Project staff for the I-5 Everett HOV freeway expansion team receive many questions from the public about traffic conditions during construction, concerns about safety and what it is we're building.
Below are the answers to our most frequent questions, a few of our responses to The Herald's Street Smarts column.
If you have a questions about our HOV project in Everett please feel free to write to the source by contacting Communications Manager Patricia Michaud at http:/// or Connie Lewis at LewisC@wsdot.wa.gov.
Recent Questions
The lane stripes on the freeway are often difficult to see. Are there any plans to improve them?
This project will improve six miles of freeway in both directions. That covers a lot of ground and a lot of lane stripes. The contractor has a maintenance crews that drives the entire project weekly to find places where stripes and buttons need to be refreshed or replaced. The painting operations must happen at night during dry weather. Crews often wait until they have an already scheduled lane closure in order to keep their crews safe and ensure efficiency for the workers. Lately, crews have been busy shifting lanes to create room either in the median or the shoulders of the freeway for widening work. These lane shifts involve grinding off old stripes and painting new ones. The new stripes are temporary and, by the time the project is complete, will be repainted with permanent reflective paint.
The new exit lane and signs to US 2 seem a little off center. Is this where the signs will always be?
The new lane has been helpful in reducing backup caused by cars entering northbound I-5 at 41st Street weaving with cars exiting at Pacifc Avenue or US 2. However, construction crews needed to make room in the median of the freeway to finish adding the new HOV lanes. That meant that they painted the new lane as far to the right as possible. The signs are already in their permanent locations, which puts them a little over the wrong lane.
The contractor will do what it can to improve the signs and the striping on the road as soon as crews and good weather are available.
What will WSDOT do to control mosquitoes in the six new water treatment facilities being built as part of the I-5, Everett HOV freeway expansion project?
WSDOT employees are trained to test, or dip, possible roadside breeding areas such as ponds and ditches to establish the presence of mosquito larvae.
WSDOT has implemented Department of Ecology’s “Best Management Practices For Mosquito Control” as our integrated pest management plan. WSDOT uses natural bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) and bacilllus sphaericus to control mosquito larvae when found. The products we use are applied in the form of pellets or briquettes. These natural larvicides do not harm fish or animals.
WSDOT also has an aggressive plan to reduce the risk of West Nile Virus throughout the state.
Why is the southbound Broadway on-ramp reduced to one lane near the Aqua Sox Stadium? Is that the way it's always going to be?
In March, 2007 construction crews began building a retaining wall on the slope just to the east of Broadway. We closed the left lane of Broadway because it would have been too dangerous to allow cars on the lane just above the work. Crews will remove a portion of that slope to create room for the connection for a future HOV only ramps between I-5 and Broadway. That work requires that the left lane of Broadway remain closed for several more months.
When we're finished, the southbound I-5 on-ramp from Broadway will look a little different. Drivers will have access to a new HOV only lane on the left and two metered general purpose lanes to choose from.
Why does your construction update report only explain that up to two lanes of northbound and southbound I-5 are closed Monday through Thursday nights instead of listing exact locations?
This freeway widening project is taking place along six miles of road (twelve if you count both north and southbound I-5), and on more than 20 bridges. In order to maximize resources, the contractor needs to be able to decide where to allocate crews, equipment and materials on a nightly basis. WSDOT determined that this project will be built much more quickly, safely and efficiently if the contractor is allowed to make daily decisions about where to close all but one lane of I-5 in each direction at night. We require the contractor to give plenty of advanced notice for closures on weekends or outside of our normal nightly hours.
From Street Smarts published every Monday in The Herald
Published: Monday, August 6, 2007
Question: I read in The Herald's Road Report that "the onramp to southbound I-5 at Broadway at the Evergreen Cemetery will be permanently closed by summer."
Am I correct in thinking that this means that we no longer will be able to get on the freeway southbound as we head south on Broadway past the stadium?
If so, I'm wondering who made this ridiculous decision and if there has ever been a count of how many cars access the freeway there.
That is the only southbound entrance to the freeway from Marine Drive through downtown that allows access to the freeway where drivers can actually get up to freeway speed as we enter the freeway.
