Date:
Friday, August 24, 2007
Contact:
WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4788 (Seattle)
WSDOT Public Hotline, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)
SEATTLE – The expansion joints are done. The paving is done. Tonight, crews will re-stripe the freeway, put down reflective markers and move barrier and barrels. And then, the I-5 downtown Seattle round-the-clock lane closures will be done.
“We want to have lanes open by 5 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25,” said WSDOT project engineer Messay Shiferaw. “Everything is on track for a 5 a.m. opening, but I don’t want to say it’s done until it’s done.”
Construction
Crews finished paving at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. They will give the polyester concrete time to cure then move in with striping crews this evening.
At 10 p.m. crews will close an additional lane of I-5 northbound and the Spokane St/West Seattle Bridge on-ramp to northbound I-5. They’ll also periodically close ramps to I-90, James, Madison, Seneca and 4th Ave. South streets to stripe and lay down reflective pavement markings.
At midnight, crews will shift traffic to the west side of the freeway using rolling slowdowns. They will remove all temporary pavement markings, install permanent markings and stripe the freeway. They’ll also begin removing all construction equipment and concrete barrier from the freeway.
Overnight, they’ll do small activities like grind out high spots in the pavement, fill small holes, change out signs and clean up debris.
At 4:30 a.m. crews will remove barrels and get ready to open all lanes at 5 a.m.
All times are approximate.
Traffic
Drivers traveling through the work zone tonight should expect to see a lot of construction activity overnight. Lanes and ramps will be closing and opening throughout the night. Detour and construction signs will be moving around the work zone.
Drivers will want to check the WSDOT Web site first thing Saturday morning to get the most recent updates on our progress: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/I5/SpokaneStreetBridgeRepair/traffic.htm.
During the 14-day closure, WSDOT contractor, Concrete Barrier Inc., removed 34 old, worn out expansion joints and replaced them with new expansion joints and repaved a 1.13 mile section of northbound I-5 from Spokane St to I-90.
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