| OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program |
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| Web Brief (Apr 08) |
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Aerial footage previewed the detour route.
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Webcast helps motorists navigate I-84 closure
When ODOT closed Interstate 84 for five days in March, it also opened up a new world of communications options, with the agency’s first Web-based video news release that announces a highway closure.
Replacement of the bridge at Hilgard Interchange near La Grande required the closure during the installation of four 150-foot, 35,000-ton steel beams. For five nights, the highway’s off-ramps and on-ramps served as a detour route.
The eastbound ramps presented a special challenge, particularly for truck drivers coming down the steep Spring Creek grade from an elevation of more than 4,300 feet. While traffic control signs ahead of the work zone advised of the upcoming detour, extra public awareness efforts were necessary. In addition to newspaper articles, radio announcements and flyers sent to truck stops, ODOT used a Web-based video news release to get the message out to a broader audience.
Coordinated by the bridge program’s communications team, filmed by Ted Burney of ODOT Film and Video Services, and narrated by Region 5 Public Information Officer Tom Strandberg, the short webcast gave a close-up look at the detour route, while advising motorists to slow down and watch for narrowing travel lanes, sharp corners and a stop sign as they made their way through the detour.
The 90-second video news release included ground-level videotaping from the work zone and a segment of aerial footage assembled by the bridge program’s Geographic Information Systems team. Then a link to the video was included in a press release that ODOT distributed to media and stakeholders.
The release reached an impressive set of targeted media outlets in eastern Oregon, including the La Grande Observer, East Oregonian, KFFX-TV in Pendleton, KCMB radio in Baker, and the trucking industry Web site www.etrucker.com. With commercial trucks representing nearly 50 percent of I-84 traffic in eastern Oregon, this was a definite bonus.
“The project was a good opportunity to get our feet wet using video as a medium in eastern Oregon,” said Strandberg. “We’re looking forward to producing more video news releases on significant closures and other projects where we can help people be prepared for the road ahead.”
You can view the video news release on ODOT’s Web site: www.oregon.gov/ODOT/COMM/I84_closure_video_news.shtml.
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