It’s hard to believe, but we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of service to Lynnwood. It started just before Labor Day last year. Sound Transit is now looking at completing what it promised voters in 2016, under ST-3, the 16-mile extension to downtown Everett.

As it sits on paper, the light rail would run along I-5 to 128th in south Everett and then follow Airport Road up to the Boeing plant. It would then continue along SR 526 to I-5 and then up to downtown Everett.

As many as seven stations would be built along the corridor. Where are we today?

“We’re in the environmental study period, which, broadly speaking, studies the impact of the project on the environment, both the natural environment like wetlands and streams, but also the built environment, like historic resources and and how transportation will work once this thing is done,” Public Information Officer for Sound Transit David Jackson said.

Sound Transit opens public comment for new line

Sound Transit has opened a to get your feedback on what this line should look like, everything from potential stations to track alignment.

“What we’re looking for from the public right now is their thoughts, like how they would use this project when it’s built, what’s the need for it, and thoughts on alignments and station locations, all those things,” Jackson said. “Those things are not set in stone.”

Look at the . They include potential station locations and where the trains might go. Should the line go across I-5 in multiple places to serve the community better? That’s the kind of information Sound Transit needs in this public comment period.

“It’s about connecting the north part of our region to the rest of the network that already exists — connecting people to jobs, education to healthcare, and leisure activities,” Jackson said. “It’s about knitting our region together tighter.”

While Jackson doesn’t have a concrete number on what this extension might cost as of today, some estimates have put it at $5 to $7 billion, with construction to and service starting between 2037 and 2041.

But all that could change.

“The 2037 to 2041 is also cost dependent,” Jackson said. “If we have to slow it down because we need money, that could slow things down.”

We all remember what happened to the cost estimates on the extension from Northgate to Lynnwood.

Everyone always says they want to talk to Sound Transit about what’s next and how it spends your money. Now’s your chance.

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

I spent a lot of Sunday afternoon watching the westbound I-90 drive approaching the . I wanted to see if the new design and increased capacity would help with that massive backup that always shows up on Sunday.

It did not, and it likely won’t for a few more months.

“Those Sunday afternoon commutes are still going to be challenging in the neighborhood,” Brian Nielson, the Regional Administrator for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said.

We’re stuck with the backups until the construction finishes in a few months.

“We have to finish this widening first,” Nielson said. “The pinch point is really just south of the interchange, so until we finish that this fall, people should probably expect to see congestion through the interchange.”

Two lanes of westbound I-90 now exit to SR 18. That should help with that Sunday afternoon backup, once the widening is finished. That should help with the late merging.

What makes the DDI so unique is that when you exit to westbound SR 18, you turn immediately into the left lanes, the opposite lanes of traffic, through the interchange. It is very smooth but likely confusing the first time.

WSP’s goal with new interchange is to improve safety

For the Washington State Patrol, the goal is to improve safety.

“We’re thankful for this project, and we’re hoping to see a reduction of congestion,” WSP Lieutenant Pete Cozzitorto said. “We’d like to see traffic moving further, faster and allow people to get to where they want to be.”

Most drivers should expect a little learning curve using the DDI, but it shouldn’t last long.

“It’s gonna be new for a week or two, or the first couple times you go through there, but we expect, all in all, a better commuter experience with this interchange,” Cozzitorto said.

And hopefully, a lot less late merging, road rage, and frustration.

“I’m hopeful, with the two lanes exiting off of Interstate 90, that’s going to take some of the congestion off that right lane being stopped as people tried to exit in the past,” Cozzitorto said. “I think with this interchange having more capacity, we’re going to hopefully see a reduction in that congestion.”

WSDOT still has to do some paving and permanent striping at the interchange. There will be some closures to deal with as that work is completed.

Once the widening on SR 18 is done, there will be about four miles of two lanes south of I-90 to help ease up to the single lane at Tiger Mountain. That should greatly reduce the slowing on westbound 90.

The contractor is still on schedule to finish the widening this fall.

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

You’ve seen the new cameras go up. You’ve seen the new signs. The new striping is on the way. Life as you’ve known it on the Valley Freeway is changing.

The from Auburn to Renton is becoming an express toll lane, just like the between Bellevue and Lynnwood.

“We’re modernizing the system and replacing equipment that’s been in use there for about 18 years, and we’re bringing it all up to the same standards we have with all our other toll roads,” Lauren McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) toll division, said.

Carpoolers will need a pass for SR 167 HOT lane

However, that will mean significant changes for those who want to use that lane and how they can access it for free. Up until now, only solo drivers needed a pass to pay their way into the HOT lane. Carpoolers didn’t need a pass. It was the honor system. Now they do, or they will be tolled.

