Portfolio
Case Studies
SR 16 - New Tacoma Narrows Bridge - 24th Street Electronic Toll On-ramp
The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge on eastbound SR 16 will soon be completed, and will include new HOV lanes, electronic toll collection (ETC) and a manual toll plaza. The location of the toll plaza near a popular on-ramp at 24th Street NW in Gig Harbor prompted WSDOT to permanently shut down the on-ramp; however, requests by residents and area legislators to re-build the on-ramp led WSDOT to reconsider. WSDOT's challenge was to communicate that an on-ramp at that location would have to be electronic toll only, and would place on-ramp drivers into a high-volume, short-distance merge area. WSDOT wanted drivers to see what the experience would look and feel like. To depict the driver's experience, PRR developed a set of innovative storyboards using a series of hand drawn sketches that put viewers in the driver's seat of a vehicle traveling across the bridge. The storyboards helped drivers visualize what the bridge would look like on the day of opening as well as when construction is complete, and described the time savings of using ETC to cross the bridge. Using WSDOT's new reader-friendly guidelines, PRR designed several additional boards using distinctive plan view graphics and maps to describe key features of the new on-ramp—including how it might affect traffic on local streets, and information that conveyed the pros and cons of a new 24th Street Electronic Toll On-ramp. PRR then adapted the graphics to include in a four-page folio. WSDOT later incorporated the graphics into an open house presentation.
“PRR developed a set of innovative storyboards using a series of hand drawn sketches that put viewers in the driver's seat of a vehicle traveling across the bridge.”