Traffic is a bit rough this afternoon in the Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia areas.  Figured we'd share something light to cheer your mood on this sunny Friday afternoon.

Version 1.5.5 of the WSDOT Android app was released to the market today. It includes the addition of 31 cameras providing coverage across many of the ferry "Vessel Watch" routes. Most of the camera images are already available on the WSDOT web site, however, have been absent from the Android and iPhone apps.

From the "Traffic & Travel -> Ferries" menu, tapping "Vessel Watch" will now take you to a default "Seattle" overview.

Pressing the "MENU" button will display a "GoTo Location" option and tapping it will list all the available vessel watch routes.

For example, selecting the "Edmonds / Kingston" route will allow you to zoom down and view the details for that area.

In this case you will be able to see the docked vessel by selecting the loading ramp camera,

as well as various holding areas and traffic conditions on the way to the ferry terminal.

The vessels still update positions every 30 seconds, however, the large "Retrieving ferry locations..." dialog box will not show after the initial setup. It has been replaced by a small "busy" spinner in the upper right corner of the title bar. This way you can still move the map around and view cameras without being effectively locked out when an position update occurs.

The 30 second update call has also been improved so it takes a lot less time to complete. Much nicer. See what you think.

Can I pick a different default view rather than Seattle?

Likely in the next version when bookmarks and favorites are added. You will be able to center the map and pick the zoom level of the location you want to use as your default view.

Sunny Jim Fire

A fire in the SODO area of Seattle at the Sunny Jim on Tuesday, Sept 21 created very smoky conditions on I-5 in Seattle, resulting in several  lanes being closed due to limited visibility.

Time lapse video of Ferry docking
An amazing time lapse of the Seattle waterfront as ferries come in to dock:

Pointed out to us by the Twitter account @shouldbeobvious

I-5 Tanker overturned

On Wednesday, September 22 a tanker overturned and caused a several hour closure of I-5 near Kent as1,000 gallond of diesel and 10,000 gallons of gasoline had to be offloaded before the tanker could be righted.

Here's a scene you don't see very often
From reporter Michelle Millman as media left the scene of the tanker.

Stevens Pass
Crews started preparing trucks for winter.  Some Stevens Pass staffers had fun with the newly installed plows.

Submitted by @stevenspass

Looks like two new super-snowplows fitted up for #Lanina winter @wsdot Berne facility, we went to check it out -http://yfrog.com/mm9zpmj

— Stevens Pass (@StevensPass) September 22, 2010

Orcas in Puget Sound
Mike Mondragon captured a pod of Orcas off the M/V Wenatchee

Drunk Drivers
Unfortunately the week ended on a low note with a collission on eastbound I-90 just west of West Lake Sammamish parkway near Issaquah.  All 7 occupants ofthe Metro Rideshare van were injured and luckily they are all expected to make full recoveries.

From Rick Price - @KIRO7RickPrice

http://twitpic.com/2ri16p - Damage to victims' vehicle, accident I-90 EB near W. Lk Samm. Pkwy.

— Rick Price (@KIRO7RickPrice) September 24, 2010

The biggest change to the forthcoming version 1.5.3 of the WSDOT Android app is it will finally be location aware. Because the application will discover where you are you no longer have to tap the "Olympia", "Tacoma" or "Seattle Area" list items to display the respective map. Tapping the new "Traffic Map" item will automatically show cameras and alerts where you are located.

Where did the city links go?

All the previous city link bookmarks have been moved to a "GoTo Location" menu item accessible by pressing the "MENU" button when the traffic map is displayed. Any traffic location available on our website is also available through this menu.

The traffic map interface itself has been simplified. We are experimenting with displaying information based on the context of the location of the map being viewed. For example when the map is in the Seattle area, pressing the phone's MENU button will display options for "Seattle Alerts" and "Travel Times". When the map view is out of the greater Seattle area, those options are hidden. With the tabs removed it also offers more viewing space when the phone is in landscape mode.

The travel times display has also been updated to show the distance and average commute times as well as the current time. The current time is color coded to display green when the commute is under the average time and red when it is over. The color is blue if it is equal to the average commute time.

The travel time list is too long!

Yep. We know. The ability to bookmark or favorite your preferred routes will fix this and will likely be implemented in version 1.5.4 or 1.5.5.