“You’ll still be able to carpool toll-free, but you just have to have a set to HOV mode to do so,” McLaughlin explained. “That’ll tell the system. Hey, I’ve got my buddies with me. We’re carpooling. Don’t charge me a toll.”

The flex pass costs $15, plus tax. It’s the same pass drivers have been using on I-405 since it opened. If you’re in the toll lane after this transition without a flex pass, you will be charged the toll, whether you have the proper number of people to qualify as HOV.

Drivers without a pass will be charged the toll, plus $2 for pay-by-mail. This should eliminate the rampant cheating that SR 167 sees in the HOT lane today. You will also pay a toll for how long you’re in the lane. The new signs will show segments of the highway. The signs will have toll amounts for three destinations.

“You’re still only paying that one toll, but now you’re paying for the amount of road you use,” McLaughlin said. “You lock in the rate you see when you enter the lane there.”

You won’t pay three separate tolls — only one toll for your destination. You will also have limited options for getting in and out of the toll lane.

“For most of the roadway, you’re going to see those double white lines that are illegal to cross, and then certain entry and exit points that have a dashed line there to tell drivers this is where you get in and this is where you get out,” McLaughlin said.

You can’t just jump in and out of the toll lane. Crossing the double white line is illegal, and it is incredibly dangerous.

Motorcycles will need pass to ride toll-free in SR 167 toll lanes

What about motorcycles?

“They will actually need to get a motorcycle pass,” McLaughlin said. “There is a special pass for motorcycles that they will need to carpool toll-free in the SR 167 express toll lanes. They’re changing names now that it is upgrading to keep it consistent with I-405.”

The state has not released the exact date when this tolling system will go active, but it is expected sometime this fall.

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

Monday was going to go one of two ways. Commuters didn’t believe it was really going to impact them, or they all went somewhere else because they were worried about back-ups.

Unfortunately, it went the first way. Without the I-5 express lanes open in the southbound direction, commuters ran into a 10-mile backup that extended from Mountlake Terrace to downtown Seattle. The travel time from Everett to Seattle hovered around an hour and 40 minutes through most of the morning, double the normal time.

Commuters bailed to I-405 south in Lynnwood, creating a travel time from Everett to Bellevue that stayed well over an hour for the morning.

“We expected this could happen simply because anytime we have the express lanes closed, then we do see these backups,” Tom Pearce, spokesperson for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said.

WSDOT spokesperson says drivers will adapt to I-5 construction

He believes drivers are just testing the waters at the beginning of the construction work.

“People will adapt to this,” Pearce said. “We see it all the time. Whenever we’re doing road work, they just need to kind of experience it a little bit sometimes, and then they get used to it. They make changes in their behavior, and that just helps keep traffic moving.”

To put Monday morning into perspective, Monday is usually one of the lightest volume days of the week. If we saw these kinds of backups with lighter traffic, the rest of the week could be brutal.

It will take commuters trying something different to keep this from becoming a daily experience.

“People will likely adjust their schedule,” Pearce said. “They will look more at using transit. So there are options out there. It’s going to take people a few days to sort these out and just get used to it.”

The one benefit we noticed on day one was that the I-5 north drive into Seattle was not as bad as usual. The drive from Federal Way to Seattle was running as much as 15 minutes faster than on a typical day.

One day is not a trend, but it was a pleasant surprise. Pearce expects having the express lanes open northbound to have an impact on that morning drive.

“A lot of people aren’t really used to that idea yet that, ‘Hey, I could jump in the Express Lanes,'” he said. “I think we will start to see more traffic, I think, move out of the main line and into the express lanes.”

The drive through the construction zone itself was manageable. Only the two right lanes are open across the Ship Canal Bridge, and traffic backed up to about Seneca most of the day. It added about 15 minutes to drive through the city.

Will this be our daily commute through mid-August? It’s a little too early to predict, but daily commuters have the power to improve it with the choices they make going forward.

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

I cannot emphasize enough just how disruptive this is going to be. Seattle’s biggest artery will be limited for 32 days, and this will not just impact the northbound direction.

All lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from Friday night until Monday. The closure starts at I-90 and runs through 45th in the U-District. When the freeway reopens on Monday, only two right lanes will be open.

It will stay in that configuration, half-capacity, until Friday, August 15, when the entire northbound freeway will be shut down for another full weekend. All lanes will reopen on Monday, August 18.

The time has come to Revive I-5. NB I-5 in Seattle between I-90 & NE 45th St will CLOSE starting 11:59 pm on Friday, July 18, through 5 am Monday, July 21.⚠️

The express lanes will be NB ALL WEEKEND & beyond. WB I-90 exit to NB I-5 will close.
More info:

— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic)

“There’s no good time to do this sort of work, but it has to be done,” Spokesperson for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Tom Pearce said.

This is the first part of replacing the concrete on the Ship Canal Bridge, as Revive I-5 starts concentrating on the section from Mercer Street to Northgate.

