Think dry thoughts for major I-5 project in Marysville
Mar 3, 2016, 10:49 PM | Updated: May 6, 2016, 10:50 pm
The state postponed a major expansion joint repair project in Marysville last weekend for rain.
Crews will find out around 2 p.m. Thursday whether it will be dry enough for the work to begin this weekend.
Lisa Van Cise with the Washington State Department of Transportation says rain has nothing to do with the actual expansion joint work. It has to be dry for the temporary paint they need to re-stripe smaller lanes through the construction zone.
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“If it’s looking like we’re going to have wet weather Friday night or Sunday night, we have to cancel the work and wait until next weekend,” she said.
If the work goes forward, lanes on southbound I-5 over the Steamboat Slough will be reduced to just 10-feet wide from Friday night through Monday morning. It will be the first of eight weekends of lane reductions for this work.
Van Cise says 30 percent of normal weekend I-5 drivers need to find an alternative route to prevent the freeway from grinding to a halt.
How long could this project be delayed if it continues to rain this spring?
“There’s never a perfect time for these lane reductions. We do want to get in and get the work done before the summer peak travel season heats up,” Van Cise explained. Work, she says, will not extend past mid-June.
So start thinking dry thoughts.
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