Sunny weekend day sped up work on I-5
Published 11:17 pm Monday, April 14, 2008
EVERETT — Crews are gearing up to finish widening the freeway through Everett after a sunny day helped them make a lot of progress over the weekend.
The $263 million project that started 2 1/2 years ago is getting done earlier than state officials had expected. The project’s cost and time to completion also highlight the difficulties in dealing with congested highways in the region, said Rep. Mike Sells, D-Everett.
“I’m pleased that it’s close to its closure, but I’m very aware of more work that needs to be done,” said Sells, who sits on the House Transportation Committee. “The job never gets done.”
Crews plan to open a new carpool lane on northbound I-5 next week from Highway 526 to U.S. 2, state officials said. The last segment of a new southbound carpool lane is also expected to open from Marine View Drive to U.S. 2 soon.
When that happens, drivers will be able to see what widened I-5 looks like through Everett. The state plans to finish the remaining work on ramps along the freeway within a few weeks.
The I-5 widening project is to ease traffic chokepoints through Everett. About 170,000 vehicles on average use the freeway through Everett daily, according to state officials.
The gorgeous, balmy weather on Saturday helped crews finish more work on I-5 over the weekend than they had expected.
A new southbound carpool lane opened from U.S. 2 to the Lowell bridge on Sunday morning. The state had opened the carpool lane from the bridge to Highway 526 earlier this year.
A new lane that carries traffic from U.S. 2 to Broadway also opened on Sunday. A few ramps along the freeway got new asphalt and stripes.
Also, crews took out an island work zone in the middle of southbound I-5 at Pacific Avenue, which had split traffic for weeks. The construction zone was set up to replace a girder that supports the freeway over Pacific Avenue. The 95-foot-long girder was struck and damaged by an excavator in December 2006.
Speed limits in the area have been brought back to 60 mph from 50 mph, state officials said.
Crews had waited for a sunny day for weeks, said Patty Michaud, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. When the sun finally came out and stayed on Saturday, they rushed to paint stripes and put down asphalt.
“They got a ton of work done during the weekend,” she said.
Workers also removed old asphalt off southbound I-5 from Broadway to the Lowell bridge over the weekend. That has left the freeway’s surface uneven.
Drivers need to proceed with caution on the bumpy road, Washington State Patrol Sgt. Kirk Rudeen said.
“If they need to slow down, that’s fine,” Rudeen said. “If you head into that area, don’t try to do a lot of lane changes.”
Now, workers are waiting for another warm day to put down a new layer of asphalt on that bumpy stretch.
The Everett I-5 widening project is the third most expensive highway project in the state’s history. The project is funded by a 2003 nickel-per-gallon gas-tax hike.
The project was originally scheduled to begin in 2009, but the Legislature expedited the schedule in anticipation of heavy traffic during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.
The work is wrapping up in time for the big event, but traffic continues to grow in Snohomish County, Sells said. Other transportation options such as light rail should be explored in the future.
“To continue to count on highways is probably not the smartest thing to do,” he said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