“We’re going to repave up to about 20% of those two left lanes and do bridge deck repairs during our month-long lane reduction,” Pearce said.

Why not just go with the lane closures? Why shut the freeway down on either end of the work?

“We need a weekend closure to set it up, and then we’re going to need another weekend closure at the end to take down the work zone that our contractor is going to put in place,” Pearce explained.

This is going to create massive backups on northbound I-5 for the next month, even with the express lanes helping out.

“Once we start into the full closure on July 18, the express lanes are going to remain northbound throughout, until mid-August,” Pearce said.  “That’s going to help get people through.”

Seattle I-5 closures will impact both northbound and southbound

But that comes with its own complications. Keeping the I-5 express lanes open in the northbound direction will grind southbound I-5 to a halt, especially in the morning.

We’ve seen what happens when those lanes aren’t open for the morning commute. I’m expecting backups to Lynnwood. The ripple effect of this will extend to both lake bridges and most neighborhood streets around I-5. It will likely impact I-405 as well.

“We really want people to consider alternatives, like transit,” Pearce said.  “Light rail is a great way to get around. Consider carpooling. Think about if you can shift your schedule. Some people have some flexibility. Maybe they can go in at six in the morning. Maybe they don’t have to go in until 10 in the morning.”

And just think of the massive events in Seattle during these lane closures. Seafair. The Seahawks’ home preseason games. The Ichiro celebration weekend at T-Mobile. All will be impacted by this work.

Pearce said WSDOT did what it could to pick the least impactful time to do it.

“We work very closely with our partners to choose a time when it will have the least effect on traffic,” he said. “It’s still going to have a huge effect. But there are other weekends that it could be a whole lot worse.”

My best advice is to add an extra hour to your drive through Seattle for the next month.

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

SR 18 will close under I-90 in Snoqualmie at 9 p.m. Thursday for . You will not be able to travel under I-90 until next Friday, July 25. A similar closure in June only lasted a few days.

“There’s a lot more work that’s involved this time,” David Rasbach, communications coordinator for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said. “There’s a lot of electrical work to get the traffic signals set up, get some cameras set up, some drainage, more islands to build, more paving to do, getting the on ramps to I-90 set and everything like that.”

Drivers will still be able to access I-90 from SR 18, but only in very limited ways.

“If you’re going on eastbound SR 18, you’re going to have to take eastbound I-90,” Rasbach said. “And it’s the same thing coming from Snoqualmie, you have to get on westbound I-90.”

You will only be able to make a right turn from SR 18 to I-90. The simplest thing to do is to get on I-90 and go up one exit and make a U-turn. The traffic was manageable during the closure in early June.

“Expect delays, add extra time,” Rasbach said. “Leave early if you need to be somewhere on time, or just expect delays. We realize this is a big closure to close SR 18 under the bridges.”

What comes after the eight-day closure

After this eight-day closure, drivers will be using the new diverging diamond interchange, but the work isn’t finished. There will still be work around the interchange and on SR 18 toward Tiger Mountain.

“We still need to widen SR 18 to two lanes in each direction down to Deep Creek,” Rasbach said. “It’s currently only one lane in each direction. We’re getting close to that. Probably this fall we’ll open that, and that’s when we really think you’re going to see the diverging diamond shine.”

This will be the second to open in Washington. The first was in Lacey.

What makes a DDI unique is that you drive on the left side of the road. This cuts down on the possible conflict points where cars and pedestrians can interact. It’s really designed to cut down on making left turns in front of oncoming traffic. It will seem strange at first, but drivers will adjust quickly.

“It’s really as easy as following the lines and signs,” Rasbach said. “They’re clearly marked with lines, arrows, signs that point you in the right direction, so you just follow that.”

WSDOT chose to do a full eight-day closure to get the project finished as fast as possible and cut down on multiple weekend and overnight closures.

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

It’s happening this weekend.

Southbound I-405 in Kirkland. Northbound I-405 in Renton. Southbound I-5 in Seattle. All of these freeways will be shut down at some point this weekend. Two of them all weekend long. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) even planned to have Southbound SR 167 in Kent between Willis and 277th Street shut down from 12 a.m. Friday until 4 a.m. Monday before deciding against it Thursday afternoon for an undisclosed reason.

This is a combination of maintenance, preservation, and a bunch of construction.

“It’s going to be a lot of paving and a lot of concrete panel replacement,” Craig Smiley, construction communications manager for WSDOT, said. “We’re going to be doing a lot of drainage work and replacing sign structures. Those are all things that require full closures.”

WSDOT admits that there is no good time to shut down a freeway, much less four at one time, during peak summer travel.

“We don’t like doing these full closures, but sometimes they are necessary,” Smiley said. “Summer is a very short window to get a lot of work done.”

