Date:
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Contact:
Janice Fahning, WSDOT Project Engineer, 425-225-8799
Patty Michaud, WSDOT Communications, 425-225-8760, 206-786-4079 (cell)
Editor's note: If you are interested in seeing the closure zone and learning more about the effects on weekend traffic, please contact Patty Michaud at 425-225-8760
Weekend closure of westbound SR 522 in Bothell may cause delays on I-405
Shutdown will affect thousands of drivers on both highways
BOTHELL – All roads may lead to delays for drivers traveling on I-405 or SR 522 in Bothell this weekend.
Crews working for WSDOT contractor Mowat Construction will close all lanes of westbound SR 522 between I-405 and Kaysner Way from 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 through 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 27. During the closure, crews will connect the westbound lanes to a newly built and lower roadway.
The 30,000 drivers who typically head toward Bothell on westbound SR 522 will need to take a six-mile detour leading them to northbound I-405 and southbound SR 527 to reach westbound SR 522.
In addition to the westbound SR 522 closure, drivers should be prepared to detour around the following closed ramps and lanes:
NE 160th Street entrance ramp to northbound I-405
Right lane of northbound I-405 from NE 160th to SR 522
North and southbound I-405 entrance ramps to westbound SR 522
“This closure will affect more than just westbound SR 522,”said Project Engineer Janice Fahning. “To help keep traffic moving and reduce weaving, we’re also closing lanes and ramps on I-405 all weekend.”
If drivers must travel through the area, they should allow extra travel time on northbound I-405 between 124th Street NE and 160th Street NE and at the Beardslee/195th Street interchange. WSDOT has hired local police and Washington State Patrol troopers to help direct traffic. Traffic could also be heavy in the downtown areas of Bothell and Woodinville as local drivers adjust their routes.
The work is weather dependent and crews will reschedule the closure if the forecast calls for heavy rain.
What’s next?
Once crews reopen the highway, all traffic on SR 522 between I-405 and Kaysner Way will travel on the new roadway.
Monday morning will also bring a change to a short segment of westbound SR 522. Crews will reduce westbound SR 522 to one lane just west of the southbound I-405 entrance ramp to just west of the I-405 interchange.
“We’re reducing westbound SR 522 to one lane for about 1000 feet,” said Fahning “We need to close that lane to provide space for a safe work zone for the next six months.”
Crews will work throughout the winter to build retaining walls, construct the new bridge at the campus entrance and widen the bridge that will carry traffic to the campus entrance.”
Crews ahead of schedule
Crews have been busy since April reshaping the 1/3-mile-long construction zone along SR 522 between I-405 and Kaysner Way. They are on track to finish their work by fall 2009, eight months early.
They’ve excavated more than 200,000 cubic yards of dirt, started drilling more than 1400 85-foot nails into a 95-foot retaining wall – the largest of its kind in the nation, placed five 128-foot girders for a new bridge and laid more than 9000 tons of pavement. View photos of the work at: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157608310385861/
WSDOT is working with the University of Washington and Cascadia Community College to build a new entrance to the south side of the Bothell campus. With a new road leading straight from I-405 to the campus, traffic congestion will lessen. As part of this project, crews will build a new roadway for SR 522 (Bothell Way NE) from the I-405 interchange to Kaysner Way in Bothell. For more information and detour maps, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR522/UW/.
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