Bug fixes

• Pressing the "BACK" button to cancel a long running "Retrieving camera image..." dialog should not cause the app to crash or cause the camera image to suddenly pop-up later while browsing the map.

The sign itself is the electronic express lane sign for southbound drivers.  The light on that sign indicates to us which message is being displayed: whether the lanes are open or closed. When the light is green, the sign says the express lanes are open. When the light is off completely, it’s our indicator that the sign says the lanes are closed and drivers should merge right. We need that light because we don’t have a traffic camera in that area that we can point at the sign to visually confirm what it says so this is how we confirm the message on the sign. It’s one of the many safety checks we have in place as we reverse the express lanes each day.

In 1959, the Cold War was rapidly heating up and fallout shelters were all the rage. Seattle was no exception. As engineers finalized designs for a new interstate highway (I-5), they got word that the government was interested in building a prototype fallout shelter into the interstate. I imagine the concept raised just as many eyebrows then as it does now.

The federal Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization paid the tab for design and construction of the prototype fallout shelter – $67,300 in 1960s dollars, which works out to about $478,000 today. It was intended to be the first of many; engineers nationwide would build fallout shelters into the growing interstate highway system. As it turns out, the concept never took off. According to WSDOT historians, who have made inquiries nationwide, Seattle’s I-5 fallout shelter was the only one ever built.

It opened to public fanfare on March 29, 1963, with then-WSP chief Roy Betlach cutting the ceremonial ribbon. Though originally intended as a fallout shelter, it was immediately repurposed as a licensing office. According to the March 30, 1963, edition of the Seattle PI, the shelter would be open “from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays for driver license applications and examinations.” The licensing office closed up shop – due in part to the fact that they could never seem to heat the shelter adequately – in 1977. WSDOT reclaimed the space as a record storage facility until late 2007 or early 2008, when any remaining records were moved to the headquarters archive building in Olympia.

Back to blog story | View photos of shelter

Here is a list of locations on state highways or ferries that Foursquare users in Washington state have used for Foursquare checkins.  If you see any that you know of that aren't on this list please let me know:

Seattle area:

I-90 Floating Bridge: http://foursquare.com/venue/67248  (claimed)

I-90 - Westbound from Issaquah - http://foursquare.com/venue/138960

i-90 eastbound: http://foursquare.com/venue/895131

520 Floating Bridge, Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge-Evergreen Point: http://foursquare.com/venue/206693

520 Traffic: http://foursquare.com/venue/1526431

520 West Mile Marker 6: http://foursquare.com/venue/1212986b

520/405 Interchange: http://foursquare.com/venue/1983105

520 Bike Trail: http://foursquare.com/venue/1980780

Aurora Bridge: http://foursquare.com/venue/137767

I-5 Ship Canal bridge: http://foursquare.com/venue/1055404

I-5 Express Lanes (Southbound): http://foursquare.com/venue/1171450c

I-5 Express Lanes (Northbound): http://foursquare.com/venue/2506903

I405 and I90: http://foursquare.com/venue/1377739

I-405: http://foursquare.com/venue/2481404

I-405S: http://foursquare.com/venue/1057235

i405N: http://foursquare.com/venue/1313044

I-5 between Blaine and Seattle: http://foursquare.com/venue/180075

Ferries:

The (M/V) Wenatchee: http://foursquare.com/venue/1956116

The (in)famous "I'm on a boat" badge: http://foursquare.com/user/realchase/badges/1949068

WSDOT MV Tacoma: http://foursquare.com/venue/2498930

Tacoma area:

Tacoma Narrows Bridge: http://foursquare.com/venue/733128

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Toll Plaza: http://foursquare.com/venue/1242893

Olympia Area:
I-5 North at South Tacoma Way: http://foursquare.com/venue/1953204

Rest Area:
Indian John Hill Rest Area - Eastbound - http://foursquare.com/venue/1229854

Maytown Safety Rest Area: http://foursquare.com/venue/1827242

Scatter Creek Safety Rest Area: http://foursquare.com/venue/636212

Rest Stop - I-5 at Federal Way: http://foursquare.com/venue/1467191

Park and Ride Lots:

112th & I-405 Park & Ride: http://foursquare.com/venue/879153

and many many more....

Amtrak Cascades:
amtrak cascades 513: http://foursquare.com/venue/1172897

As always, keep your focus on the road and please don't check-in while driving.