Date:  Friday, July 25, 2008

Contact: Bronlea Mishler, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5947

BELLINGHAM – Commuters who regularly use the Britton Road intersection on Mount Baker Highway (SR 542) can expect delays Monday and Tuesday, July 28 and 29, as crews repave the intersection to improve safety for drivers.

Crews will close one lane from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday to complete paving and temporary striping. Flaggers will alternate traffic through the area.

Crews will install a left-turn pocket on Mount Baker Highway for westbound vehicles turning on to Britton Road; a left-turn refuge on Mount Baker Highway for vehicles turning west from Britton Road; and extend the no-passing zone. The left-turn refuge is a tapered merging and acceleration lane located in the center of Mount Baker Highway that allows drivers turning west off Britton Road a place to wait for a break in traffic or get up to speed and merge into traffic.

An average of 13,000 vehicles a day use the stretch of Mount Baker Highway near Britton Road. Since 2004, there have been 35 collisions at that intersection resulting in 19 injuries. This project will improve safety for drivers turning at the intersection.

Visit our construction update Web page for details about other projects in Whatcom County www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/Baker/Construction

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