Missing road paint made for a scary right turn

Published 1:30 am Monday, October 15, 2018

Lincoln Way was repaved last year, but Nancy Fulmer quickly noticed a problem.

Fulmer drives through the area every week. Like other drivers, she turns right onto eastbound Lincoln Way from the northbound Mukilteo Speedway to access Highway 99. That turn is from a right-turn only lane that is separated from other traffic at the signal-controlled intersection. The turn gives every indication that the driver has a free right onto Lincoln Way — no yielding or stopping required. And in fact drivers have had their own lane on Lincoln Way to enter.

But the dashed white lines to separate the two eastbound lanes were never re-painted after the overlay work.

Without that paint, cars trying to turn onto Lincoln Way from different directions at the same time were navigating what instead appeared to be one giant lane.

Fulmer said she “experienced multiple ‘close calls’ that could have become ugly accidents had the drivers involved relied on the rules of the road only and not their past memory or instincts.”

The mother’s concerns were even more acute with a teen driver in the family. “I’m not sure what exactly I am supposed to teach them about how to proceed through this sticky spot,” she noted.

This short stretch of roadway is maintained by the state Department of Transportation.

We reached out about Fulmer’s concerns, and the lane striping was recently re-painted.

“Lincoln Way was paved last year and existing striping was replaced. The lane line had worn away between 2007 and 2009 and as such, was no longer existing at the time of the paving project,” spokesman Tom Pearce said.

Have a question about a problem spot? Send it to streetsmarts@heraldnet.com or call 425-339-3432.