Overnight lane closures are planned on I-5 in Smokey Point two nights this week and two more nights next week for work on a new bridge over the freeway at 156th Street NE.

One lane, either in one expected to be closed starting at 7 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Monday and Tuesday and reopen by 6 a.m. the following day, according to Marysville city officials.

A second lane may be closed around 10 p.m. Closures may take place both on the northbound and southbound sides or on one side only.

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Pat Smith of Camano Island writes: I drive I-5 in north Snohomish County every day and the grooves seem to be getting deeper from the constant use.

In some areas, potholes are starting to form. Grooves are also forming in the left lanes (not my favorite lane to travel in because of all the speed demons that want to drive 80). The center lanes are where I notice them the most.

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Mark Bowman of Stanwood writes: The intersection at Highway 531 and 45 Road in Lakewood, west of Smokey Point, has no illumination at night and it's hard to judge your turns. Could someone take a look at this intersection?

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May is National Bike to Work Month and booths will be set up at public transportation centers and park-and-ride lots around the county on Friday to mark the occasion.

Cascade Bike Club is the lead sponsor of Bike Month festivities throughout Snohomish County this year, with many other local businesses pitching in.

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The southbound lane of Highway 529 at the new Ebey Slough Bridge is scheduled to close overnight from tonight for utility conduit work and the entire bridge is planned to be closed all weekend for a work on a connecting ramp, according to the state Department of Transportation.

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Rob Harrower of Everett writes: When crossing at some crosswalks with lights, can we get a 10 to 20 second head start for the pedestrian? This would provide a safer environment.

The pedestrian would not have to hurry so as not to alienate the driver, or worry about getting run over. The driver would not feel rushed to get through the light.

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Erica Johnson of Everett writes: The merge from northbound I-405 to northbound I-5 is a nightmare. The weaving traffic is hideous and the exit at 164th Street SW is inadequate for what it handles.

I drive this route every day and I am consistently pushed off the side of the road, or traffic slows down to almost a stop to make the merge onto northbound I-5.

Please tell me the state is going to do the same treatment as it did for the Lynnwood ramp project at 196th Street SW.

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Chris Luscher of Everett writes: I'm wondering why Mukilteo Boulevard is being repaved.

The asphalt that was replaced incrementally in recent years was in very good condition, and it seems that such a large expenditure is unnecessary.

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Highway 522 is scheduled to be completely closed for an hour in mid-morning both Wednesday and Thursday for road-related work.

Crews plan to close both directions of Highway 522 between Fales and Echo Lake roads and 164th Street SE from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. both days. The closure will enable crews to remove trees on two nearby rock faces scheduled for blasting later this spring.

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Margaret Bright of Lake Stevens writes: Would it be possible, and how much would it cost, to have two lanes exiting from northbound I-5 onto the eastbound U.S. 2 trestle?

There are three lanes already there onto U.S. 2, one from northbound I-5, one from southbound I-5 and one from Hewitt Avenue.

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Thomas MacArthur of Monroe writes: I sent an email to the DOT about the terrible repairs made to U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Monroe last summer, but I got no response back.

Last summer, DOT spent about three weeks putting down oil in patches and strips to then cover with pea gravel and we drive it into the cracks. Usually they do the whole surface to make it uniform when you drive on it.

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Gary Hayes of Silver Lake writes: I have been hearing more about people driving the wrong way on our highways. It made me think about the one-way spike strips that you used to see at the exit of the drive-in movies. Why can't those be installed part way down the off ramps to prevent wrong way traffic from entering the freeway?

Personally, I think the price of a life is worth more than the cost of four new tires.

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Ralph Gilcreest of Mukilteo writes: I'm bothered by unsynchronized traffic lights. Just think of what good could be done if the cities and counties could time their traffic lights to coordinate with the speed limit. There would be less idling time, which would save fuel and commute time. There would be less incentive to speed, which should improve safety. With the chaos of random signal changes, speeders do get places faster.

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Sue Sullivan of Snohomish writes: Have you seen the plans for the Bickford Avenue-U.S. 2 overpass? After hearing about the state taking out the weaves to make Highway 18 safer to enter on I-5 in Federal Way, I cannot believe they would even consider this flyover-ramp design for the Bickford overpass. The state never contacted anyone about this (city of Snohomish, fire district, neighbors) to get preliminary input.

