Revive I-5 done for the year in Everett
Nov 2, 2022, 11:10 AM
Workers replace concrete panels on I-5 in Everett. (Photo courtesy WSDOT)
(Photo courtesy WSDOT)
Everett has seen the last of ‘Revive I-5’ for the rest of the year.
According to a Washington State Department of Transportation blog by Tom Pearce, the weekend-long lane reduction for northbound Interstate 5 in Everett was finished last weekend.
Those closures had sometimes caused backups for miles south of Everett.
Concrete panels replaced
Pearce wrote that 100 old broken concrete panels were replaced in October.
The original plan had the work going into November, but the contractor, Acme Concrete Paving, was able to do most of the work ahead of schedule. The few remaining panels will be replaced overnight.
“We’re really pleased that Acme could finish this much work in just two weekends. We have several sections where we needed to replace multiple panels, so it was much more cost effective to do that during a weekend,” WSDOT project engineer Shawn Wendt said.
Pearce wrote, “in addition to replacing several more individual panels, the contractor crews will grind the freeway to eliminate ruts caused by decades of wear. Grinding down the high spots outside the wheel ruts will create a smoother surface and reduce puddling when it rains.”
Final Revive I-5 closure of the year, more school zone cameras, and light rail
Lane reductions likely done for the year
Work that forces lane reductions in Everett will pick up again next year.
This time, WSDOT will replace four expansion joints between 41st Street and US Route 2.
“To keep lanes open, we have to replace the left or right half one weekend, then the other half during another,” Pearce wrote. “We usually replace more than one joint during a weekend.”
WSDOT said those joints are more than 50 years old. “It takes an entire weekend to replace them because our contractors need to chip out the old joint, make any necessary steel repairs, install the new joint steel, then pour concrete and allow it to cure.”
Replacing these joints during scheduled weekends will help avoid emergency closures if there are issues.
It will also allow people to make plans to use alternate routes.
