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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, October 10, 2008 U.S. 2 striping will add a lane But the work means the eastbound trestle will be closed starting at midnight By Bill Sheets Herald Writer EVERETT -- Anyone attending the Silvertips hockey game this evening or doing anything else in downtown Everett might want to allow a little extra time to get home. One lane on the eastbound U.S. 2 trestle will close at 10:15 p.m. so crews can begin painting new lanes to provide relief from rush-hour traffic jams. Traffic will be limited to one lane until midnight, when the trestle will be completely shut down until daylight. Crews will start closing the onramps from both directions of I-5 to eastbound U.S. 2 at 9:30 tonight and will close the onramp from Hewitt Avenue to the trestle at midnight. Drivers should expect delays and plan alternate routes ahead of time, said Meghan Soptich, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. Traffic engineers originally planned to close the Hewitt onramp at the same time as the others but made the change to accommodate people leaving the hockey game, Soptich said. The city of Everett is aware of the work and doesn't plan any special measures to handle the traffic, city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said. "We're feeling very comfortable with the assessment that (the state) has done regarding the hours of operation," Reardon said. To avoid a nearly 20-mile detour during the closure, drivers on I-5 headed to the east end of the trestle can take 128th Street SE in Mill Creek or Fourth Street in Marysville east to Highway 9, the state Department of Transportation advises. The work on the trestle will reduce lanes from 12 to 11 feet wide, and the shoulder on the right side will be expanded to 14 feet. This will allow it to be used as a third lane during afternoon rush hours, Soptich said. Most freeway lanes are 12 feet wide, but can be narrowed for congestion relief if it doesn't interfere with safety, she said. The extra few feet is being created on the shoulder to provide a cushion from the guardrail, she said. Once signs are created and installed, which is planned for January, eastbound drivers will be able to use the right-side shoulder as a third lane during the afternoon commute, Soptich said. The hours haven't been determined but 2 to 7 p.m. is a possibility, she said. The work is being done before heavy fall rains set in. "We'd have to wait until next spring if we didn't do it now," she said. On Saturday, one lane and the onramp from northbound I-5 are scheduled to reopen at 7 a.m. At noon, crews plan to open the new lanes, along with the ramp leading to southbound I-5 and the ramp from Hewitt Avenue to eastbound U.S. 2. Drivers exiting at mid-trestle onto 51st Avenue SE will have to use the shoulder as an exit lane, Soptich said. No work will be done on the westbound side, she said. Its shoulder isn't as wide as that on the eastbound side and traffic isn't as congested in that direction, Soptich said. Eastbound afternoon traffic frequently backs up onto northbound I-5, she said. "We have heard from drivers who are frustrated with that, and this is a near-term fix we can make." Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out Restriping US-2 I don't understand how restiping US-2 to add an additional lane during the afternoon will help the merge mess of the new 41st Street on ramp. There are traffic columns from the onramp trying to merge onto I-5, and traffic on I-5 trying to get into the exit only lane, this is what causes the back up on I-5. Marcus Van Wyck | Oct 10, 2008 10:19 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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