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Warren Hartz of Index writes: We regularly drive by the electronic sign near Zeke's that tells us how many days since the last serious accident on U.S. 2.

Once recently it was up to about 30 and I noticed was reset to 2, which means either the power went out, which I don't think it did, or there was a serious accident. But I searched and found no report. Is there a Web page that updates this number?

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Gas prices are likely to continue to soar before they level off or dip back down, according to one local analyst.

Rises in crude oil prices have yet to make their way all the way through the gasoline markets, said Dave Overstreet, public affairs director for AAA Washington in Bellevue.

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Several highway lane closures are planned for tonight and next week in Snohomish County.

Crews working for the state Department of Transportation are scheduled to close the two left lanes of southbound I-5 at the Stillaguamish River bridge from 9 p.m. tonight to 1 a.m. Saturday for survey work.

Crews working on the Highway 522 widening project near Monroe plan to move overhead power lines near the Snohomish River bridge.

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Penny Page of Everett writes: I am expressing concern about pedestrians and the danger they are in when wearing dark clothing in our "dark weather."

I am alarmed by some recent pedestrian fatalities. In recent weeks I have personally witnessed pedestrians crossing intersections in dark clothing and both times they were almost hit. What a tragedy this would have been for all concerned -- nobody wants to be responsible for this type of accident.

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The state this week finished installing and activating traffic web cameras on I-5 between Everett and Arlington, filling in the only remaining gap in the state's web cam system. between Arlington and Tacoma.

Drivers now can look on the web and see views of I-5 throughout that entire stretch, while before there were no camera views of the area from Everett to Arlington.

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Michael Powers of Stanwood writes: The new overpass at 172nd Street NE (Highway 531) and I-5 is wonderful except for one road-rage boiling point. It's on the ramps to southbound I-5 -- the short ramp from eastbound 172nd has a sharp right bend and it's hard to make that turn and look for traffic coming from westbound 172nd down the loop ramp, which is traveling at 60 mph or more.

Wouldn't it make sense to install an "allow traffic to merge" sign for drivers on the loop ramp?

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Last week, we tallied up your many responses to the question of what ticks you off most about other drivers, and boy, there's plenty.

We've had about 140 emails, and many other comments online at www.heraldnet.com/trafficgripes and on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/heraldnet.

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Well, the votes are in. More than 130 of you have registered your traffic pet peeves via e-mail and there are a few mild surprises.

I was sure left-lane campers and tailgating would be among the most common complaints, and they are.

Turns out they’re only second and third on the list, though. I had no idea how many of you would be ticked off about Bad Merging.

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In nearly three years of doing Street Smarts I’ve had a chance to vent a few of my traffic pet peeves.

These include the slow drivers who camp in the left lane of the freeway. There are the drivers who are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them. Then we have the sidegaters. We have the drivers who unneccessarily stop in the right lane on side streets, preventing turns. And of course there are the engine idlers. Some people may be a few or all of the above.

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Hopefully most of us who live in Snohomish County don’t have to use the Highway 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington much, but anyone who does, get ready: tolling begins at 5 a.m. Thursday.

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Karen Hart of Sultan writes: I appreciate the long-needed widening project on Highway 522 near Monroe. However, I am very dismayed at the potholes that are rearing their ugly heads.

The dark, rainy, vision-impaired evenings make it difficult to avoid hitting them. I have noticed many cars, along with my own, hitting these holes, sending teeth chattering and alignments out the door!

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Paul Tounsend of Snohomish writes: The state Department of Transportation puts de-icer on the roads through the passes in the winter. This liquid is very corrosive, it will rust out a truck in two to three years - the brakes, exhaust system, drive lines, etc. It would be better to use sand.

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At least one inside lane on I-5 in the Smokey Point area will be closed nearly every weeknight for three weeks for work on the 156th Street NE overpass project.

This week, except Friday, the southbound left-hand lane will be closed overnight for the project, located about a mile south of the interchange at I-5 and 172nd Street NE. The closures began Monday night.

No closures are scheduled for Friday (Dec. 9), Monday (Dec. 12) or Dec. 23.

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Jack Ward of Granite Falls writes: I am so apprehensive about getting onto the U.S. 2 trestle - most times it’s like a raceway. I can hardly wait to get off, into town.

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