Date:  Monday, June 30, 2008

Contact: Mike Murphy, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4699
Ryan Bianchi, WSDOT Communications, 206-819-7230

SEATTLE – Starting this week, construction crews working for WSDOT will take the first steps toward building new noise walls along southbound Interstate 5 in the Green Lake and Licton Springs neighborhoods of Seattle.

What can drivers expect?

Starting next week until summer 2009, drivers heading southbound on I-5 between Northgate Way and 70th Street NE should expect occasional lane closures at night and occasional shoulder closures during the day. These closures will be necessary for crews to gain access to the construction zone where access from city streets isn’t possible.

While no traffic delays are expected, drivers are advised to slow down and use extra caution through the work zone.

What can neighbors expect?

Residents living along the freeway in the project limits should expect some nighttime noise. Crews will only work at night when lane closures on I-5 are necessary. Local drivers may encounter construction flaggers directing traffic around lane closures in the project area.

Residents along this stretch of I-5 experience high noise levels. When we built I-5 in the 1960s there was less traffic and less noise. Since then, noise levels increased along with traffic growth putting these neighborhoods on a high priority for the state’s noise retrofit efforts.

When this $6.2 million project is complete, the closest homes will benefit from as much as a 50 percent reduction in noise from I-5

More information about this project can be found at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/5thAveNEtoNE92ndNoiseWall/.

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