Date:  Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Contact: Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970 (Burlington)
              Marco Foster, Engineering Manager, 360-757-5991 (Burlington)

BURLINGTON – East-and westbound drivers on State Route 20 will be separated by a median starting this Thursday. Crews have widened a one-mile stretch of SR 20 to four lanes from Higgins Airport Way to Memorial Highway. The two new lanes will help improve safety and relieve congestion for the 22,000 travelers who use the highway daily.

Crews will turn on new signals at the Memorial Highway and Higgins Airport Way intersections, and will open one lane in each direction between 9 and 11 a.m. Thursday, May 22. Drivers should expect delays during the transition.

The new eastbound lanes will require a final layer of asphalt before they are finished. Within the next few weeks, crews will complete the paving by closing one lane during the day.

A 32-foot grass median will separate east- and westbound travelers. Cable barrier will be installed the week of June 9 to help prevent crossover collisions. Drivers should be using all four new lanes between Memorial Highway and Higgins Airport Way before the end of July.

Opening the new lanes marks the end of one year of work on the first stage of the project to improve the Memorial Highway intersection, build four bridges, install two new signals and widen the highway to four lanes.

Construction further to the east on stage two of the project has already started and will widen the highway to four lanes all the way to I-5. The majority of utility poles have been moved, crews have cleared structures and vegetation almost all the way to the I-5 interchange, and grading and importing of crushed rock is under way.

Detours and delays are expected at times during the project, and drivers are encouraged to sign up for e-mail updates to find out about them in advance. Drivers are advised to use caution and stay alert while driving through the new work zone.

Sign up for e-mail updates at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/EmailUpdates.

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