A busy street -- one that seems like it's in Lynnwood but really isn't -- is in for an upgrade.Crews working for Snohomish County plan to begin work today to widen 52nd Avenue W. from 148th Street SW to the Lynnwood city limit just north of 168th Street SW.The street is part of the main north-south route for traffic between Mukilteo and Lynnwood west of Highway 99.

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By this fall, it should be easier for drivers to turn onto or drive across Highway 92 in Lake Stevens -- and safer, too.

Work begins Monday on two roundabouts along the dangerous stretch of Highway 92 between Highway 9 and N. Machias Road.

One roundabout is planned for the intersection of Highway 92 and 99th Avenue NE. The other will be built at 113th Avenue NE, not far from Lake Stevens High School.

A combined 42 accidents took place at these two...

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The new Ebey Slough Bridge over Highway 529 in Marysville is scheduled to be closed this weekend so crews can apply the final layer of pavement to the bridge deck.

The work had been planned several times before and each time was cancelled by rain.

Both directions of the bridge are scheduled to close at 5 a.m. Saturday. The highway is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

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Mike Fricke of Clinton writes: I have been driving to downtown Everett for years now commuting from Whidbey Island to work. I take Mukilteo Boulevard to Rucker Avenue and then to the corner of Wetmore Avenue and California Street where I park.

Once I leave Rucker, I'm mystified by the timing of the stoplights. I currently head up Hewitt from Rucker -- the Hoyt and Colby lights run about a second apart but as the latter turns green the Wetmore light goes red. I used to...

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Anyone who regularly drives southbound I-5 through Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace is in for a smoother ride.Preparatory work begins today on a project to repave this rough-and-rutted, 2-mile stretch of aging asphalt over the summer.

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Nancy Fulmer of Lynnwood writes: I live in an unincorporated area of Snohomish county near Lake Serene, where Lynnwood, Mukilteo and Edmonds all meet. There is a nearby intersection I frequently use that has recently been affected by the construction of a new Swift bus stop, which has me very concerned.

The intersection is at Highway 99 and 148th Street SW, where I have both witnessed and experienced "close calls" between cars and a Swift bus.

The problem...

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Jared Grothe of Clinton writes: I have a comment about eastbound traffic on 128th Street SW between Eighth Avenue W. and I-5. It consistently takes 20-25 minutes to travel this short distance (about half a mile) on weekday evenings. Are there any plans to improve this stretch?

Owen Carter, engineer for Snohomish County, responds:

As Jared clearly described, 128th Street SW west of I-5 is a busy stretch of road – and...

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A closure of southbound Highway 529 at the Snohomish River Bridge previously scheduled for tonight has been canceled.

The bridge was closed nights earlier this week as crews did preparatory work to replace the machinery that opens and closes the drawspan.

The work is part of a $3.2 million replacement of the drawspan scheduled for this...

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Southbound Highway 529 at the Snohomish River Bridge is scheduled to be closed each night this week as crews do preparatory work for replacing the machinery that opens and closes the drawspan.

The bridge is scheduled to close at 8 p.m. each night through Thursday and to reopen at 4 a.m. each day Tuesday through Friday.

Detour signs will be placed in Marysville. Roads north of the bridge on the Snohomish River...

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George Schlosser of Getchell writes: Getchell Road, also known as 84th Street NE, between Highway 9 and 123rd Avenue NE, has become a genuinely dangerous road. We may not be talking about fatal accidents, but that is just a matter of time. And we are not talking about the road itself but rather the drivers using the road at excessive speeds and just plain not paying attention. We have recently had two rear-end accidents and several close calls at the intersection of 84th and 115th.

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Craig McKelvey of Monroe writes: At the intersection of U.S. 2, Main Street and Old Owen Road, vehicles turning left onto westbound U.S. 2 from Main frequently swing very wide across both lanes of the intersection to get to the Albertsons entrance on the north side (which is very close to the intersection).

This creates a lane conflict with drivers on Old Owen who stop for the red light, then make a free right turn into the outside lane of westbound U.S. 2.


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Last week's column regarding the tricky merge from Highway 204 onto the U.S. 2 trestle got plenty of reaction from readers.

Currently, drivers from Highway 204 are required to yield to those entering the trestle from 20th Street SE. The letter writer asked the state Department of Transportation if the merge at the interchange could be changed to an alternate or "zipper" merge.

The current...

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STANWOOD – Two of the three northbound lanes on I-5 north of Stanwood are scheduled to be closed for three days starting Tuesday for repairs.

Crews plan to reduce northbound I-5 to one lane just north of the 300th Ave. NW interchange (exit 215) and south of theStarbird Road (exit 218) beginning at 5 a.m. Tuesday. Crews will reopen one of the closed lanes to traffic at 5 a.m. Friday to keep traffic moving during the weekend. Drivers should...

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T.J. McDermott of Lake Stevens writes: Merging traffic of westbound 20th Street SE and westbound Highway 204 onto U.S. 2 is always a congestion point for the morning commute.Why not post the 20th-204 merge point as "alternate merge," instead of having only Highway 204 drivers yield?

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Some late-night runs on the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry and several weeks of two-boat service on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route would be cut under a budget proposed in the state House of Representatives.

