8-mile detour for Highway 9 roundabout work starts Thursday
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 7, 2020
MARYSVILLE — After much delay, an intersection of Highway 9 is set to close for several days starting Thursday night for a major traffic-flow overhaul.
Crews with the Washington State Department of Transportation are scheduled to work until Monday on a roundabout where 108th Street Northeast meets the highway.
“Turning from a stop onto a highway increases the risk of collision,” WSDOT said in a news release about the project. “The new roundabout will reduce the severity of collisions and wait times at the intersection.”
Through traffic will be restricted between Northeast 84th Street and Northeast 172nd Street. Signs marking the eight-mile detour along 67th Avenue Northeast are planned for the area. The closure, an extension of work that started last year, depends on the weather.
Local access for residents will remain open.
The roundabout will require drivers to slow down to 15 mph through the intersection. It’s designed to manage traffic and collisions. Over 50 people were injured in 28 accidents there between 2012 and 2017.
Last year the hill height on 108th Street Northeast heading to Highway 9 was reduced to improve sight lines for drivers approaching the intersection.
About 16,000 vehicles travel through the intersection daily, according to WSDOT. An estimated 10% of those drivers turn from a dead stop from 108th Street Northeast onto Highway 9, where the speed limit is 55 mph.
