Street Smarts: State’s pavement priorities explained
Published 11:13 pm Sunday, September 9, 2007
Question: I was hoping you might be able to find an answer for me regarding the reason the state is using asphalt instead of concrete for the I-5 work in Everett. In a recent Herald article, Mike Cotten from the state Department of Transportation was quoted as saying asphalt pavement needs to be replaced every seven to 10 years while the concrete sections are more than 40 years old.
All of the research I have been able to find indicates that concrete costs anywhere from 30 percent to 60 percent more for the initial work. However, during a 40-year span, you will be incurring asphalt paving costs three additional times, never mind inflation or the disruption that commuters will face each time it is repaved.
Brandon Green, Marysville
Answer: For every paving project we consider many factors in order to choose the best material for each location. When we widen existing roadways, as we are doing on I-5 in Everett, our policy is to match the existing pavement type. It’s more cost effective to pave the new lanes with the same material as the current lane rather than rebuild the whole roadway with a different type of pavement.
If we’re building a new road or reconstructing an existing road, we choose the appropriate type of pavement after carefully analyzing factors such as initial cost for materials and construction, maintenance and future repaving costs, amount of traffic using the roadway including heavy trucks, soil conditions and much more.
Ryan Bianchi, state Transportation Department spokesman
Tell us when we can check traffic flow
Question: When will the “Traffic Flow Map” on the state Department of Transportation Web site show conditions on I-5 from Highway 526 in Everett to Marysville?
Chase Nunes, Marysville
Answer: As part of the I-5 Everett expansion and car-pool lane project we will extend our traffic flow map, travel times and traffic camera coverage on I-5 from Highway 526 to just north of U.S. 2’s junction with I-5. This should occur in 2008. Unfortunately we don’t currently have plans or funding to extend the coverage all the way to Marysville.
Congestion and travel time information is generated using data retrieved from vehicle detectors embedded in the highway. This data is then transmitted via fiber-optic cable to our traffic management center in Shoreline.
This is relatively new technology that has grown rapidly over the past decade and most roads were constructed prior to its development. As a result, we must tear up a section of highway to place the detectors and new fiber-optic cable. That’s a very expensive and disruptive proposition when done as a standalone project. We usually incorporate this work as part of bigger highway construction projects.
Eventually we hope to provide congestion and travel time information for interstates throughout the region and on state routes as well.
Martin Dedinsky, state Department of Transportation traffic operations engineer
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
Ask us about traffic problems
Have a question about traffic or street rules around Snohomish and Island counties? We can help find an answer. E-mail stsmarts@heraldnet.com.