The chamber has yet to vote on the budget. The state Senate has its own budget proposal, which does not include cuts in ferry service.

Under the House budget, the cuts are expected to save $2.1 million.

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One lane of northbound I-5 north of Stanwood is scheduled to be closed most of the day Wednesday.

Crews plan to inspect roadway panels that could be damaged and need repair or replacement this summer.

The right lane between mileposts 214 and 216 is scheduled to close 7:30 a.m. and reopen at 3 p.m. This is about two miles north of the Highway 532 interchange, near the Washington State Patrol weigh station.

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Trish King of Lake Stevens writes: We have two new roundabouts on N. Davies Road at Frontier Village. Please explain how these should work.

I thought, like a stop sign, the first person to arrive has the right of way. If two cars arrive at the same time, the one on the right has the right of way. That is not what's happening. People just barrel through like it's a game of chicken.

Street Smarts responds: A roundabout should be approached not like a four-way...

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Allen Hooper of Everett writes: There is a light at the intersection of Admiralty Way and Airport Road (128th Street SW) in south Everett. During the green signal for cars to proceed on Airport Road, the left-turn signal is a blinking yellow arrow.

Shouldn't this be a blinking red turn signal to ensure that cars stop before turning left across traffic?

I've always thought of blinking yellow as meaning slow down and proceed, not stop and proceed.


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A mudslide Thursday morning has closed train tracks between Seattle and Everett, according to the Associated Press.

BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas says the tracks will be closed to passenger trains and commuter rail until at least Saturday morning.

The slide happened at 10:10 a.m. about one mile south of Mukilteo in an area that experienced hundreds of slides this past winter. Melonas says this was the first...

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Drivers headed from Marysville to Everett on southbound Highway 529 on Thursday night will need to use an alternate route.

Crews plan to close all southbound lanes near the Snohomish River Bridge at 8 p.m. Thursday and reopen the highway at 4 a.m. Friday.

Drivers headed to Everett will be detoured to I-5. Drivers hoping to reach Smith and Spencer islands will be able to do so via 34th Avenue NE, which parallels...

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Leon Horowitz of Everett writes: I've made several attempts to contact state and county agencies regarding what's happening with Highway 99 from Airport Road in south Everett to the Mukilteo Speedway intersection. Both the north and southbound outside lanes have been torn up for water line and fire hydrant installations. However, the repaving is terrible; in fact, it's almost impossible to drive in those lanes due to the poor patching and rough roadway. Is this just a temporary...

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If you're checking traffic cameras on the city of Lynnwood's website, there's an easy way to get even more information about congested spots.The city has more than 40 cameras posted at major intersections and arterials that provide the public with views of these spots on the Web. The state Department of Transportation has its own network of cameras on I-5 and other freeways and highways.

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Turning on your car's engine and then going back into the house for a few minutes to let it warm up is not just bad for gas mileage and the environment. It's offering your car up to a thief on a silver platter.And it's illegal.There's even a name for vehicles that are left running by themselves. They're called "puffers."

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Drivers should be on the lookout for closures for roadwork near Snohomish and Monroe in the coming week.

The state Department of Transportation plans to close westbound U.S. 2 between Highway 9 and the trestle overnight Monday. Crews will install framework and brackets on a new overpass at Bickford Avenue. The road will reopen at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Other lane and ramp closures are planned as part of this work.

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Both directions of Highway 522 between164th Street SE and Fales and EchoLake roads are scheduled to be closed for an hour on Friday morning.

The highway will be closed from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Friday for previously unscheduled rock blasting related to a $129 million project to widen the highway.

Most closures have occurred on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Friday morning closure will remove rock left over from...

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Highway 522 near Monroe has reopened after rock blasting.

The road was scheduled to be closed for only an hour earlier today for work on the $129 million highway widening project. The reopening was delayed when rock fell on the roadway and damaged the barrier, said Kris Olsen, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

Before reopening the road, crews needed to assess the slope for stability,...

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Jeff Thorngren of Snohomish writes: The state Department of Transportation needs to time the daily opening of the U.S. 2 trestle eastbound shoulder lane with the on-ramp meter lights from 41st Street onto northbound I-5. Traffic regulating lights on the 41st on-ramp start around 2 p.m. The open-shoulder driving on the eastbound trestle should open to traffic at 2 p.m. instead of 3 p.m. as it does now.

Dave Chesson, a spokesman for the...

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If you lived in California or one of six other states and had a smartphone, you wouldn't have to worry about whether you remembered to put your proof-of-insurance card in your wallet, purse or car.You could call it up on your phone.California in September became the seventh state to allow people to show proof of their auto insurance on their smartphones, as well as with a card or piece of paper. The other states are Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana and Minnesota.

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A closure of Elliott Road at Highway 522 planned for Wednesday night has been canceled.The state Department of Transportation had planned the closure to set girders for a new bridge over the Snohomish River. The state plans to reschedule the closure.The work is part of a $129 million project to widen Highway 522 from Monroe to the Snohomish River, including a new bridge.

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Elliott Road at Highway 522 near Monroe is scheduled to be closed overnight Wednesday so crews can set girders for a new bridge over the Snohomish River.Elliott Road will be closed just west of the river from 8 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.

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