EVERETT – Lanes are scheduled to be narrowed and two key ramps are to be closed on northbound I-5 in Everett this weekend.
Finally.
After twice canceling the work, the state Department of Transportation is set this weekend to close the northbound onramp from 41st Street SE and to narrow the northbound lanes.
The state also plans to close the northbound I-5 exit to U.S. 2 all weekend. That closure also was postponed once.
But the work could be canceled again if it’s too rainy to pour concrete, said Dave Doles, project manager for Atkinson-CH2M Hill, the state’s project contractor.
A decision on whether to cancel again will be made today, he said.
“We’ve been trying to do this since November,” Doles said. “Some of this work you can’t do if it’s wet or frozen. It’s either been one or the other” since November.
The project isn’t delayed yet, but deadlines could start to slip if the work is further delayed, he said.
The ramp closure and lane restrictions are scheduled to start at 10 tonight and could last until 6 a.m. Monday. The state also plans to close two northbound lanes in the 41st Street area at night all weekend.
The work is part of the ongoing I-5 widening and carpool lane project in north Everett, said Mike Cotten, project director for the state Department of Transportation.
The state is narrowing two lanes to 101/2 feet and a third lane to 11 feet. They’re normally 12 feet wide.
That tightening is sure to slow traffic, said Kirk Rudeen, a Washington State Patrol spokesman.
Narrowing the lanes by even 6 inches will cause backups because drivers will feel squeezed and will slow their vehicles, Rudeen said last week.
Rudeen said the worst backups could be during the afternoons, particularly Saturday.
He said cold weather, early darkness and rubberneckers slowing down to look at the road work, which will be pushed up close to traffic, could make it a tough commute over the weekend.
The state is in the middle of the $260 million project to widen I-5 from the Boeing Freeway to U.S. 2.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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