Date:
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Contact:
Jamie Holter, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4472 (Seattle)
SEATTLE – It’s shaping up to be another busy week on Puget Sound highways as WSDOT makes good on its promise to deliver projects during the 2006 summer construction season. Here are the highlights for the week of May 26 – June 2.
New This Week
WSDOT crews and contractors will suspend all on-the-road construction activity at noon, Friday, May 26 and will not be back on the road until noon, Tuesday, May 30.
WSDOT will have extra Incident Response Team patrols to clear roads and help drivers over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend. Teams will patrol Puget Sound and key high-travel corridors like the Cascade mountain passes.
Downtown Seattle
Drivers might encounter back-ups in downtown Seattle this weekend due to the Northwest Folklife Festival at Seattle Center Friday, May 26 through Monday, May 29.
SR 543, Blaine
WSDOT breaks ground Wednesday, May 31 on the SR 543 widening project in Blaine. We’ll build an overpass and add a lane for Canada-bound trucks. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR543/I5_Canadian/
SR 410, Chinook Pass
Chinook Pass opened to travelers Thursday, May 25.
Significant closures this week
I-405, Kirkland
Crews will close all lanes of northbound I-405 in Kirkland near 124th on Friday, June 2 at 10 p.m. The roadway is not scheduled to reopen until Tuesday, June 6 at 5 a.m. Northbound traffic will be routed through a temporary two-lane bypass around that section of freeway. WSDOT will post updates on the Totem Lake Freeway Station project at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I405/TotemLake/construction
I-5, Everett
Crews will close various ramps and lanes between US 2 and 41st Street. For detailed closure information, check our construction update report.
www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/HOVSR526toUS2/
SR 16, Tacoma
The ramp from eastbound SR 16 to northbound I-5 will close nightly from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Wednesday, May 31 through June 14. Detour signs are in place.
www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/piercecountyHOV/I5_HOV_S48th_Pacific/
SR 167, Auburn
At 10 p.m. nightly from Tuesday through Thursday night, May 30-June 1, crews will close the northbound and southbound SR 167 on-ramps from 15th Street SW for pavement repairs. Both ramps will reopen by 5 a.m. each following morning.
At 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, crews will close the northbound SR 167 off-ramp to eastbound SR 18 to install drainage and make pavement repairs. The ramp will reopen by 5 a.m. Wednesday.
www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR167/HOV15thSW_15thNW/
A look ahead
SR 532, Stanwood
WSDOT contractors begin work on Monday, June 5 to improve the ramps and add signals at I-5 and SR 532 and at SR 532 and SR 99. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SR532_IC
SR 527, Silver Lake
WSDOT will celebrate the completion of the SR 527 widening project on Friday, June 9. We turned the Bothell-Everett Highway into a four-lane highway between 112th and132nd streets. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR527/CorridorWiden/132ndSE_112thSE/
What can drivers do?
We may sound like a broken record, but it is important that we remind drivers that there are many ways for them to get information and avoid traffic delays. Drivers should plan ahead, check our real-time traffic map and pay attention to the signs along the way. If you can, consider alternate routes or adjusting your driving schedule to avoid the worst traffic.
Know before you go: visit WSDOT’s Web site
WSDOT offers several ways to get up-to-date traffic and construction information from our Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov before you leave your home or office:
- Traffic map - The color-coded map shows where traffic is heavy and light so you can alter your commute accordingly
- Travel times - Real-time point-to-point travel times
- Traffic cameras - take a look at traffic conditions on a growing number of highway locations throughout the Puget Sound region
- E-mail alerts - Sign up for one of nine e-mail alert lists. You’ll get advance notice of upcoming construction closures delivered right to your inbox
- Construction update report - comprehensive, seven-day advance listing of lane, ramp and road closures
- Project pages -Find your highway and see the long and short-term construction plans
Know on the road
- 511 - This driver information phone line provides real-time traffic, incident and closure information
- Overhead and roadside electronic signs - Emergency and incident alerts and, in some Seattle-area locations during rush hours, point-to-point travel times
- Highway advisory radio - Yellow signs with flashing lights alert drivers to tune into radio frequencies airing construction updates
- Work zones - watch for construction zone signs, barrels, barriers and cones. Slow down and stay alert when driving through construction zones, not just for the construction workers, but also for you and your passengers. Far more motorists are injured in work zone collisions than construction workers.
WSDOT and our contractors are doing our part to stay out of your way and keep traffic moving. We do most of our work at night or on weekends when there are fewer drivers on the highway. We make every effort to limit lane closures and only close lanes when we absolutely have to. We also strive to get in, complete our work quickly, and get out, giving the roads back to drivers as quickly as possible.
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