14 — December 2019 ODOT/Winter Road Guide Plan ahead with TripCheck A quick visit to TripCheck.com before you start your journey can help you avoid traffic snags, work zones, and bad road conditions. So before you hit the road, jump online and find the best way to get where you are going. Need road conditions by phone? Dial 5-1-1, or (800) 977-6268 for the latest updates. Outside of Oregon dial (503) 588-2941. TRIPCHECK ON TWITTER Twitter allows you to receive up-to-date information on highway conditions from TripCheck through a variety of mediums including text message to your mobile device. To learn more click the Twitter link in the upper right corner of the TripCheck home page. From there you can select the highway(s) you would like to follow. Please remember that Oregon law limits the use of cell phones while driving. Put safety first. Do NOT use this Twitter ser- vice while driving. TRIPCHECK.COM MOBILE Oregon motorists already know how valuable the road condition and incident website TripCheck.com is. It’s also easy to Don’t stand in line, go online! access from cell phones. Users can surf to the site and find: added in eastern Oregon over past few years. • Traffic alerts, road closures. • Incident information. • Road and weather conditions. • Cameras, including the ability to create a “camera favorites” page. The site also includes traffic speed infor- mation. Give it a try! For more information on winter driving safety, check out the ODOT Winter Driving Tips and Information web page at http://www.oregon.gov/odot/pages/winter- driving.aspx. You’ll find over a dozen safety tips, plus links to videos on how to install tire chains, winter truck safety and more. The next time you’re planning to go out in nasty weather, take a few minutes to check out these helpful hints, tips and vid- eos. ROADSIDE CAMERAS Before you leave, get an up-close look at conditions at www.TripCheck.com. From mountain passes to downtown inter- changes, see what’s happening before you head out the door. Use the “custom cam” image page to customize a page of your favorite camera shots for quick, easy view- ing. Several new camera sites have been Summer chip seals mean adjustments for winter plowing Motorists traveling on the section of OR Highway 82 between Enterprise and Joseph may notice some extra snow left on the roadway after it is plowed by Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance crews. Because the highway between these two communities received a $2 million pavement upgrade this summer, including a chip seal, we will avoid scraping plow blades down to the pavement as it will damage the new surface. Special risers called shoes will be attached to the plows to keep them about an inch off the highway. You will need to slow down and pay extra attention in this area and all highways where snow or ice are present. Sections of U.S. 20 west of Burns in Harney County and OR 201 north of Cairo Junction in Malheur County also received chip seals over the summer and may have snow left on them after plowing. “We recognize the importance of winter plowing operations, but also recognize the importance of protecting a signifi cant infrastructure investment that will have a long term benefi t for Wallowa County,” said DMV Online Services Enterprise Transportation Maintenance Manager Craig Romine regarding the OR 82 paving work. Chip seals consist of rock chips pressed into a layer of oil and water mixed together, called an emulsion. It can take several months for the water to evaporate and the oil to harden, which means the surface is prone to damage by plow blades. We won’t be plowing all the way to the pavement, but we will be using sanding rock and deicer to help improve traction as needed. “We know that having that layer of snow left on the highway could make driving conditions more challenging, but a damaged road would result in other hazards, plus costly repairs and lengthy traffi c impacts,” Romine said. Most highways will be plowed as close to the road surface as possible and we’ll resume this practice on the chip sealed routes next season. “Please be patient with your fellow motor- ists and our crews who will be working day and night this winter to help keep you safe,” Romine said. MORE WINTER DRIVING TIPS AND SAFETY VIDEOS ON THE WEB LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO TRANSPORTATION QUESTIONS? Visit ODOT on the web: www.oregon. gov/ODOT If you have an opinion, comment or question, or if you need personal assistance with an ODOT issue, we are very interest- ed in hearing from you. Please feel free to email or call us at AskODOT@odot.state. or.us or 1-888-ASK-ODOT (888-275- 6368). Conduct your DMV business online. All customers can change their address and report the sale of a vehicle using DMV’s online services, and most customers (if stated on the renewal notice) can renew their vehicle registra- tions online. Save yourself a trip and go online instead! On the web go to https://www.oregond- mv.com/online. Puzzle Fun Solution from page 8 & ' ( & ( ( & ) & & ) ) ( * ' ( & ( + + ) + ' ) + & ) + ) ' ' ' * * & + * ' * ' * ' ) + ) * ' * * ) ) + ) + ( + ( ( & + ( ( ( & ( ) & + ' & ' ( ) ( * ' * + ) ) ( + * + + + ' * ) & & ' ( + ) * ) & ( + * + & & (