By Tom Pearce
A busy couple years of work on State Route 529 in the Marysville-Everett area kicks into high gear this week as we reduce both directions of the highway to one lane between Ebey Slough and Interstate 5. We need to do this for our project to complete the SR 529/I-5 interchange. By fall 2024, we will add a northbound I-5 off-ramp to SR 529 and an SR 529 on-ramp to southbound I-5.
That’s going to take a lot of work, which will start with building a roundabout near the junction of northbound and southbound SR 529 near Ebey Slough. To create room for that roundabout, from 10 p.m. Thursday, April 27, to 4:30 a.m. Friday, April 28, we are planning to close both directions of SR 529 between Ebey Slough and I-5 to restripe the road and shift southbound traffic. This work is weather-dependent.
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| Southbound SR 529 will shift so crews can build a roundabout in the triangle between the current northbound and southbound lanes. |
Once this shift is in place, we’ll do most of the work outside of the road. We still may have some lane closures or shifts, but most work won’t affect traffic.
As we build this roundabout, we’ll also start work on the ramps connecting I-5 and SR 529. The roundabout will create a junction that slows traffic and will provide an opportunity for people exiting northbound I-5 to turn onto southbound SR 529.
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| The new ramps will complete the SR 529/I-5 interchange. |
When the new ramps open, they will make it easier for people to get into and out of Marysville. Currently people need to use the interchange at SR 528/Fourth Street and I-5, but a rail crossing about 1,000 feet west of the freeway often stops traffic on Fourth, creating backups that can reach onto I-5. When this project is complete, people still will be able to use this route, but they’ll have an alternative as well.
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| The new ramps connecting I-5 and SR 529 will provide an alternative for people using the freeway to avoid the rail crossing on Fourth Street. |
Two more projects on the way
That’s just the first work people will see between Everett and Marysville. In early May we will put out a project for bids to repair and paint the northbound SR 529 Snohomish River Bridge and complete repairs on both of the SR 529 Steamboat Slough bridges.
This fall, we’ll seeks bids for a third project on SR 529, to repaint the southbound Steamboat Slough Bridge. Each of these projects is scheduled to finish in 2024.
We’ll share plenty more information about these projects as we get closer to the actual work.
Three projects in the same area?
While we’re going to have three big projects going at once on SR 529, we will tell you about them as if they were one. We understand most people don’t care that it’s three separate contracts; you just want to know what’s open and what’s not.
We do separate contracts in the same area sometimes because the work is different enough that it make sense. Repairing a steel bridge is different from building freeway ramps or just painting a steel bridge. By dividing up this work, we may attract a painting crew that doesn’t want to do heavy duty steel work, for example.
It’s all part of our effort to complete vital preservation work and highway improvements at the best value for the people of Washington. Thanks for your patience as we keep people moving.
Speaking for the residents on or near East Marineview Drive, is there going to be a revaluation of the truck route for Marineview Drive once there is a viable alternative to reach i-5 from the industrial areas of North Everett? There is a non-stop stream of semi-trucks using compression brakes (illegal) through residential areas and nothing is being done about it.
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