Relief in sight: 2 major construction projects to finish this fall

Now that we’re into September, and the warm thoughts of summer travel are over, it’s time to highlight a few major construction projects that should wrap up this fall.

There are two projects that I am watching closely as they move to completion this fall.

I was reminiscing a few days ago about the first time I started talking about a fix to the daily grind on I-5 between Everett and Marysville. I live in Snohomish County. I get caught in that mess all the time. It doesn’t matter the time of day or the day of the week, I usually get caught up in something.

A quick archive search and I found my first article about the potential plans, from May of 2015. Ten years. That’s how long I have been talking about a project that took forever to get funded and forever to get started.

But sometime this fall, the project will finally finish.

New on and off-ramps at State Route 529 in Marysville

The northbound I-5 HOV lane opened a while ago, which has been nice, but we have been waiting on the biggie for a while. That’s the new on and off ramps at State Route 529 in Marysville. They should open this fall.

Tom Pearce, spokesperson for the Washington Department of Transportation, told me earlier this year that this new interchange should be a game-changer.

“The work has been a real pain for the people who commute up there,” he said. “We recognize that, and we do appreciate the fact that they put up with it. We’re going to have a real improvement for them up there once we get these ramps open.”

The biggest improvement is providing access to Marysville east of the railroad tracks. No longer will your drive be interrupted by trains. I hope to have a firm update on the opening sometime soon.

Timeline of I-90/State Route 18 project

The other project I’m really excited to see finished is the I-90/State Route 18 (SR 18) project.

Truck drivers and weekend warriors need this fixed in a hurry. And while the new diverging diamond opened earlier this summer, the improvement hasn’t happened yet. That’s because the widening of SR 18 isn’t finished.

The long lines on westbound I-90 still happen every weekend.

Something Brian Nielsen, WSDOT regional administrator, knows will continue to be an issue.

“The pinch point is just south of the interchange,” he said. “Until we finish that (widening) this fall, people should still expect to see congestion through the interchange.”

But once those two lanes in each direction open later this fall, it should be a much smoother trip through that corridor.

This is just a reminder that, at some point, construction projects do finish.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

Follow @https://twitter.com/newsguysully