Late merging ends for NB I-5 Express Lanes in Seattle
Nov 13, 2018, 5:33 AM | Updated: 10:13 am
The Washington State Department of Transportation made a small change in the entrance to the northbound I-5 express lanes last week, but it is going to have a big impact on how that stretch of freeway operates.
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The state re-striped the entrance to the northbound Express Lanes, adding a double white line for the final 1,600 feet before the Express Lanes begin.
That means you can no longer get in and out of that lane, legally, for the final quarter mile. That means no diving-in late, when the Express Lanes are open in the afternoon, and no diving-out late when they are closed.
“We saw a lot of weaving in that area,” said WSDOT’s Tom Pearce.
All that weaving causes unnecessary congestion. The problem with the late dive-out in the morning is the next lane over is an exit-only to Seneca. That only gave drivers about a quarter mile to merge into a through lane.
KIRO listener Mark Tiersma hit me up the day the double white line went in, concerned about what this move would mean in real life. He worried this would simply move the congestion further south. He was concerned how this would impact merging and whether there would be any enforcement of double-white line jumpers.
Here’s how the state would like it to work: follow the sign prompts when the HOV lane ends and use the half-mile you have to merge to the right.
“When you get to the end of the HOV lane, that’s going to become the merge point,” Pearce said. “There are going to be signs warning that the Express Lanes are closed, and that you’ll need to move over to the right sometime before you get to the double white lines.”
Here is the reality: drivers who are backed-up in that next lane over — the lane that will become the Seneca exit-only lane — will have to let drivers merge in sooner than they are used to. Those drivers in the right lane will need to play ball and let people merge.
“The drivers really need to work together,” WSDOT’s Pearce said. “The drivers on the right have to slow down a little bit and make some gaps. The drivers on the left need to move over as soon as they get a gap. They can’t be waiting until the last second.”
Crossing that double white line could cost you $136.
Eliminating the late weaving and merging should help the drive at the far north end, but it will cause more congestion to the south. Drivers need to make their moves earlier and declare where they are going sooner.
