Few things irritate Chuck Buchanan of Marysville more than when the Highway 529 drawbridge opens while he’s dashing to work in north Everett.
On Thursday, he left home at 6:55 a.m.
The bridge opened to let a barge through.
He waited.
And waited some more.
Finally, at 8:05 a.m., he arrived at work.
It took him 70 minutes to go 9 miles.
“It’s absolutely horrendous,” Buchanan said. “When it happens, people are mad about it all day. How is it that one boat has priority over 5,000 people commuting to work?”
State officials would like to be helpful, but they can’t.
Federal law requires that the barges that float up and down the Snohomish River take priority over those frustrated souls trying to get to work on time, said Meghan Soptich, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
She said they have to make their movements when the tide is high, which means they can move along the route only at certain times.
“Most of the marine traffic on the Snohomish River is commercial, and most vessels do their best to avoid disrupting morning and evening commuters,” she said.
That still left commuters steaming last week, when the bridge over the Snohomish River had to be raised during four out of five morning commutes. (It was the moon’s fault.)
The road also was closed once during the evening commute.
Making matters worse, the bridge over Steamboat Slough, closer to Marysville, was also opened four times last week during the morning commute.
Buchanan said he would like the state to notify the public when the bridges will be closed. He said he would take I-5 if he knew it was going to be closed.
“We post a message on our electronic sign on southbound I-5 in Marysville to warn drivers when the Snohomish River bridges are closed to vehicle traffic,” Soptich said.
Bridge openings last 8 to 10 minutes, enough time to ruin an already bad drive to work.
Send me an e-mail about your experience with the Highway 529 drawbridges.
Cameras at intersections
Question: We have many stoplights on Fourth Street and State Avenue. Does Marysville plan to install cameras at some of the busy intersections to catch red-light runners? I have noticed an increasing number of people running red lights on the city’s busiest streets. I hope the city makes addressing this a priority.
Orlin Griggs, Marysville
Answer: The city is indeed interested in red light enforcement and has looked into cameras at intersections for a number of purposes, including red-light running.
We have cameras at some intersections for the purpose of operating the signals and for capturing images of vehicles damaged at rail crossing gates.
After careful evaluation of the pros and cons, benefits, impacts, limitations, success rate, and expenses of red-light-running camera systems, the city decided to enforce red-light running laws by other means. The city has chosen to enhance the opportunity and safety of motor-officer red-light enforcement by the installation of the blue lights seen on many of the city’s signals.
John Tatum, Marysville traffic engineer
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