Boats go before cars, federal law says

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, March 13, 2005

When Dennis Reeve is commuting into Everett on Highway 529, nothing ticks him off more than when the bridge over the Snohomish River opens to let a tugboat through while he’s rushing to work.

“I cannot understand the reason why (the state) allows marine traffic to stop highway traffic during peak travel times,” Reeve said.

“All traffic is stopped for a period of 10 minutes or longer while a barge is pushed in or pulled out of the Snohomish River waterway.”

For Reeve and other irritated commuters, it would make more sense to have the tugs and barges move through during the midday hours or at night, when fewer people are rushing to and from work.

“The impact is tremendous considering the approach to Everett from the north is usually slowing during the morning,” he said, adding that it’s also a problem during the commute home. “I would like to understand … how a barge of chips takes precedence over thousands of commuters at peak hours.”

Although state officials are sympathetic, they’re not helpful; they can’t be.

Federal law requires that boats be allowed to move under a bridge whenever they need to, said Victoria Tobin, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

In this case, it’s the tide that dictates when the barges go under the bridge; if the water is too low, the barges will go aground, stranding them until the tide comes back.

“Although bridge openings average about 8-10 minutes each (15 minutes maximum), it can feel like a very long time when you are trying to get to work and have had no warning that the bridge will close for marine traffic,” Tobin said.

Although it’s annoying, it looks like Highway 529 commuters are just going to have to be patient. Tell your boss you were late because the tide was in.

Unsettling dip

Question: What is the state doing about the continuing settling of 128th Street SE /132nd Street SE where it passes the McCollum park-and-ride lot?

The area is an old landfill and the road constantly settles. In the past few months there has developed a large drop when you are eastbound, which causes traffic to slow. This needs to be fixed because it is such a major artery.

Tim Borchers, Mill Creek

Answer: Our maintenance crews have been repairing sections of road affected by the settling.

We patched the asphalt in early February. We will make additional repairs when weather allows for better patching results.

For longer-lasting improvements, we must completely repave the roadway. These larger re-paving projects are scheduled based on roadway surface life.

This section of roadway is scheduled to be rebuilt within five years.

Dongho Chang,

state Department of Transportation traffic engineer