Tag: traffic

HOV to HNWI Lanes

Carl Setzer

I have misgivings about shifting 405’s HOV lanes to the premium priced lanes. I’ve taken to calling them HNWI (High Net Worth Individual) lanes. Maybe it just offends my democratic (please note the lower case “d”) values. But the purpose of the lanes was to encourage more carpooling. Is this change acknowledging failure of this idea? Or just a drive to increase the state coffers? Yes, this has activated my cynicism system.

Actually, as I think through it, perhaps this is an effective new direction. Those with High Occupancy Vehicles still get to ride in these lanes for free. Maybe this will encourage more combining of forces. Maybe. Anyway, Seattle’s high density traffic issues are only going to grow. We need to get more people out of their cars unless we want to emulate Los Angeles. For me, there’s a resounding “no thanks”. Personally, I wish we’d embraced the original Sound Transit plan, with its aggressive rail system. But we couldn’t get past the price tag. And here we are. Here we are.

Lynnwood Traffic Work – 68th by Edmonds Community College

Carl Setzer
City of Lynnwood Logo

If you’ve been anywhere near the community college, you’ve seen the massive re-do of the traffic flow. I’m so glad to see the nasty bottle-neck that was 68th & 208th taken care of. I think the roundabout at 204th & 68th, with the new intersection at 204th & highway 99, will really help with the traffic flow of the area. The whole project is nearly complete, so the worst of the disruption should be past.

Snohomish County Peeps: Be Aware Of Glorious Traffic Nastiness

Carl Setzer
WSDOT Logo

I appreciate the clever wit of our team at the WSDOT. They make the normally dry topic of traffic interesting. I heard about the the highway-line-painter blowing a line earlier this week, and I’ve seen the glorious yellow line as I drive by that daily. Though it’s a bummer about the broken painter machine, I was able to get some good Twitter tread from it. So much clever repartee. Anyway, their email is below for your edification and delight.

A few comments: the last bit is about this Sunday’s Sounders/Mariners games.  Since the games overlap, traffic will be awful. I lived that dream (nightmare) when I worked at Starbucks corporate in SODO (shudder). I recommend Sound Transit’s Sounder Train for these events. It’s slick and easy. If you live around Edmonds, Mukilteo or Everett, the stops are exceptionally convenient. Use it! Make your life better.

 

Paint cleanup on aisle four. …I mean on Sunday

Some of us paint outside the lines because we’re creative. Some – like me – because we aren’t good painters. And sometimes, your equipment just fails. That’s what happened this pastTuesday to one of our lane striping crews on southbound I-5 in Everett, when, during some routine work, a hose on their striping truck broke. This left a stripe of yellow paint in the middle of the HOV lane between about 112th Street Southwest and 128th Street Southwest.

We put up signs warning drivers and everyone seemed to handle it well, but we’re going to fix it all the same. So from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday, May 31, the two left lanes of southbound I-5 from 112th to 128th will be closed while we cover up the paint and get things back to normal.

Nighttime SR 522 ramp closure in Monroe this week

We’re getting oh so close. Our SR 522 widening project in Monroe is nearly complete (they’re mostly down to just final touch-up work) but we still have some closures we need to do before we can call it finished.

The eastbound SR 522 off-ramp to 164th Street Southeast/West Main Street will be closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly from Monday, June 1 to the morning of Friday, June 5 while contractor crews working for WSDOT do drainage work. A signed detour will be in place. West Main Street from Fryelands Boulevard to the roundabout at the bottom of the closed ramp will also be closed and drivers will follow a pilot car through the work zone.

SR 20 paving project starts in June

It’s not Snohomish County, but probably worth knowing about. As part of our SR 20 paving project between Anacortes and Oak Harbor that starts next month, we’ll be repaving the Deception Pass and Canoe Pass bridges sometime between mid-July and end of August. That will require the bridges to close to traffic for five nights (7:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.) starting on a Sunday and ending on a Friday morning. The bridges will be open on Friday and Saturday nights. Stay tuned for exact dates.

Take me out to the ballgames Sunday

It’s going to be a traffic crunch headed to Sodo on Sunday as the Mariners play the Cleveland Indians at 1:10 p.m. at Safeco Field and the Sounders play the New York Red Bulls at 2 p.m. at CenturyLink Field. If you’re like me and you’re going to one of the games (I’ll have my scarf up for an Oba flip), you’ll want to leave really early, maybe consider taking transit (Sounder trains will be running to the stadiums on Sunday) and definitely pack patience. Have a great weekend!

Questions, comments, suggestions, favorite pizza toppings (I’m an onion, green pepper and tomato guy)? Send them to Mike Allende at allendm@wsdot.wa.gov

 

Rare Opportunity: Tour of the new 520 Floating Bridge

Carl Setzer

As part of the construction of the new 520 bridge, the Washington State DOT will be offering tours. I’m not aware of this being offered before, so it’s pretty unique.

