A long-awaited roundabout is being installed at Highway 9 and 108th Street NE this month.
Back-to-back weekend closures — starting Friday September 6 — are needed to complete the work east of Marysville.
All lanes of the highway will be closed from Highway 531 to 84th Street NE. Closures will start 9 p.m. Friday and end 5 a.m. Monday.
Crews have already started preparing the site for the single-lane roundabout. The height of the hill on 108th heading to Highway 9 will also be reduced to lengthen sight lines for drivers approaching the intersection.
Safety issues led to the traffic improvements, according to Nicole Daniels, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation.
Roughly 16,000 vehicles pass through this dangerous intersection each day, according to WSDOT. About 10% of those drivers are trying to turn from a dead stop from 108th onto Highway 9. Between 2012 and 2017, more than 50 people were injured in 28 accidents at that intersection.
“Studies show roundabouts have a proven record of reducing injury collisions by 75%,” Daniels said in an email.
The change is needed quickly, WSDOT said, as the Puget Sound Regional Council expects traffic volumes at that intersection to grow to nearly 19,000 by 2030.
The goal of the roundabout is to reduce the severity of collisions and wait times.
The project was rescheduled from last year. An 8.3-mile detour route will take drivers down Highway 531 or 84th Street and over to 67th Avenue NE.
The closure are scheduled for September 6-9 and 13-16. Though work is weather dependent.
Also breaking ground this week is the the 8.5-mile Lynnwood Link extension. Trees have already started to fall along the route that will whisk riders to Seattle in under a half hour.
Got a question? Email me at streetsmarts@heraldnet.com or call 425-374-4165. Please include your name and city of residence.
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