If you want added lanes on I-405 or necessary maintenance, this is just the price the region has to pay.

“It’s a really complex puzzle trying to put all these projects together and get the work done in a reasonable amount of time and minimize impacts as much as possible,” Smiley said.

WSDOT says avoid driving through areas as much as possible

So what’s the best game plan?

It’s the simplest, and it’s almost insulting. But just avoid driving through these areas. Not very realistic, I know. Postpone your trip. Use light rail. Alter your schedule. No matter what, this will have a regional impact.

“The detours can’t handle the volumes the freeways normally handle,” Smiley said. “We need everybody’s patience and in the end it will be worth it, but it’s going to be tough going.”

Here’s a look at the closures specifically.

Southbound I-5 will be closed at Stewart Street under the Convention Center from 11 p.m. Friday night. This closure lasts until 6 a.m. The express lanes will remain open southbound. This closure will likely have the least amount of impact.

will be closed through Kirkland from 11 p.m. Friday night through 4 a.m. Monday. The closure extends from 124th Street in Totem Lake to 70th Place.

will be closed in Renton from 11:59 p.m. Friday night through 4 a.m. Monday. This closure is at the SR 169 interchange and Sunset Boulevard.

These three closures will have a regional impact. Expect delays to ripple across any of your travel plans.

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

Driving in the sand is a lot of fun. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. But let me be blunt—this weekend is probably not the best time to try it. The sand is going to be packed with people this weekend. The is expecting 100,000 people. officials told me they can’t begin to estimate, but that the city is expecting a ton of people.

There will be no room to move and no room for error.

And if you don’t believe me, please take Paul’s advice. He volunteers with .

“If you’ve never driven on the sand, the best thing is don’t make the Fourth of July weekend your first try,” he said.

The nonprofit rescue group volunteers its time getting people out of trouble.

“We’re just a bunch of people down here that realize that tourism is lifeblood to the peninsula, and so we were here to help as locals,” he said. “We don’t take any money. We just help people get out.”

Here are some really good tips for driving in the sand: Pick the line you want to take and go with it. Keep your speed up. Watch for deep ruts and don’t assume your truck or SUV will take care of you.

“All wheel drive versus four wheel drive, they are not the same,” Paul said. “If you have four-wheel drive or all wheel drive and you’re on the beach, disengage your traction control. That will get you stuck faster than anything.”

And don’t even try it with anything bigger than a car or truck.

“People with motor homes and vans and stuff just don’t try it,” Paul said.  “In the last two or three weeks, we’ve pulled several motor homes off, and Sprinter vans that are four-wheel drive, but they just, for whatever reason, don’t do well.”

This Fourth of July weekend will be particularly dangerous because of the tides.

High tides expected during Fourth of July evening

High tide will be between 9 and 10 p.m., just about the time you’ll be shooting off fireworks or watching the big displays. It’s a high tide, meaning the water will be coming in a little more. Park up a little higher on the soft sand to make sure your car doesn’t end up in the ocean.

“The tide is coming in, and your car, if you don’t think about it, is going to be all sudden in the water,” Paul said.

And I’ve seen this happen more times than I can count. People are distracted by the bonfire and the fireworks, and they don’t notice how far the water has crept up to them. And when the fireworks are over, everyone will try to leave the beach at the same time. You will be doing this in the dark. Dodging the ocean, unpredictable people and pets, raging bonfires, and debris piles. And drunk drivers.

This is the worst possible time to get stuck in the sand.

Should you find yourself in trouble, the best advice is to stay calm. Put on your flashers. And ask for help.

Be careful with just throwing a chain on your bumper and hooking it to another car. You’ll likely damage your vehicle. It’s best to carry a small shovel and a flat piece of wood in your car so you can try to dig yourself out.

You can call a tow, or if you’re in Long Beach, you can call 4-by-4 Rescue at 360-244-1099.

“We jump people. We’ll get them unstuck out of the sand, but if they’re in the surf, we won’t touch them. They’re going to have to go to a tow company to get out of that. We just can’t do that,” Paul said.

So have a great fourth, but be safe and smart.

And always point your car toward the ocean if you’re parking on the beach.

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

You’ve seen the new toll signs going up on I-5 in SeaTac, along SR 167, and soon over I-405 between Bellevue and Renton. The state is streamlining the system and making it uniform, especially when it comes to express toll lanes.

It’s expected that the will go active next year. People going between Renton and Bellevue will need a flex pass to make sure they can declare HOV status if they have enough people in their cars. The flex pass will then be needed on SR 167 north from Sumner to Renton to declare HOV status. SR 167 south will eventually see the same thing.

Washington’s toll expansion will hit SR 509 in a few months

But happening this year, in just a few months, the newest tolls go into effect on the first mile of the SR 509 expressway from I-5 in Sea-Tac. This is part of the . Those tolls are expected to go active around October, though the freeway will open on Saturday.