Full Public Tour Information here. Basic details below. Key thing: Advanced registration is required.

SR 520 Floating Bridge Tour Dates

Tours will be held monthly from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month. The current tour dates (which are subject to change if needed) are:

  • May 30, 2015 ( Registration Open, closes 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 13 )
  • June 27, 2015
  • July 25, 2015
  • August 29, 2015
  • September 26, 2015

SR 520 Floating Bridge Tour Details

  • The tours include a walk of approximately two miles round trip. Visitors must be able to walk over uneven, steep terrain and climb up and down about 70 stairs.
  • Tours last approximately two hours.
  • Tours begin at the Evergreen Point Road Lid Park and Ride: SR 520 & Evergreen Point Road in Medina.
  • Tours will be conducted rain or shine. Please dress for the weather. In cases of severe weather, such as snow or ice, tours may be canceled with short notice.
  • Tours may be canceled and dates may change for any reason due to the dynamic nature of construction activities.

 

Bees, Bees and Freeway Fun

Carl Setzer

Rolled semi spills load of bees at I-5 and I-405 interchange


Well, this made for some real fun for me this morning. Fortunately, I have tools to notify when traffic’s getting ugly and was able to leave early to compensate. And I was half expecting “issues” as I crossed I5 via the 196th street overpass on my way to the northbound onramp. My lord, the backup was immense! And in such a way that I almost never see, except when there’s an accident.

Bee that as it may (sorry for the pun, I just had to…), looking at the pictures, I feel sad for the bees. As bee populations are declining, seeing the massive insect destruction was really disheartening. However, there clearly are dedicated professionals on site making sure the impact upon our buzzing friends is minimal. For that, I’m thankful.

WSDOT work this weekend in Everett, and other news

Carl Setzer
WSDOT Logo

Snohomish County  Highway and construction Updates

 

I-5 Everett bridge inspection Saturday

If you’re headed north on I-5 Saturday morning – maybe headed to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (see below) – be ready for some potential slowdown near the SR 526/SR 527 interchange. WSDOT bridge maintenance crews will be doing bridge inspection work that will close two lanes from about5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. A single lane will remain closed until about 2 p.m.

Full SR 522 ramp closure Monday night

Monroe drivers should prepare for a full closure of the westbound SR 522 ramp to West Main Street/164th Street Southeast from 7 p.m. Monday, April 13 until 5 a.m. Tuesday, April 14. The section of West Main Street/164th Street between Fryelands Boulevard and the east roundabout will also be closed from 10 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday (a signed detour will be in place). During the closure, contractor crews working for WSDOT will continue their work on the new roundabout on the west side of SR 522. This is part of the SR 522 widening project.

Improved traffic flow coming to SR 99 in Everett

A project that will improve traffic flow on SR 99 at Airport Road in Everett begins this coming week. Contractor crews working for WSDOT will begin removing parts of traffic islands in both directions of SR 99 at Airport Road to create a third, bus-only through lane. Right now, the islands extend into the right lane, requiring vehicles to turn onto eastbound or westbound Airport Road. Once the islands have been reduced, about 150 Community Transit buses each day will be able to proceed through the intersection in the right lane. Cars and trucks can also use the lane but will have to make right turns onto Airport Road. Some other work is included in the project as well. No traffic control is planned for this coming week but there will be some lane closures in the future so be sure to stay plugged in to our Northwest Construction Update page.

Full southbound SR 529 closures complete

Full southbound closures of SR 529 between Marysville and Everett are finished, which is great news for drivers who have been detouring to I-5 while workers do maintenance work on the Snohomish River Bridge. We’ll still have some single-lane closures between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.Monday, April 13 through Thursday, April 16 so be prepared for some delays.

Remember, it’s tulip time

I’ll admit it, I drove to Bellingham on Easter and forgot about traffic headed to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It’s not a mistake I’ll make again. So I’ll remind myself and you, prepare for significant traffic delays, especially on weekends, headed to the tulip fields. If you can, leave very early or as it gets dark. Otherwise, pack patience, great tunes and avoid the Big Gulps because it could be a real slow-go in the Mount Vernon area.

Driving Frustrations

Carl Setzer

Oh, commuting joys! On my way home from the office, this clown tailgates me (in the left lane, passing a semi), then jets over two lanes, nearly hits said semi, tailgates someone in that lane, nearly hits them, jets over to the lane to my right, tailgates again, comes near inches from hitting them, ends up behind me again, blasts around me, cuts over to the far right lane, races past all those cars, cuts back to my lane, nearly hits me but finally has open enough road to keep on going. What particularly chafed me, beyond the sociopathic automotive antics, was that the car-pool lane was wide open. WIDE OPEN! So, it’s preferable to risk a vehicular assault or manslaughter charge over a single occupant in the car-pool lane ticket. Idiots!

 

So, if you know someone who was driving a blue Toyota pickup truck like an over-stimulated Cro-Magnon on I5 south through Everett around 5:20 pm, whap them in the head, please.