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Around the clock, King County Roads is on duty

Coming off the first major storm events of this winter season, King County residents have a fresh picture in their minds of what a travel headache the weather can cause. About 20 roads had to be closed due to flooding, mudslides, and sinkholes. Isolated flooding also damaged some homes and businesses.

The Roads dispatch desk is manned around the clock.

As county residents face the rest of what winter has to offer weather-wise, it’s a good time to keep in mind that the King County Road Services Division answers the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week – rain or shine.

During the stormy weather at the beginning of the month, calls to the Road Services Division’s Renton office increased about ten-fold. While the dispatch desk typically receives about 15-25 daily calls, Monday, Dec. 3 it got more than 200, pressing many road crews into action around the clock to repair the damage left behind by the storm.

The Roads Division handles a wide variety of customer-service calls. It’s not just the big service calls associated with bad weather, but also the everyday needs like filling potholes and trimming bushes around stop signs.

Jon Breiling

King County Resident Jon Breiling knows that first-hand. He lives about four miles from work and rides his bike to get there every day. After the severe windstorms of 2006, he says fallen debris made his bike commute much harder.

“There were a lot of branches down. I just let them know it was pretty bad,” said Breiling. “I actually had to go out into traffic to get around some of the bigger sticks. They were pretty quick on that in getting it swept up, so it was much-appreciated.”

The bulk of the calls that come into the Renton office are associated with maintenance projects, but staff can also help residents in unincorporated areas with issues regarding traffic and pedestrian safety.

The Roads Division's maintenance office averages about 5,000 calls every year. After requests are processed and categorized according to urgency, they’re sent to division supervisors. After the work’s completed, that supervisor will typically inform the citizen who requested the work that it’s finished. While a request is pending, citizens can also inquire about its status since all requests are recorded in a database upon arrival.

If you need county crews to work on an unincorporated King County road, you have three options. Make the request over the phone by calling (206) 296-8100, email the Road Services Division, or you can send a fax to (206) 296-8198.

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Updated: December 18, 2007

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