I-5 drive surprisingly smooth despite roadwork

Published 9:20 am Monday, March 17, 2008

EVERETT — With a lane being closed in the middle of I-5, state crews expected traffic would slow to a crawl. More than a week into the project, it hasn’t happened.

A few people even told state officials that a split of traffic around the work zone has improved traffic flow, said Patty Michaud, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” Michaud said.

The state is digging a hole in the middle of southbound I-5 through Everett to replace a concrete girder that supports the freeway over Pacific Avenue. They’ve installed concrete barriers around the project, creating a kind of island in the middle of the freeway. The state rarely closes middle lanes.

Despite all those changes, traffic seems to have been running smoothly since the state started the project on March 5. Crews plan to wrap up the project on April 23, said Pat McCormick, chief engineer for the state’s Everett I-5 widening project.

The work is expected to cost about $1 million, state officials said. A truck carrying an excavator hit and damaged the 95-foot-long girder in December 2006. The truck driver’s insurer is expected to pay for the girder replacement.

The freeway already has been widened to add a new carpool lane in Everett, said Mike Cotten, the project’s director for the transportation department. Instead of opening the new carpool lane, the state has used that space to keep traffic moving around the work zone in the middle of I-5.

There have been no accidents at the work zone, Cotten said. Still, people should slow down near the work zone. Speed limits in the area have been reduced from 60 mph to 50 mph.

“We are still nervous about it,” he said. “It’s pretty unusual to have a split like that.”

Meanwhile, the Everett I-5 widening project is in the home stretch, state officials said. A new southbound carpool lane is set to open on I-5 from Marine View Drive to the Lowell bridge by the end of April. Another new carpool lane on the northbound freeway is also set to open next month.

Construction for the $263 million project started in 2005. That’s the third most expensive highway project in the state’s history, state officials said.

The girder replacement over Pacific Avenue is one of the last projects that crews need to finish.

“It’s been a lot of work to get up to this point,” McCormick said.

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.