Leon Horowitz of Everett writes: I’ve made several attempts to contact state and county agencies regarding what’s happening with Highway 99 from Airport Road in south Everett to the Mukilteo Speedway intersection. Both the north and southbound outside lanes have been torn up for water line and fire hydrant installations. However, the repaving is terrible; in fact, it’s almost impossible to drive in those lanes due to the poor patching and rough roadway. Is this just a temporary situation that will be repaved, or is it going to be left this way?
Dave Chesson, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, responds: Alderwood Water District is putting in a new water system along both sides of Highway 99. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to get quality paving in the winter due to the cold and wet weather we get in the Northwest. This means the patches they use often need lots of maintenance during the winter months, because they just don’t hold up well. So the good news is that the bumps and related mess is temporary until this spring when they grind and pave the outside shoulder, the outside lane and possibly into the inside lane if it was torn up during their work.
Puget Sound Energy also is doing some gas line work in that area, and it’s my understanding the work has required them to use steel plates to cover open trenches at times.
Lori Anderson of Everett writes: A few months ago they changed the traffic signal cycles in the intersection of 128th Street SW and E. Gibson Road. I have sat at this light facing south at 5:25 a.m. and had to wait for two to three cycles before I get a green light. This is extremely frustrating as I sit and there are no cars going the other way. Can’t they change this back to the way they had it?
Owen Carter, engineer for Snohomish County, responds: We can understand your frustration. The signal at this intersection is controlled by a video detection system. When the system detects a car on a side street, it tells the signal to change and allow the side-street traffic to move. As you’ve found, sometimes the signal doesn’t change, and that could mean something’s wrong with the video detection system. Our traffic engineers will check on the signal to make sure everything is working properly and fix any problems they find.
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