This story was originally posted to MyNorthwest.com
Shaking and bouncing can be fun, if you’re dancing. It’s never fun when you’re driving. A quick drive on the Mukilteo Speedway and you’ll understand why it needs to be repaved.
Work just got started to fix all the ruts, potholes, and other issues with the pavement on SR 525, otherwise known as the Mukilteo Speedway. I drove on it Friday, and it is in bad shape. Not Ship Canal Bridge bad, but close.
“The last time somebody was in there paving that stretch of road was 2004,” the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Marcus Humberg said. “We expect typically to have about a 15-year wear life for our paving projects, and we’re a little bit past that 15-year mark. Actually, we’re several years past it.”
2-phase project to repave sections from Lynnwood to Mukilteo
There are two phases to this work. The first phase, which is underway now, will re-pave about two miles of the road from the I-5 interchange in Lynnwood to about SR 99. The second will re-pave the drive from Harbor Point Boulevard to 2nd Street in Mukilteo.
“We will have several closures, including full directional closures of SR 525, and that’s basically to go in there, grind out all of that old, worn-out pavement and provide you with a new, much smoother driving surface,” Humberg said.
The full schedule hasn’t been finalized, but you should be prepared for potential delays on the corridor.
“The total sequence hasn’t really been laid out fully yet,” Humberg said. “There are eight ramps that they’re working on and the full section between I-405 and SR 99, and that also includes some of the ramps that transition between I-5 and I-405.”
A lot of the work will be done at night between Sundays and Thursdays. Work will be scaled back or off during the weekends. That’s to help with the ferry traffic.
The first two miles of paving should be finished by this fall. The second phase will begin later this year.
“This portion of SR 525 was last paved in 2000,” WSDOT’s Eric Zackula said. “The roadway typically lasts 15 years, so it’s due.”
Most of the work at the ferry dock will be done at night.
“We’re going to have single, alternating lanes with flaggers, and it’s going to be night work just to minimize disruptions to the ferry operations,” Zackula said.
New sidewalks, flashing beacons part of paving project upgrades
The north end paving project comes with some innovations from the Complete Streets Initiative. It takes a look at all the users in the corridor, not just the cars.
“Rapid flashing beacons, we have three of those,” Zackula said about the new pedestrian improvements. A new sidewalk will also be installed. If you haven’t driven that part of SR 525, there are a bunch of new apartments going in, and there are very few places to cross the road.
The second phase of work should be done next year.
WSDOT is not paving the section between SR 99 and Harbor Pointe Boulevard.
Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.
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