Just last week, the set the rates for that corridor. It will vary between $1.20 to $2.40, depending on the time of day.

Those tolls will eventually be added to the entire corridor, connecting I-5 to 188th in Burien, once it is completed.

The commission also set the tolls for the 509/167 extension between the Port of Tacoma and Puyallup. SR 167 west of I-5 to SR 509 in Tacoma will be $1, no matter the time of day. That is set to go active in December of 2026.

The tolls east of I-5 to Puyallup will vary between $1 to $3, depending on the time of day. Those tolls are expected to go active in 2029.

These tolls will also vary depending on the size of your rig.  A semi driver could end up spending up to $9, based on the time of day. The more axles you have, the more you pay, including cars just towing a trailer.

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

This is the second year of work on the 60-year-old over the Columbia River. For the last few months, WSDOT has closed a lane in each direction on Mondays through Thursdays, but reopened the lanes for weekend travel. That will be changing soon.

“After the 4th of July, we’re going to close it down 24/7 for those single lane closures in each direction,” Summer Derrey, communications specialist for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said. “Labor Day weekend will be the final weekend when all the lanes will be open, and then the lane restrictions will remain until work is stopped by the weather sometime in November.”

Drivers need to be prepared for the return of long delays through the area, especially on Friday and Sunday afternoons.

“This is a recreational route,” Derrey said. “If you’re traveling across the state between the Fourth of July and Labor Day, you will definitely need to plan for additional travel time across the Vantage Bridge.”

The best idea is to avoid the area.

How to avoid I-90 across the Vantage Bridge

“If you’re farther to the north, go up toward the North Cascades and go around that way,” Derrey said. “If you’re closer to the Yakima area, loop back down to Moxie or through the Tri-Cities, and scoop back up. There are a lot of ways to avoid significant backups, just getting across that pinch point, across the Vantage bridge, depending on where you need to go.”

One place you shouldn’t go is the Old Vantage Highway. Your GPS will want to send you that way. That highway is tiny. It’s a windy, two-lane road with no lighting. It’s an elk migration path that also attracts a variety of other animals. And during the biggest backups last year, it did not move for the final two miles as you tried to merge back onto the freeway.

I tried it at about 6:45 a.m. one morning, and it was fine. Try it at 11 a.m., and you’re asking for trouble.

Be sure to check the Gorge concert schedule before you head across the bridge. Concert weekends during similar closures last year were brutal.

And we have three more years of this.

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

We’ve been warning you for months about the upcoming lane closures on the vital I-5 bridge. This weekend is the appetizer.

Only two lanes of I-5 north over the Ship Canal Bridge will be open from late Friday night to early Monday morning. For a short time early Saturday morning and early Monday morning, all lanes will be blocked for re-striping.

“What congestion is going to look like this weekend depends on what people choose to do,” the Washington Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Tom Pearce said. “If people do not alter their plans, if they just think they’ll drive the same way as they always do, then we’re going to see more traffic.”

The express lanes will remain open in the northbound direction to try to ease some of that congestion.

“The express lanes are going to be open northbound only, all weekend,” Pearce said. “We will have some lane closures Saturday night and Sunday night, because as we work on the drains, we need some room to work in the express lanes.”

WSDOT working on Ship Canal Bridge

WSDOT is using this weekend to do much needed work on the bridge and prepare for the month-long closures coming up next month.

“We’re going to be working on the drainage system on the bridge,” Pearce said. “We hope to get about 80% of that work done to set us up for the bigger project that we have coming in July.”

If you have forgotten what is coming up in July, here’s what you need to know. The weekend of July 18, all lanes of the northbound Ship Canal Bridge will be closed. That will be followed by a month of 24/7 lane closures, and then another full weekend closure of the northbound bridge the weekend of August 15.

And that will be it for the major closures this year.

They will return in the northbound direction next year and the southbound direction in 2027. WSDOT is replacing expansion joints and the concrete between downtown Seattle and Northgate in this portion of the ongoing .

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

Nine thousand drivers a day use this spot to avoid SR 524, or Maltby Road, between the north end of Bothell and the east side of Lynnwood. It’s also a more direct route than using I-405 to I-5.

is so short you might not even realize that it’s a bridge. Your only indication is the load restriction signs on either side. It’s on Locust Way, just north of the stoplight at 228th Street Southwest. It’s a wood-pile bridge that no longer serves the needs of the growing community.

“It’s two lanes with a guardrail, so there’s no pedestrian access,” Snohomish County Construction Supervisor Lisa Calkins said. “You really have to time it to cross through there if you are a pedestrian. I even watched  a woman with a baby stroller getting through there, and she had to wait a while.”

Design manager Charlie Green told me this new bridge will be a big improvement.

