11 Months Of Overpass Work Begins This Week On & Under SR 526 In Everett, Washington

A heads up for folks who use SR526 commonly known as the Boeing Freeway in Everett, Washington. Per WSDOT, February marks the start of a nearly year-long project to strengthen four bridges along the freeway to better protect them in case of an earthquake. Here’s more information and a link to the WSDOT Project website:
 
Project overview
Through December 2023, our contractor crews will strengthen four bridges along State Route 526 in Everett so they can better withstand a major earthquake. They will wrap steel “jackets” around the columns that support the bridges to hold the concrete together in an earthquake, reducing the chance of collapse. They also will add concrete and reinforcing steel between the girders that support the bridge to keep them from moving in the event of an earthquake.

What to expect
Travelers should expect lane closures on SR 526 in both directions during most weeknights and some nightly closures of the westbound SR 526 off-ramp to Airport Road.

In addition, there will be long-term closures of the far-right northbound lanes of Airport, Hardeson and East Casino roads while crews work on those sides of the overpasses. Long-term closures will then switch to the far-right southbound lanes so work can be done on that side of the roads. Work along East Casino Road will impact traffic in and out of Cascade High School during parts of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

Sidewalks along Hardeson and East Casino roads will be closed, one side at a time, while work is done in those areas. Pedestrians and bicyclists, including those along the Interurban Trail near East Casino Road, will need to use crosswalks to cross to the other side.

More information about closure dates and times will be posted as they are scheduled.

We will retrofit bridges that carry SR 526 over Airport Road, Hardeson Road and Casino Road in Everett and the Seaway Road bridge over SR 526 in Everett.

This work is part of our seismic retrofit program, designed to help our critical infrastructure survive a major earthquake. Being able to quickly move supplies to affected areas is vital to earthquake recovery and our highways play an important role in that.

The columns that support overpasses have rebar inside them to provide structural strength, but in a major earthquake the concrete can still crack; if enough becomes dislodged the columns could collapse. Adding steel jackets will help keep the concrete in place, reducing the chance of a collapse and keeping the highways open to deliver supplies to aid recovery.