a freight
  communication plan.
• The center of the communication plan is the
  freight notification
• process.
• 5. Decide what policy and regulatory procedures
  need to be in place
• before disruptions occur.
• 6. Decide how you will set priorities and agree
  on trigger setting
• processes.
• When theres scarce capacity, who gets to use
  it?
• When will DOT take over from first responders?
  
• Whos in charge during the recovery phase?
• 7. Run failure analysis simulations on the most
  critical infrastructure.
• 8. Test and improve the plan by running
  large-scale exercises.

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Step1. WSDOT Identified Freight-Dependent
Industries in Washington State

• Global Gateways
• International and national trade flows
• through Washington
• Made in Washington
• Regional economies rely on freight-dependent
  industries
• Manufacturing, construction, agribusiness and
  wood products sectors.
• Delivering Goods To You
• Retail and wholesale distribution systems
• Up to 80 percent of urban truck trips support
  retail and wholesale distribution.

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What Do Washington States Freight System
Customers Need?

• In 2007, WSDOT and MIT interviewed state freight
  customers about their expectations of government,
  their business continuity plans, and how theyll
  work with government when there is a high-impact
  disruption.
• Shippers and carriers said that
• They don't know who in government to call
  post-disruption for
• information, and rely on the media for
  real-time information.
• There was no communication system in place
  allowing government
• agencies to communicate directly with
  freight customers.
• They expect government to have pre-established
  rational priorities.
• They value accurate, timely information above
  all else.

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Steps 3 7. WSDOT Builds Statewide Freight
Model to Analyze Supply Chain
Vulnerabilities

• WSDOT worked with UW and WSU to develop
• the states first GIS-based multimodal freight
• model in 2009. When loaded with commodity
• flow data and route impedance factors, the
• model will help the state
• Understand how disruptions change the way
• companies route goods,
• Plan to protect high-risk freight-dependent
• sectors, and
• Prioritize future transportation investments
• based on the risk of economic loss to the state.
• WSDOT used the new state freight model to
• analyze two supply chains the potato industry
• and diesel fuel distribution.

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Diesel Fuel Distribution in Washington State
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Diesel Fuel is Delivered by Truck From Terminals
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If a Terminal Closes, the Shortest Distance for
Truck Delivery of Diesel Fuel Changes
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Different Supply Chains Have Very Different
Sensitivity to Freight Corridor Disruptions

• Potato Growing and Processing
• Shippers margin per truckload of
• potatoes is low, so during a disruption theyre
  unlikely to use long, expensive detours.
• The supply chain is dependent on east-west truck
  trips on I-90 between growers, processors and the
  market.
• Diesel Delivery from Terminals to
• Fuel Stations
• Very large volumes are moved short distances by
  truck.
• Resiliency is built into the diesel truck
  delivery system as companies regularly change
  sources when fuel prices change.
• Very little I-90 travel.

Photo courtesy of the WA State Potato Commission
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Step 4. WSDOTs Freight Notification System

• There are three components of a freight
  notification system (FNS)
• Develop situational awareness the process in
  which information about freight corridor
  conditions is sent to FNS managers.
• Set up a robust distribution service many
  companies offer email, text and voice mail
  message distribution services at low cost.
• Maintain freight customer database shippers,
  carriers and government.
• WSDOT started the freight notification system
  during the I-5 closure in
• December 2007, and improved it during the
  closures in 2009. The notices
• Send targeted messages in simple English with
  links to maps and diagrams.
• Focus on road conditions, and safe and legal
  detours for trucks.
• Provide predictive information so shippers and
  carriers can plan ahead.
• Are very specific about allowed use on detours.
• Are sent whenever theres a change in conditions,
  and tell customers when the next notice will be
  sent.
• Are distributed directly to customers through
  WSDOTs freight listserve and multipliers. There
  are 4,000 contacts on the WSDOT freight list
  serve.

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WSDOT Freight Notification System At Work

• Freight System Users Update on I-5 Closure
• Tuesday, Dec. 4
• 4 p.m.
• Here is our latest update. We will send you
  another e-mail update Wednesday
• mid-morning. We must wait for daylight tomorrow
  to assess roadway conditions.
• In the meantime, you can check the following web
  links for detailed information
• Washington/Oregon www.
• We will send further e-mail updates as situations
  change.
• Flooded I-5 in Chehalis still closed crews wait
  for river to recede
• I-5 remains closed from Exit 68 in Lewis County
  (11 miles south of Chehalis) to
• Exit 88 near Grand Mound in Thurston County
  (approximately 20 miles south of
• Olympia) due to flooding. It will remain closed
  through Thursday at a minimum
• and possibly longer, depending on when the
  floodwaters recede and how much
• damage the roadway may have incurred. We believe
  we will be better able to
• assess conditions tomorrow and provide a better
  estimate of the opening date by
• mid-morning Wednesday.
• Detour map (440 miles one way) is found at www.

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Steps 5 6. WSDOTs New Commercial Vehicle
Pass System

• WSDOT is working with the Washington Emergency
  Management Division (EMD)
• and State Patrol to develop a new commercial
  vehicle pass system that will safely
• and efficiently authorize emergency, essential
  and other goods delivery to and
• through affected areas during a highway
  disruption of two to seven days duration.
• Washington State has set three goods categories
  in priority order
• Category A Emergency - set by the State EMD and
  event dependent,
• Category B Essential - food and water, fuel,
  health care supplies, perishable livestock and
  feed, parcel trucks, cash, and empty trucks
  returning to resupply these goods, and
• Category C Other - all other goods as detour
  capacity allows.
• When operational in 1Q/10, the online system
  will
• Authorize use of available highway detours, when
  there is no or reduced capacity on major freight
  corridors.
• Allow shippers and trucking companies to apply
  for a commercial vehicle pass
• online and print it at their location. The pass
  is date and time stamped and affixed to the truck
  cab.
• Control volume on highway detours to ensure
  safety.

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What Lessons Has WSDOT Learned During
Implementation of the State Resiliency Plan?

• Response does not equal recovery the skills,
  objectives and resource needs are different.
  Expect to negotiate freight resiliency plans with
  internal divisions and other public agencies.
• The public and private sectors must jointly own
  the recovery plan. Both have a role to fill.
• The state DOT must have a credible, reliable and
  user-friendly freight notification system for
  freight shippers and carriers.
• The state needs to pre-plan mechanisms to
  fast-track recovery.
• The state has to be able to manage freight lane
  scarcity.

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For More Information

• Please go to the WSDOT Freight Systems Division
  website at
• http//www.wsdot.wa.gov/Freight/publications.htm
• Development of a Statewide Freight System
  Resiliency Plan Final Research Report
• Storm-Related Closures of I-5 and I-90 Freight
  Transportation
• Economic Impact Assessment Report, Winter
  2007-2008
• Or contact the Washington State Department of
  Transportation
• Freight Systems Division at
• 360-705-7932
• freight_at_wsdot.wa.gov