“We’ll have our standard lanes, and then we’ll include bike lanes and then pedestrian paths,” he said. “We’ll also be adding a couple hundred feet of sidewalk on the north side of the bridge to connect to the next neighborhood to the north.”

The bridge closes June 25. The road won’t reopen until the end of October. There are houses on either side of the project.

“There are different ways to go around, but our sign detour route is actually a four-mile detour route,” Calkins said. “It’s significant, but it kind of depends on where you’re going, which route you have to take.”

This has the potential to be a major inconvenience for residents.

“When we look at road closures, we don’t take those lightly,” Green said. “We’ll look at whether we can work out there safely without a road closure, what the costs and duration are when we don’t do road closures. Projects take longer, so we always want to consider that.”

Jordan River Bridge closure

This isn’t the only bridge Snohomish County is going to close for the next several months. The , which crosses the Stillaguamish River just north of Granite Falls, will close June 19. It is also expected to be out of action through October.

It’s a much less populated area, but the detour is 26 miles. You have to go all the way up to Arlington to find the next bridge over the river. This bridge is way out of date.

“Not only does it have wood pilings, but it also has a wood deck,” Green said.

It will be replaced with a bridge that can handle the expected growth over the next 50-plus years.

“We’ll be pulling these old creosote-treated wood piles out of the stream, which is a huge upgrade for the fish,” Green said. “From a safety standpoint, we’ll be adding the bike lanes and sidewalks.”

These are two of the 38 timber bridges still in operation in Snohomish County.

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

The freeway will be closed from Sunset Boulevard in Renton to Coal Creek Parkway in Factoria. All the northbound on and off ramps along that corridor will be closed as well.

“We’re really doing a lot of work this weekend,” Washington Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Craig Smiley said. “It’s going to be a lot of paving, a lot of panel replacements. We’re continuing to install drainage structures, so a couple of drainage crossings and setting some noise wall panels as well.”

This is all part of the .

The designated . This isn’t the first time that road has been used for a detour route, and it won’t be the last. Past closures have created long backups.

“Anytime we have to take traffic off the freeway and divert it onto surface streets, obviously it doesn’t have the capacity to handle the volumes that the freeway typically would, so we are expecting some fairly significant backups,” Smiley said.

WSDOT will do what it can to help with that.

“We’ll have uniformed police officers along the detour group to help move traffic along,” Smiley said. “We monitor it throughout the weekend. If we see opportunities to where one particular intersection is getting worse than other, we try to redeploy resources as best we possibly can to keep stuff moving.”

WSDOT says to avoid I-405 north

The best advice is to avoid I-405 north. If you can’t, try to travel a little earlier or a little later.

“We know that there’s going to be a lot of grads and dads trying to get around to different functions this weekend,” Smiley said. “We just really want to get the word out that if you’re going to be headed northbound on 405, do plan some extra time.”

The expansion of I-405 and the express toll lanes from Bellevue to Renton was scheduled to wrap up by the end of the year. That has been pushed into 2026.

The northbound closure is set to start at 11:30 p.m. on Friday. The freeway should open by 4 a.m. on Monday.

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

It’s been a grind heading in from Issaquah every morning and heading back into town on weekends ever since the project got started early last year.

I-90 west HOV lane closed for Sunset Creek Fish Passage project

To make room to build several new bridges and create a large work zone, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has closed the HOV lanes in both directions in Factoria. But Friday morning, the westbound HOV lane in the area will reopen, ending that long daily backup. This reopening is seven months ahead of schedule.

“We’d like to get the traffic impacts taken care of so that we can work offline, off of the road, whether it be underneath or to the side,” WSDOT project manager Seth Belknap said.

The HOV on-ramp from 142nd will also reopen. That will give cars and buses direct access to the Bellevue Park and Ride again. The eastbound HOV lane is expected to open early next year.

“We’re looking sometime early 2026 to open the eastbound side,” Belknap said. “Work will continue underneath the bridges as we work down towards the stream elevation, and we’re on schedule to be completed with this project by the end of 2026, early 2027.”

But this great news will come with a lot of overnight pain for drivers the rest of this week.

To move the barriers and re-stripe the freeway, WSDOT will close up to three lanes in the westbound direction from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly, through Thursday. You should also expect ramp closures during these overnight hours as well.

This Sunset Creek Fish Passage project is one of the most ambitious in the state so far. Contractors are digging down more than 70 feet to restore access to the creek.

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

Northbound I-5 is going to be a mess in the middle of the prime summer driving season because the Ship Canal Bridge is getting . Approximately 20% of the bridge deck will be repaired and resurfaced over the summer, work that is long overdue.

“It’s work that needs to be done,” Tom Pearce, communications consultant with WSDOT, said. “The Ship Canal Bridge is 60 years old. We’ve been out to do repairs more than 200 times in the last five years on the bridge, both northbound and southbound, and we need to get in there and do more work so that we can preserve the bridge.”

