Southbound I-5 To Slow From Marysville to Everett

Expect another slow weekend on southbound I-5 between Marysville and Everett as WSDOT crews work on the other side of the southbound lanes expansion joints this weekend. Here’s what you need to know from WSDOT…

Drivers who use southbound Interstate 5 through Marysville should be prepared for changes to the highway in time for weekend travel Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27. This is the last weekend of expansion joint replacement work in the southbound direction before northbound work begins in April.

Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation plan to restripe the southbound lanes starting at 8 p.m. Friday, March 25, and shift traffic to the left side of the highway.

Driver impacts

• Crews will close two lanes at 8 p.m., Friday, March 25, to begin restriping, followed by rolling slowdowns overnight.
• Drivers will be shifted to the left side of the highway.
• The SR 528 on-ramp to southbound I-5 may be closed from 7 p.m. Friday, March 25 to 5 a.m. Saturday, March 26 and again from 7 p.m. Sunday, March 27, to 5 a.m. Monday, March 28.
• The speed limit will remain at 45 mph while the narrow lanes are in place.
• The road will be reduced to two narrow lanes this weekend to further enlarge the construction zone for the second weekend of work on Saturday and Sunday, March 26 and 27.
• Overnight Friday and Sunday night, the road will be reduced to a single lane.
• All three lanes will reopen by 4 a.m. Monday, March 28.

“This weekend, crews will replace the right halves of the aging expansion joints on the Steamboat Slough bridge,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Mark Sawyer. “By Monday morning, we’ll be done with the southbound weekend work and in a couple weeks we’ll begin working northbound.”

Crews replaced the left halves of the expansion joints last weekend.

Northbound weekend work begins April 16-17
The contractor will not work the first two weekends of April at the height of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The first weekend for northbound lane reductions is tentatively scheduled for April 16-17.

Plan ahead to help reduce gridlock
WSDOT needs drivers’ help to keep traffic moving during construction. More than 63,000 vehicles travel this stretch of southbound I-5 daily.
During the first weekend, March 19-20, drivers experienced delays of 10 minutes or less, except for the late afternoons when traffic backed up approximately 4.5 miles to 116th Street Northeast, causing about 25 minutes of delay.

“Drivers did their part last weekend to help keep congestion manageable,” said WSDOT Traffic Engineer Mike Swires. “We need them to continue to stay engaged this weekend and make plans to carpool, use transit, avoid the peak periods and travel early or late.”

Travel tools and tips

• A new Snohomish County traffic map is available online with real time traffic cameras and travel times.
• Weekend updates will be available on the WSDOT Blog.
• WSDOT’s mobile app offers information for travelers on the go.
• The @wsdot_traffic Twitter account will update the public about this project using the hashtag #SnoCoSqueeze.
• The What’s Happening Now page chronicles closures and issues affecting travelers.
• Commute and travel resources.

The work is part of a $5.3 million project that will replace 41 aging expansion joints between Everett and Marysville. Once the southbound lane work is completed, the same work will be done in northbound lanes during subsequent weekends.