Last week posed a commute conundrum when emergency repairs on I-5 closed two of the three northbound lanes out of Everett.
But something else has been amiss south of that stretch. Regular drivers through the area have noticed the lanes, or at least the striping that defines them, are wonky and hard to discern.
The issue spurred a post on the Everett Reddit page in early January.
Staff with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) know about those problems north of 41st Street.
Temporary lane striping fades every winter at construction zones across the state, spokesperson Kurt Batdorf said.
“It wears with time and traffic,” he said.
In Everett, the former lane striping was removed to shift the lanes and make room for crews to work on repairing and replacing concrete panels as part of the state’s Revive I-5 project. Temporary striping was used for the new lanes, but it doesn’t last as long as the permanent material, Batdorf said.
The state had contractor crews fix markers and make other improvements, but a lot of that work was waylaid by winter weather, Batdorf said.
“On Jan. 5, we were able to install reflective raised pavement markers between the Marine View Drive off-ramp and the Snohomish River Bridge as a temporary improvement,” Batdorf wrote in an email. “As soon as we can get a good weather window, we’ll address other lane markers in the construction zone.”
That window, rain, sleet or snow, is this weekend, as crews are scheduled to work on I-5 in north Everett through the weekend. With traffic narrowed to one lane, they’ll replace the temporary striping, Batdorf said.
During the weekend lane closures, WSDOT staff encourage people to delay or detour trips to Highway 9, if possible, and prepare for backups.
Pavement markings between Lowell Road to the end of the HOV lane near U.S. 2 likely won’t be permanent until the project wraps this fall.
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