Work to close I-5 ramp at Smokey Point

Published 10:41 pm Thursday, September 10, 2009

ARLINGTON — The onramp from eastbound 172nd Street NE to southbound I-5 in Smokey Point is scheduled to be closed for up to a week while a new ramp is built.

The ramp will close beginning just after midnight Monday.

Instead of taking a right onto the ramp, eastbound drivers headed for southbound I-5 will have to wait to turn left to a new loop ramp that leads to the freeway, or use other routes.

The ramp is scheduled to remain closed around the clock until about midnight Sunday, Sept. 20, but could reopen a day or two earlier, said Meghan Pembroke, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

Drivers traveling in both directions on 172nd can expect added congestion while the ramp is closed, Pembroke said. Crews plan to realign and relocate the onramp and widen it to two lanes. They also will install a guardrail and make other safety improvements.

The work is part of more than $23 million in improvements to the I-5’s 172nd Street NE interchange.

For more information and a closure map, go to the project Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ Projects/SR531/I5LoopRamp.