Access from Broadway to southbound I-5 has been narrowed to one lane in recent weeks. Even that is more acceptable than closing access there completely and permanently.
Janet Zuvela, Everett
Answer: The onramp to southbound I-5 from Broadway will remain open as part of the I-5 Everett freeway expansion project.
There will be occasional closures for nighttime construction, but there are no plans to permanently close the Broadway onramp.
However, the ramp from eastbound 41st Street SE down to the Broadway onramp and southbound I-5 by the Evergreen Cemetery will be closed permanently. That's because we're building a new ramp from 41st Street SE directly to southbound I-5. Drivers will still have access to Old Broadway from eastbound 41st Street SE.
When the I-5 Everett freeway expansion project finishes in June 2008, southbound I-5 drivers will have a new carpool lane from the Snohomish River to Highway 526 and a new right lane between U.S. 2 and Highway 526. Onramps along the entire stretch will be longer as well.
Published: Monday, June 4, 2007
Question:
What plans do the state and the city have for landscaping along the I-5 corridor through Everett after the work is done?
We lost a lot of trees and they should be replaced. Please get rid of the ugly grass and put in native plantings that need little maintenance.
Gene Fosheim, Everett
Answer:
The state Department of Transportation has extensive plans for landscaping along I-5 in Everett that include more than 3,300 conifer trees, 1,200 deciduous trees, 22,000 shrubs and many acres of wildflowers, ferns, vines and aquatic plants.
Nearly all of these plants are native to the Pacific Northwest and were selected with ease of care in mind.
The grass that drivers have seen along the freeway over the past few months is used to control erosion during construction.
The new plants will help prevent soil erosion and reduce water pollution by controlling and cleaning freeway water runoff before it gets to streams and the Snohomish River.
Trees and shrubs will also provide a visual buffer between residents and the freeway, offer wildlife habitat and, in some cases, screen headlight glare for opposing traffic.
Work on the new HOV lanes, auxiliary lanes and water treatment facilities in Everett are expected to be completed by summer 2008.
Most of the landscaping will be planted toward the end of the project and our contractor will maintain the new plants for three years until they are established.
Published: Monday, April 30 2007
Question: I see that during construction, the on-ramp from westbound U.S. 2 to southbound I-5 has been extended, giving westbound U.S. 2 drivers more time and visibility to merge with southbound Everett traffic.
Lack of space between cars attempting to merge on southbound I-5 causes tieups. With traffic moving faster on that new, longer ramp, there is a need to meter this traffic.
Dave Martson, Marysville
Answer: The westbound U.S. 2 to southbound I-5 merge is one of the biggest challenges we face when trying to alleviate traffic congestion in Everett.
Ramp meters are stop-and-go traffic signals that control the frequency with which vehicles enter the flow of traffic on the freeway. Ramp meters create a four-second or longer gap between cars entering the freeway, which reduces the risk of merging collisions and freeway traffic disruption.
We will install ramp meters at most I-5 on-ramps between Highway 526 and Marine View Drive, but we will not install meters on the ramp connecting U.S. 2 to southbound I-5. Traffic engineers have determined that creating a line of cars on the trestle increases the risk of rear-end collisions because approaching cars are traveling at highway speeds.
Crews will install ramp meter wiring so that we can quickly and affordably install meters if conditions change. We are also building a new lane on southbound I-5 that begins at U.S. 2 and ends at 41st Street SE. This will allow drivers to merge onto I-5 and get up to speed without merging right away.
Published: Monday, April 2, 2007
Question: Since the I-5 construction seems to be a high priority project in Snohomish County, I wonder why the posted speed limit through the construction zone is still 60 mph?
I would think that a lower speed would be safer for the workers and drivers especially at night when it is raining.
Ed Titch, Marysville
Answer: We considered lowering the speed limit on I-5 through the construction zone in Everett.
Together with the Washington State Patrol, we took a long, hard look at the issue, and we determined that a lower speed limit would not substantially improve safety in the work zone.
Even with an increase in WSP enforcement, it is difficult to change driver behavior, especially when there is no obvious reason to reduce speed during free flowing traffic. Based on past experience, we believe that lowering the speed limit would create a situation where too many cars would be driving at dramatically different speeds, creating an even greater safety danger.