EVERETT — At long last, Highway 529 will have two lanes of traffic in both directions.
On Thursday, the state Department of Transportation announced the northbound Snohomish River Bridge is set to reopen at 5 a.m. Monday. This will restore two lane of travel in each direction between Everett and Marysville.
The Marine View Drive on-ramp will also reopen Monday morning.
“When the bridge reopens, it will restore a vital link for people who walk, bicycle or use mobility devices to travel along the highway between Everett and Marysville,” a state press release stated. “A shuttle for these people will remain in place until the bridge reopens.”
About 35,000 cars use the bridge each day.
The northbound bridge has been closed since early June. To repair the drawbridge, the mechanisms that control the lifts have to be shut down. Federal regulations dictate ships have to be able to move through the waterway, so the bridge had to be left in an open position.
The opening follows several delays, including one earlier this fall due to “unexpected challenges,” including that more steel on the 97-year-old bridge needed to be replaced than expected, the transportation department reported in October.
In preparation for the opening, the single lane of Highway 529 north that uses the southbound bridge will be closed from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. And the southbound bridge will close from 10 p.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday and again from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Work is not finished on the project. There will still be some single-lane closures at night. Weekend closures are upcoming for the southbound Steamboat Slough Bridge, though those have yet to be scheduled.
Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; X: @jordyhansen.
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