Construction starts June 20

On the weekend of June 20, the northbound Ship Canal Bridge will be reduced to just two lanes, but that’s just the appetizer.

All northbound lanes will be closed across the bridge the weekend of July 18, and that will be followed by four straight weeks of construction, where only two lanes of the bridge will be open. A final full-weekend closure is set for the weekend of Aug. 15.

“This is going to be a really challenging project for us and for the public,” Pearce said. “We recognize that for people who are traveling. This is going to create some headaches.”

Expect this to have a regional impact.

“This is really going to affect everybody who travels, usually along I-5, because whenever you reduce lanes, all those people still have to go somewhere,” Pearce said.

The northbound express lanes will be open the entire time of these closures, which will impact the southbound morning commute as well.

The plan had been to do this work over several months, but that was scrapped by budget issues earlier this year. This smaller-scale work was set up to try and get ahead of the work that’s coming next year.

“Doing the work this year gives us a head start so that we can be sure to have things wrapped up in time to open the whole bridge during the World Cup,” Pearce said.

WSDOT hasn’t figured out how and when it will do the southbound repair work on the Ship Canal Bridge. That is expected later this year, but it’s not expected to be a week-long closure at this point.

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

There have been more than 100 crashes and several deaths on the corridor. But the worst problem has nothing to do with the trains.

Light rail trains whiz down MLK with cars, pedestrians, and bikes stopped just feet away. There are 27 at-grade crossings on the corridor, all potential places for tragedy. I met with Sound Transit’s David Jackson at MLK and South Dawson Street, one of the more dangerous intersections on the alignment. The biggest problem with cars and trains sharing the same road?

“Our biggest incident we have at MLK with the trains running down the track is illegal left turns,” Jackson said.

Did you know 63% of all crashes between trains and cars are caused by drivers making illegal left turns, even though there are large signs posted that left turns are not allowed. And it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that the car is going to lose every time.

“Trains are bigger and faster than many people expect,” Jackson said. “They cannot stop on a dime, like a Toyota. It takes a while for them to stop. If you think you’re going to beat the train, you might not.”

Sound Transit adding new striping on MLK Way

Sound Transit is trying to get the public’s attention at with new striping just before the tracks.

Sound Transit is working to prevent crashes on MLK Way. (Photo: Chris Sullivan, ����Xվ Newsradio)

“We’ve also just added these dynamic pavement markings, which are designed to keep people out of the dynamic envelope of the train,” Jackson said. “If you’re on those crisscross paintings, you are in a dangerous spot.”

I’m not sure if this paint job will work where the giant red and white signs have not, but it’s one more way .

“That’s all we’re designing to do here,” Jackson said. “We’re designed to make it easy to pay attention, to make doing the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult.”

Sound Transit is painting the intersections—two near the Columbia City Station and two near the Rainier Beach Station—over the next few weeks.

It’s just one more tool that Sound Transit is trying out to make the MLK Way corridor better. It is even considering pedestrian gates to prevent people from crossing the tracks at these intersections.

“I think we’ve gotten better,” Jackson said. “People are aware of the issue. We’re doing more awareness campaigns so that people understand what the dangers are and why it’s important they follow the rules of the road here, and also the rules for pedestrians.”

There have been 25 train versus pedestrian or bicyclist crashes on the corridor since it opened 16 years ago.

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

Boots on the ground weren’t cutting it anymore for global construction and development firm , especially when it had a seven-mile-long construction zone at I-405 and State Route 522 (SR 522) in Bothell/Woodinville.

Skanska’s project superintendent, Scott Turner, told me that a traditional security guard for a project this big didn’t make sense.

“We have found that that is not very helpful these days,” he said. “Usually our security guard is asleep, or doesn’t show up, or isn’t actually monitoring the site, as they’re being paid to do.”

Utilizing AI to combat thieves

Construction sites and companies have become prime targets for thieves and vandals. They can slip into job sites unnoticed and make off with just about anything.

“We’ve had trucks show up missing,” Turner said. “They will also break into our conex boxes and steal whatever tools they can carry.”

Wiring. Supplies. Vandalism. Turner said the company has looked for other ways to monitor their site and deter crime.

That’s when he found Sam Joseph, the co-founder and CEO of , a remote security firm in Silicon Valley, who uses AI to augment or replace traditional guards. Hakimo sets up the cameras, and AI watches for anomalies.

“Cameras are like eyes, and then AI is like a brain for those eyes,” Joseph said. “AI now enables cameras to understand what’s happening in front of them.”

Hakimo’s cameras can detect someone in the yard or climbing a fence, and the AI will respond. It can give a recorded voice to that intruder to scare them away. It can send an alert to the company or a monitoring facility for more action.

