Don’t stop.

Drivers exiting from northbound I-5 to eastbound 172nd Street NE need to keep moving, contrary to what they read last week right here in this column.

In this space, Washington State Patrol trooper Kirk Rudeen told readers to stop before turning right onto 172nd Street NE when the traffic light turns red. He had forgotten that there’s a free right-hand turn at the exit.

His understandably human fallibility, in uniform though he be, was something numerous Herald readers were quick to point out.

My bad, too.

“Your response and the response of trooper Kirk Rudeen were a slap in the face to Smokey Point residents,” said B. Brown, a Smokey Point resident. “I think that trooper Rudeen should check the facts before responding to your inquiries.”

“In this situation, it makes sense to keep the exiting traffic moving so that they will not be stopped on the freeway,” said Denise Schwans of Arlington.

Rudeen said he made a mistake, mixing up that exit ramp with another ramp. As your supposed local transportation expert, I take some blame, too. I should have caught the mixup.

It’s actually crucial for right-turning drivers to not – that’s N-O-T – stop at the intersection, Rudeen said. They need to keep moving to keep others exiting behind them from causing a dangerous back-up on I-5.

“When you’re making that turn, that’s your lane,” Rudeen said. “You’ve got a free right-hand turn. People need to keep going.”

This all started when Judy Moore of Marysville wrote me asking why drivers kept turning right on to 172nd Street NE when she, heading eastbound, had a green light and what appeared to be a legal right of way.

The explanation?

Moore and other eastbound drivers have their own lane as long as they stay to the left. They should not merge to the right until they drive 150 feet past the intersection, when a white line dividing the two lanes ends, said Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

“That gives (turning) drivers enough time to accelerate to the speed limit, which is 35 mph,” he said.

Instead of stopping and waiting for right-turning traffic to let her in, Moore needs to keep moving as well. She just needs to stay to the left.

And by the way, merging before the white line ends is illegal, Phelps said.

Follow temporary signs

Question: We have traveled past the new lane on northbound I-5 in Everett and have used it a couple of times. We have noticed something a bit disturbing.

It appears the “exit only” arrow points down to the wrong lane. This caused a bit of confusion for some travelers.

Having read the Herald’s article, my wife was very aware of the new lane and its features and was prepared after she passed 41st Street SE. However, another car was caught a bit by surprise and had to cross a large swath of empty highway “very fast” to get to the U.S. 2 exit, which is far off to the right under the current road configuration.

Harmen and Susan DeJong, Everett

Answer: When we opened the new northbound I-5 lane between 41st Street in Everett and U.S. 2, the exit signs to the trestle were a bit confusing for drivers. The reason is that the overhead signs are in their permanent locations, while the lanes are temporarily striped farther to the right.

We shifted the lanes to the right to give construction crews room to work in the median. To help with this temporary problem, we have covered the arrows on the signs so they won’t appear to be pointing to the incorrect lanes. The I-5 Everett freeway widening project is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2007.

Ryan Bianchi, DOT spokesman

Ask us about traffic

Have a question about traffic or street rules around Snohomish and Island counties? We can help find an answer. E-mail stsmarts@heraldnet.com.