Detours Up, Cameras On, As Everett’s Broadway Bridge Fully Closed Until 2016

NB bridge detour

Heading north on Broadway at Hewitt you can go east or west.

Southbound drivers are diverted onto California

Southbound drivers are diverted onto California

detour map

Here’s an updated map of the detours now in place. Click to enlarge

The detour signs are in place, cameras have been activated and so far the closure of the Broadway Bridge in downtown Everett is going smoothly. As we’ve been reporting for a while, the bridge will be shut down until sometime in early 2016 for replacement. Why the lengthy closure? There are several reasons. Primarily having to do with the railroad tracks below…

  • No over-track work allowed while trains are running – 44 freight trains on average per day.
  • No over-track work allowed from October to December – BNSF major freight season restriction.
  • Total demolition and new construction of the bridge with new foundation and abutments (as opposed to swapping out a bridge span like the temporary Skagit River bridge.)
  • Different vertical alignment – for improved sight distance and railroad clearance.

Here’s what Marla Carter, a Public Information and Education Manager from the Everett Public Works Department told MyEvrettNews.com last night…

So far, so good. Our guys are watching traffic flow and the detour is working great. The biggest issue is drivers that are trying to take “shortcuts” that are not shortcuts. It could be interesting tonight. The detour routes are routed east of downtown (a great deal of thought went into the detour routes). One of the many reasons for that was to avoid having the Broadway traffic get caught in arena traffic. We have our traffic room set up with live camera feeds from several critical points on the detour routes and we are keeping an eye on traffic flow.

There didn’t appear to be any major issues last night even with Friday night traffic, a Seahawks rally at the nearby Snohomish County Courthouse Plaza or the Silvertips hockey game. (which they won by the way). If you’d like to follow the progress of the bridge construction or check one of the live camera feeds you can do so here on the city’s special web page for the Broadway Bridge project.

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My Everett News is a hyperlocal news website featuring news and events in Everett, Washington. We also cover City of Everett information and items of interest to those who live and work in Everett.

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