Question: I read in The Herald’s Road Report that “the onramp to southbound I-5 at Broadway at the Evergreen Cemetery will be permanently closed by summer.”

Am I correct in thinking that this means that we no longer will be able to get on the freeway southbound as we head south on Broadway past the stadium?

If so, I’m wondering who made this ridiculous decision and if there has ever been a count of how many cars access the freeway there.

That is the only southbound entrance to the freeway from Marine Drive through downtown that allows access to the freeway where drivers can actually get up to freeway speed as we enter the freeway.

Access from Broadway to southbound I-5 has been narrowed to one lane in recent weeks. Even that is more acceptable than closing access there completely and permanently.

Janet Zuvela, Everett

Answer: The onramp to southbound I-5 from Broadway will remain open as part of the I-5 Everett freeway expansion project.

There will be occasional closures for nighttime construction, but there are no plans to permanently close the Broadway onramp.

However, the ramp from eastbound 41st Street SE down to the Broadway onramp and southbound I-5 by the Evergreen Cemetery will be closed permanently.

That’s because we’re building a new ramp from 41st Street SE directly to southbound I-5. Drivers will still have access to Old Broadway from eastbound 41st Street SE.

When the I-5 Everett freeway expansion project finishes in June 2008, southbound I-5 drivers will have a new carpool lane from the Snohomish River to Highway 526 and a new right lane between U.S. 2 and Highway 526. Onramps along the entire stretch will be longer as well.

Ryan Bianchi, WSDOT spokesman

‘Washboard’ lane pain grows tiresome

Question: We just drove across the state from Idaho to Lynnwood. The signs all say “keep to the right except to pass.” Can something be done about the quality of the right lane?

The “washboard” effect is extremely irritating after five hours. What determines when a road becomes so rough that it is ready for resurfacing?

Glenn Shadduck, Lynnwood

Answer: There are nearly 18,000 lane miles of pavement in Washington state. We do our best to keep close tabs on all of them.

Because the right lanes of the roadway carry much more traffic than the left lanes, they tend to wear out more quickly.

We have limited funding for pavement preservation. We give priority to roadways with higher traffic volumes.

To keep costs down, we try to repave roadways when they have some damage, but are not so damaged that they will require additional repairs.

Chris Johnson, DOT region materials engineer

Ask about traffic

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

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