Date:  Thursday, April 29, 2010

Contact: Meghan Soptich Pembroke, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)
Dave Crisman, WSDOT Project Engineer, 360-848-7103 (Mount Vernon)

MONROE – A $10 million investment to improve safety on US 2 between Monroe and Gold Bar is one step closer to construction. WSDOT has awarded Vetch Construction, of Camano Island, WA a contract to add two-way left-turn lanes and modify an intersection on US 2 to help reduce the risk of serious collisions.

“We’ve been working with the communities along US 2 for many years to improve safety on this important highway,” said Lorena Eng, WSDOT regional administrator. “We’re looking forward to seeing the work get under way.”

In response to letters and testimony from communities along the US 2 corridor, Governor Gregoire and the 2008 legislature invested $10 million to enhance safety for the 15,300 drivers who travel this stretch of the US 2 corridor each day. WSDOT engineers worked with the community for several months in the spring and summer of 2008 to learn about drivers’ and residents’ safety priorities for US 2 between Monroe and Gold Bar. Engineers used safety data for the corridor to develop improvements designed to reduce collisions on US 2.

Starting as early as June, drivers will see crews at work on US 2. Crews will add two-way left-turn lanes between 245th Avenue SE and 153rd Place SE east of Monroe and extend existing left-turn lanes in Sultan and Gold Bar.

Two-way left-turns lanes provide a safe place for turning drivers in heavy traffic. They will also help reduce the risk of rear-end and t-bone collisions related to drivers turning into and out of driveways and cross streets.

Crews will also close the western connection of Sultan-Startup Road and US 2 east of Sultan and build a cul-de-sac at the end of the road. Drivers entering or exiting the highway from the western end of Sultan-Startup Road have limited sight distance and must cross high-speed traffic to complete their turns. Closing the connection to US 2 will reduce the risk of serious collisions at this location.

Drivers can expect single-lane closures during construction. Crews expect to wrap up work on the project this fall.

Investing in safety on US 2

This summer drivers will also see crews working on two other projects to improve safety on US 2. In Monroe, crews will build a new direct ramp from eastbound SR 522 to eastbound US 2 to improve traffic flow and safety at the US 2/SR 522 interchange. Crews will also widen US 2 near the interchange. At the Stevens Pass Summit crews are already working to improve pedestrian safety by building a walkway over US 2 to provide safe access between the ski area and parking lot.

In addition, WSDOT has been working with the community since spring 2008 on the US 2 Traffic Safety Corridor project. This community-led effort focuses on targeted enforcement, engineering and education efforts to reduce fatal and disabling collisions on US 2 between Everett and Stevens Pass.

“Our goal is that the rate of serious collisions on US 2 continues to decrease,” said Eng. “Our ultimate target is zero collisions on the corridor.”

As part of the project, crews have installed two electronic collision counting signs, removed vegetation to improve sight distance, synchronized traffic signals in Monroe, Sultan and Gold Bar, and upgraded signing and striping throughout the corridor. While it’s too early to determine the full effects of the two-year project, engineers expect to have initial results by fall 2010. WSDOT will continue to monitor collision rates along the corridor during the coming years.

For more information on the US 2 Safety Improvements – Monroe to Gold Bar project, visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us2/safetyimprovements. For more information on the US 2 Traffic Safety Corridor project, visit: http://www.us2drivesafe.org/.

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