“The AI detects that and then escalates it to a real human operator, who can then call Scott or someone on site, or if it’s something really serious, call law enforcement directly,” Joseph said.

AI security covers the vital details

AI can be faster and more efficient than security guards.

“That’s why we call our offering remote guarding,” Joseph said. “It’s providing what a guard can provide, but remotely at a fraction of the cost.”

For Turner and Skanska, the 15-camera system being used at this eastside project is working so far.

“It has seemed to work,” he said. “We haven’t caught anybody because I don’t think there’s been anybody to catch. The cameras themselves are quite a good deterrent.”

Just a reminder of what Skanska and the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) are doing at this location, it is to add a second express toll lane from where it ends at SR 522 to Canyon Park at State Route 527 (SR 527). There are new ramps and new access to support bus rapid transit.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2028.

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

You won’t be able to get to Mowich Lake and the other fun spots south of the Carbon River Canyon until at least 2031. That’s the estimate from the Washington Department of Transportation’s Cara Mitchell.

“It’s looking like a six-year process with the environmental permitting, tearing down the existing bridge, and getting the design in place and rebuilding,” Mitchell said. “It’s a long time frame. It’s not an easy task.”

That’s why WSDOT has accelerated the process, just a month after the 103-year-old bridge was closed due to . The agency is preparing to launch an and host two public forums to discuss next steps. WSDOT has since presented three basic options for the public to consider.

Rainier hiking closure stalls outdoor access

“There’s a no-build option, which is a permanent road closure. There’s a bridge replacement in the same vicinity, and then rerouting State Route 165 on a new alignment to either the east or the west of the canyon,” Mitchell said.

The state is relying on this public feedback, especially from the local community, to guide the ultimate decision.

“We know that this is this has been a challenge for the communities,” Mitchell said.  “It’s a challenge for anybody who has enjoyed the wilderness back there. And we’re working as fast as we can to get the planning study up and running.”

WSDOT hopes to have the initial work completed quickly. However, even with $ 9 billion in new taxes just passed by the legislature and the governor, there is no money earmarked for this project.

“We don’t have funding to rebuild the bridge, to replace the bridge, to repair the bridge, or to even take it down at this point,” Mitchell said.

WSDOT blames this closure on the legislature’s long history of deferring maintenance on this bridge, citing its spending priorities. There is a nine-mile, one-lane emergency detour into the area south of the bridge, but it is only for locals.

The lane closures should start around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning on southbound I-5 through the Maytown area, which is south of Tumwater and north of Centralia.

“You could see up to seven-mile delays,” WSDOT’s Doug Adamson said. “If you’re heading down to Centralia or if you’re heading down to Vancouver, plan on a lot of extra time.”

Two lanes of southbound I-5 will be closed until about noon for surface repairs and pothole filling.

I-5 lane closures could cause major delays

“Where the potholes are lined up in just a place where we need double lane closures, meaning I-5 will be down to a single lane for over a two-mile section,” Adamson said.

The closure will last until 12 p.m. Tuesday.

“It’s one of those things where we have to get a lot of work done in a short period of time,” Adamson said. “The Pacific Northwest gives us a super short window to do a lot of work. If we could do work like this in December, we would, but the weather just isn’t conducive for that.”

This work could get pushed by a day or two if the weather is bad. It is weather-dependent. Similar lane closures are expected a little closer to the Lewis County line Monday and Tuesday of next week.

The contractors are trying to get this done before school lets out and summer driving begins.

“Nobody wants congestion. Nobody wants delays, but remember, we are working to keep the highway in good working order,” Adamson said.

The northbound lanes of I-5 need similar pothole and surface repairs, but that work will be done at night.

A listener asked me about that exact situation last week, and I decided to find out the answer.

Tommy hit me up on the 97.3 ����Xվ FM text line last week and sent me this picture from the Scatter Creek rest area on I-5, north of Grand Mound. The pictures show about a dozen people, most in reflective WSDOT vests, watching one person working in a grassy area.

WSDOT Construction Training (Photo: courtesy of Chris Sullivan)

Tommy asked me what I could find out about what was happening. He was concerned that so many public employees appeared to be standing around when they could have been working.

Why WSDOT workers were just standing around

My initial thought was that this was a training session, but I reached out to WSDOT for confirmation.

WSDOT was testing out a new multi-functional lawn mower that also sweeps and plows bike lanes. It was also testing a remote-controlled mower. Any members of the WSDOT team who might end up using the equipment were invited. WSDOT wanted to get feedback from its workers on the equipment before deciding whether to buy it. So, this was a training session.

And I think this is a perfect example of how I want Chokepoints to work. I’ll take any question and find out the answer if I can. It can be something really simple like this, or something major.

Just reach out. There are no silly questions.

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