By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Ask anyone. They’ll tell you there is really no good time to close a road, especially a major arterial.
But with low traffic volumes expected because of holiday vacations and the traditional Christmas closure of Boeing, city officials picked the last week of December as the best choice.
Work will begin today at Wall Street east of Broadway as crews continue upgrading the city’s sewer system, a project that has been going on for more than a year in north Everett.
Then beginning Dec. 26 and lasting until Jan. 2, two blocks of Broadway will be closed from Pacific to Hewitt avenues. To speed the sewer work, crews will be at the site 24 hours a day — depending on the weather — to install a new pipe and manhole at the Broadway/Wall Street intersection.
Throughout the construction, information signs will be installed on I-5, Broadway and Hewitt and access to businesses will be maintained. But city officials realize the closure won’t be easy for business owners and motorists. That’s why public works crews went back to the drawing board with the contractor and engineers last month to redesign the original project to require as little closure as necessary, the city’s utility director Tom Thetford said.
When possible during the Dec. 26 to Jan. 2 construction, a single lane will be opened to traffic, but Thetford cautions motorists not to count on that.
Following the street closure, work will continue on the sewer project until it’s completed — which is expected to be Feb. 1 — with intermittent disruptions of traffic flow on Broadway.
The sewer upgrade is an especially important part of the project, Thetford said.
"The existing system is under capacity and has a history of flooding a portion of the abutting properties," he said.
Looking ahead, new water and sewer lines and new streetscape work along Hewitt from Rucker Avenue to Broadway is scheduled to begin this spring. The Hewitt Avenue project, long in the planning stages, will look similar to street improvements along Colby Avenue, which was redesigned three years ago.
The entire Hewitt redesign project, which is costing about $1.8 million, should be complete by fall 2002. Besides the new pipelines, the project includes new sidewalks, historic lighting fixtures and street trees.
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097 or send e-mail to
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