Traffic flow onto I-5 at Smokey Point should start getting a little smoother as early as Friday.
Although it could cause some initial confusion for unsuspecting drivers, a new two-lane loop ramp is expected to open Friday morning and provide relief along the oft-bottlenecked 172nd Street interchange.
The ramp is part of more than $23 million in improvements that are being made in a bustling area that has seen a decade of rapid commercial and population growth on both sides of the freeway.
The new ramp will allow drivers westbound on 172nd Street to take a free right to go southbound on the freeway, instead of waiting for a traffic light to turn green for a left-hand turn.
“It should help traffic flow for everybody,” said Meghan Pembroke, a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
The new ramp should help a lot during peak commuting hours, said Michael Prihoda, executive director of the Arlington-Smokey Point Chamber of Commerce.
“We are really going to see an improvement in our traffic congestion,” he said. “It will probably be a little confusing for a few days. I’m sure there will be that adjustment period.”
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