Date:
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Contact:
WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4788 (Seattle)
WSDOT Public Hotline, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)
SEATTLE – Crews hope Wednesday is nothing like Tuesday. They are hoping for, and counting on, clear, rain-free skies to finish the paving on I-5 through downtown Seattle by Saturday morning.
Construction
After a day of fits and starts, crews started paving in earnest Tuesday just after noon. By 6 p.m., they completed most sections between S. Holgate Street and the north end of the project. Work continues tonight in the middle third of the project south of Holgate and in the southern third of the project north of S. Spokane Street.
Fortunately, the forecast shows rain out of the picture until Friday night, but the giant blower will be ready with its 800 degrees of heat to dry out the bridge deck in case of a passing shower. Crews remain on track to finish the work by 5 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 25.
Traffic
During the Tuesday afternoon commute travel times averaged between 20 and 25 minutes from the south end of the back-up at Michigan Street to the end of the project at I-90 with speeds clocking in at 5 to 10 mph. Despite the slowdowns WSDOT traffic data shows drivers are continuing to help keep traffic moving. Traffic volumes on I-5 at Boeing Access Road during the Monday and Tuesday morning commute were down 49 percent and 44 percent, respectively, over a typical midweek morning commute in August 2006.
WSDOT reminds drivers that the Spokane Street/West Seattle Bridge and S. Columbian Way on-ramps to northbound I-5 will be closed Tuesday through Thursday nights from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Drivers can plan their route at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SpokaneStreetBridgeRepair/AlternateRoutes.htm. Keep track of construction work as it happens at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SpokaneStreetBridgeRepair/traffic.htm
For project details, resources available to get drivers through these closures, and suggestions for alternate routes, please visit the project Web site at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SpokaneStreetBridgeRepair/
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