WSDOT reviewing I-90 closure after nightmare commute
Mar 3, 2015, 11:16 AM | Updated: 12:20 pm
Last weekend's work inside the Mount Baker Tunnel and the Mercer Island lid was almost completely hidden from view. (WSDOT Photo via Flickr)
(WSDOT Photo via Flickr)
As expected, forcing drivers into one lane over I-90 last weekend was a nightmare.
All the eastbound traffic had to squeeze into one lane to access the express lanes across Lake Washington. The on-ramps from Rainier Avenue were also closed.
“Traffic was definitely heavier throughout the region, but it was pretty much what we expected,” said Annie Johnson with the Washington State Department of Transportation.
This was just the first of about 30 full directional closures over the next two-and-a-half years on I-90.
Johnson said WSDOT is reviewing the first closure to figure out what they can do to make it easier for drivers.
“There’s always little tweaks that we can make for better traffic flow, but drivers in the Seattle area generally do a pretty good job of being aware and doing what they can to travel at alternate times, or even just give themselves extra time or use an alternate route when we have these closures,” Johnson said. “We really appreciate that.”
Weekend closures are part of the state’s plan to move the HOV lanes to the outside of the bridge, which will make room for Sound Transit’s light rail in the interior lanes.
Sound Transit is expected to break ground in 2017. Trains will begin running from Seattle to Bellevue in 2023.
