Hwy 2 Repaving: The Sequel Begins June 28th

Hwy 2 Repaving: The Sequel

Last summer, low temps and intermittent rain kept the Highway 2 Trestle Preservation Project from being completed, leaving commuters to enjoy the sound
of alternating pavement noise inside their vehicles along with the sound of the radio for the better part of a year.

To recap: headed eastbound, potholed and rutted pavement was fixed, about one mile from SR 204 to Bickford to Bickford Avenue was repaved. Westbound, 2.5
miles from Bickford Avenue to nearly the Snohomish River were repaved. Heading West, the concrete is older than the EB lanes, so much more of it had
to be repaved.

From WSDOT: “Cold, wet weather postponed the final two weekends of work, pushing those westbound closures to this year. Now the weather
is warm and dry enough for the sequel, er, final closures of the westbound US 2 Hewitt Avenue trestle between SR 9 and Interstate 5.”

So far, there has already been one postponement, as construction was originally slotted to begin June 21^st. Back up closure weekends include
July 12-15, 19-22 or August 2-5.

Besides standard commuter volume during Mon-Fri, the trestle is too narrow to accommodate machinery and workers while allowing for a single open lane,
and the seven hours normally allotted for standard overnight closures just doesn’t allow enough time for prep work on the site. Hence the weekend closures.

So, what will happen to you as a driver?

“An average of 2,600 drivers use westbound US 2 every hour on the weekends. State routes 9, 96 and 528 will be the primary detours again this year. These
roads are already close to capacity and absorbing displaced US 2 drivers will create lengthy backups.”

The WSDOT website has helpful suggestions to get around during the weekend closures. See below for their suggestions and links for information:

This video from the September 2018 closure shows the lengthy backups on the detour routes. So
please, do one thing differently to help us keep traffic moving so no one misses their rendezvous with Star Command:

– Carpool

– Take transit

– Move discretionary travel to a non-construction weekend

– Travel before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m.

– Share this information with friends and family

– Be prepared. Check our resources before you get behind the wheel.

– Our website will have closure and lane reduction updates

– Get weekly email updates on Snohomish County projects

– Our Twitter account will have info about traffic

– Download our mobile app for traffic maps and other news and updates

Image courtesy of WSDOT Press Release