Date:
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Contact:
Jamie Holter, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4698 (Seattle)
SEATTLE – WSDOT contractor crews begin the first full weekend of southbound closures on I-5 tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. in downtown Seattle. Crews will close three out of five lanes of I-5 between Stewart Street and I-90.
The 40-year-old concrete panels that make up I-5 under the Convention Center are cracking and breaking apart. The longer we wait to repair these panels, the more quickly they will fail. Fixing the worst of these broken panels is part of WSDOT’s plan to preserve the freeway and keep traffic moving.
With the federal stimulus relief on the horizon, Washington highway construction projects are putting people to work today with dozens of important safety and infrastructure improvement projects that support jobs and our economy largely because of the investments made in the 2003 and 2005 gas tax packages.
“The next two construction seasons will be among the largest that the department has ever delivered,” said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “So even though the work begins Friday, the 13th, this project is good news for the economy, for jobs and for drivers. For instance, this $21 million project indirectly employs workers at more than 31 companies nationwide, including 19 in Washington state.”
I-5 closures this weekend
- Contractor crews will begin closing the southbound lanes of I-5 at Stewart Street at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13. Three out of five lanes will be closed by 11 p.m.
- The Union Street off-ramp and Howell Street on-ramp will also be close. Detour signs are in place. You can find detour maps here: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/seattlepavementrepair/
- The I-5 express lanes will remain open in the southbound direction all weekend so drivers can get to downtown Seattle. We want to remind drivers that the Pike/Pine and 5th/Columbia exits are HOV only. Mercer Street, Stewart Street and through traffic is for all drivers.
Weekend drivers should expect very heavy traffic this weekend in both directions of I-5 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Drivers should plan ahead, leave early for trips through and into downtown Seattle or use parallel routes like SR 99, 5th Ave NE, 15th Ave NE, and 3rd Ave NW. Drivers headed through Seattle should consider using I-405 to get around the city. Drivers should expect increased traffic on I-405, SR 520 and I-90 as well.
Drivers should also use the multiple travel tools WSDOT has in place to get information before they leave home and information while they are on the road. These tools include:
I-5 jobs
The I-5 panel replacement project www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/seattlepavementrepair/ will keep the economy moving in more ways than one.
Not only will we fix the worst spots on more than 18 miles of freeway by grinding out the ruts and replace more than 440 broken and cracking concrete panels, our contractor has hired more than 80 Washington State union workers to do this work.
“These are union jobs that pay an average family wage of $30 an hour plus benefits,” said Dale Bright, labor organizer for Local 440. “This is great for our workers and great for the businesses that our workers patronize.”
The trickle-down affect is equally impressive. WSDOT reports that this $21 million job indirectly employs workers at more than 31 companies nationwide including 19 companies in Washington State.
"We have seven employees, and this project kept all seven of us employed," said Dave King of Tualatin Valley Short Load.
More work and more jobs to come
This weekend work is just the tip of the 2009 iceberg. WSDOT has the most intense, complicated and high-impact work ever in a single construction season. We need drivers to stay engaged as we move through the major lane closures. Bookmark this page to stay on top of closures today, tomorrow and months from now. www.wsdot.wa.gov/construction/2009
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