If you’re like our family, you spend a chunk of your summer east of the mountains.
The key word there is “summer.” The same sunshine beckons road crews.
We recently attended a family wedding over the Cascade Range, and it was a tough call: Brave the often slowly meandering U.S. 2, with its Monroe slog and its often bumper-to-bumper return from about Gold Bar on? Or gamble on the rock blasting and widespread road construction on the straight-shot I-90?
Decisions, decisions…
“We know people love to take to our highways this time of year, with plenty traveling across I-90 on road trips. At the same time, so much of our road work has to be done during those few months when we can be pretty sure we’re going to get dry weather. Accommodating both of those is a very difficult task,” wrote Meagan Lott of the Washington State Department of Transportation in a post on the topic for The WSDOT Blog.
Rock blasting is a constant this season, as the state prepares to widen the interstate from four to six lanes. Blasting is typically set for Monday through Thursday, an hour before sunset (lately, that’s been 8-9 p.m.). But specific dates and times can change.
Meanwhile, the well-used corridor is getting repaved in multiple spots, the Vantage bridge is being repainted to help prevent rust, other bridge decks are getting repairs, rock slopes are being shored up, a snowshed is being replaced with new avalanche bridges — the list goes on.
The heaviest congestion is expected westbound near Cle Elum, from mileposts 84 to 93, where there is a single-lane detour around a repaving project. WSDOT recommends drivers take U.S. 97 to Highway 10.
Other slowdown spots are expected at Vantage, the summit of Snoqualmie Pass east near Keechelus Lake (mileposts 54-62), Easton (mileposts 67-70) and Ellensburg (mileposts 106-122).
Updated information on closures will be posted at wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/whatshappening. You can also check @snoqualmiepass on Twitter, and the state’s traffic pages at wsdot.com/traffic/passes/snoqualmie.
On your car radio, find information on 1610 AM and 530 AM.
Of course, U.S. 2 is not without its projects either.
So what did we do?
After reports of a five-mile backup and added hour of travel time around Cle Elum — on a Thursday — we opted to wend along U.S. 2 on the trip east. It took time, but set the right mood (especially with a stop for ice cream in Leavenworth). For the return west, we delayed our departure until evening to avoid the worst conditions on both corridors, checked the online maps, then cruised over I-90. Leaving later allowed us to spend our final afternoon relaxing with relatives and enjoying an extra glass of local wine.
Now that’s a summer vacation.
Have a question? Email me at streetsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your first and last name and city of residence. Look for updates on our Street Smarts blog at www.heraldnet.com/streetsmarts.
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