 A group of Skagit Valley College fish ecology students recently visited our I-5 Secret Creek Fish Passage project work site.
It’s easy to think of us as one of the state’s largest developers – we do design, build and maintain highways and bridges that help keep people and commerce moving, after all. But there’s also a large environmental component to our work. Look no further than our fish passage program to see that we’re a leading agency for habitat restoration and design.
We recently got a chance to show off this side of our work to a group of about a dozen Skagit Valley College students in a fish ecology class. The students met with a group of our engineers and environmental specialists to discuss our fish passage program. They spent about 40 minutes in our office talking about what makes a barrier to fish migration and the work that we are doing to remove these barriers and restore habitat. We also discussed the details of a 2013 federal court injunction requiring the state to correct barrier culverts to salmon and steelhead within the injunction area in western Washington.
Then we took them out into the field to visit the location of our I-5 Secret Creek Fish Passage project, where contractor crews are actively replacing three barriers with fish passable culverts near Stanwood. We hope the students enjoyed their visit as much as we did, and maybe – just maybe – one or more of these future ecology specialists will consider joining our team to help us continue this important work.
On Feb. 20, we started removing large ramps that once carried northbound Interstate 405 traffic to State Route 522. Taking down these structures opens the center of the interchange so crews can widen I-405 and continue construction on the I-405/Brickyard to SR 527 Improvement Project.
This work will happen over a sequence of weekend closures stretching into mid-March. While the ramp removal work can happen in most weather conditions, certain steps, such as restriping temporary detours, require dry pavement. We will confirm each closure as schedules are finalized.
Closure schedule
- Feb. 27-March 2: All lanes of eastbound and westbound SR 522 at the I-405 Interchange will close from 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, to 4 a.m. Monday, March 2, to remove the remaining portion of the ramp over SR 522. Crews will start closing lanes as early as 9 p.m.
- As early as March 6-9: All lanes of northbound and southbound I-405 in Bothell will close from Friday night, March 6, to Monday morning, March 9, to remove portions of the ramps over mainline I-405. Times for the closure will be released when the schedule is finalized.
- As early as March 13-16: All lanes of northbound and southbound I-405 in Bothell will close Friday night, March 13, to Monday morning, March 16, to remove the remaining portion of ramps over mainline I-405. Times for the closure will be released when the schedule is finalized.
Expect delays and congestion and follow signed detours or use alternate routes during the closures.
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 There are several major closures for the I-5 interchange at Northeast 145th Street/SR 523 and Fifth Avenue Northeast construction of Shoreline’s 145th Street Corridor and I-5 Interchange projects.
Fifth Avenue Northeast just north of the 145th Street intersection is closed and the entire Northeast 145th Street and Fifth Avenue Northeast intersection will close beginning Thursday, March 19. All closures will reopen Tuesday, March 31.
Currently closed:
- Fifth Avenue Northeast between Northeast 145th Street and the northbound I-5 on-ramp.
- Sixth and Eighth Avenues Northeast for traffic from Northeast 145th Street.
A signed pedestrian path is available on the west side of Fifth Avenue Northeast.
Closures starting Thursday, March 19, at 9 p.m. include:
- The Northeast 145th Street overpass.
- The northbound I-5 off-ramp to Northeast 145th Street.
- Fifth Avenue Northeast between Northeast 145th Street and the northbound I-5 on-ramp.
- Sixth and Eighth Avenues Northeast at Northeast 145th Street.
A signed pedestrian path will be available on the north side of the Northeast 145th Street overpass and the west side of Fifth Avenue Northeast.
New roundabout opens March 31
Once Northeast 145th Street reopens March 31, the new roundabout east of the I-5 overpass will be open in a temporary single-lane configuration. The roundabout will look similar to the roundabout constructed on the west side of I-5 last year.
Later this spring, crews will install signage, landscaping, and do final paving on both 145th Street roundabouts. They will then be restriped to be two-lane roundabouts.
We have bridge inspections next week on I-5 near Arlington over the Stillaguamish River.
Daily from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. beginning Monday, March 2 until 2 p.m. Thursday, March 5, expect lane reductions over both directions of the I-5 Stillaguamish River bridge near Arlington for routine inspections. Bridge crews will take a single lane over the northbound I-5 bridge on Monday and Tuesday, then shift to the southbound I-5 bridge on Wednesday and Thursday.
People should expect to slow down near the work zone and anticipate delays.
Expect guardrail repair on both directions of US 2 between Sultan and Monroe near Fern Bluff Road on Wednesday, March 4. Maintenance crews are expected to take one lane in both directions from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for guardrail repair. This work is weather-dependent and might need to occur daily from Thursday, March 4 until Wednesday, March 11.
Expect one right lane of I-5 to close in both directions over the Snohomish River in Everett from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. Bridge crews will use this lane closure to perform routine inspections on the Snohomish River bridge. People should expect delays.
Della Kostelnik Juarez, WSDOT communications
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