If you find the median on Mill Creek Boulevard on the east side of the Bothell-Everett Highway difficult to navigate, help is on the way.
And no, it’s not going away for good, at least not yet.
Because of citizen concerns about possible safety involving the unorthodox median, the Washington State Department of Transportation wants to install a few things at the intersection that could make it easier for drivers to go through the intersection.
Despite concerns from citizens and Mill Creek city officials about possible accidents, none have transpired at the intersection since the median was installed last summer. Because there hasn’t been an accident problem, the state is looking for a low-cost solution to allay driver confusion short of tearing out the median.
“We want to put in some alternatives rather than uproot the median because that would be expensive,” department of transportation spokesperson Travis Phelps said. “We’re going to try pavement markings for the turn lane and directional arrows.”
City of Mill Creek public works director Doug Jacobson said he shared citizen and City Council concerns that the median’s placement – between the eastbound lane and the turn lane onto southbound Bothell-Everett Highway – could confuse drivers used to seeing medians separating opposing travel lanes.
During construction last summer, the city was receiving on average between five and 10 complaints a week about the new median, a number that faded away once the structure was in place.
“Once it was in, the calls settled down,” Jacobson said.
The state installed the median as part of the Bothell-Everett Highway widening project at a cost of $22,400.
The state did so because of the differing number of lanes on Mill Creek Boulevard on both sides of the Bothell-Everett Highway. Two lanes go from the eastbound boulevard onto the northbound highway. Only one turn lane goes from westbound Mill Creek Boulevard onto southbound Bothell-Everett Highway.
The median is meant to ensure westbound drivers stay aligned with their proper lane, project manager Dawn McIntosh said last summer. The left turn lane onto southbound Bothell-Everett Highway, meanwhile, has been separated from the eastbound travel lane by pavement markings.
The department of transportation has done similar medians at two King County intersections: on N. 160th Street at Highway 99 in Shoreline and near Kent at 208th Street SE and Highway 515.
A timeline on construction has not been set, Phelps said.
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