Summary

King County Executive Dow Constantine urged King County government employees to telecommute or take a day of accrued vacation rather than attempt a trip on icy roads in the morning.

Story

King County Executive Dow Constantine urged King County government employees to telecommute or take a day of accrued vacation rather than attempt a trip on icy roads in the morning. The challenging and lengthy commute on Monday evening hinted at what might be awaiting drivers on Tuesday morning.

The Executive encouraged county government employees who are not first responders or mission critical to telecommute tomorrow, or use an accrued vacation day, rather than try to report to your normal work location.

King County facilities remain open for staff who must report to work. First responders and mission critical staff are expected to report to their work location as usual. This includes, but is not limited to, corrections officers, 9-1-1 call center operators, direct healthcare providers, emergency personnel, security staff, and certain senior managers. Although King County government as a whole is still officially open, several departments or facilities affected by the weather conditions have announced closures and instructed staff to stay home. Updated closures are posted online at www.kingcounty.gov. County employees should call 206-205-8600 for updates, and check with their management.

King County Road Services Division crews have been able to keep main arterials in unincorporated areas of the county open. These roadways have been hard hit by ice, snow, and winds creating challenges at times to keep roads passable for residents, transit and emergency responders. King County has all available snow plows or sand trucks clearing snow off the 1,800 miles of paved road that King County maintains.

King County Metro Transit is keeping buses in all areas on snow routes for Tuesday morning. Buses will be crowded and significantly delayed, perhaps even worse than Monday due to the road conditions. If those conditions severely deteriorate overnight, Metro may have to cancel entire bus routes in the morning.

Bus riders should check www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow for the most current status of Metro service before traveling Tuesday. Online updates will begin at 4 a.m. If you do not have internet access, call Metro's Customer Information Center at (206) 553-3000. Due to the volume of calls, there could be a wait on the phone lines.

Roads throughout the Metro service area are expected to be extremely icy and hazardous Monday evening and Tuesday morning. There are also many abandoned vehicles blocking the roadways.

Please be patient, and dress warmly for waiting outdoors. Returning to regular service will be evaluated again after the morning commute.

For current information about King County government operations, visit www.kingcounty.gov.

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