Rechannelization on 68th Avenue from 175th Street to 181st Street Coming Soon This June, rechannelization work will begin on 68th Avenue north of 175th Street to address safety and operational issues with how traffic moves between downtown and Bothell Way.
Northbound Traffic: Heading north on 68th Avenue from 175th Street towards Bothell Way, the rightmost lane will be changed to buses-and-right-turns only. The second-to-the-right lane will remain a through-lane, and the leftmost two lanes will remain left-turn lanes. Continuing north of the Bothell Way intersection heading towards 181st Street, the rightmost lane will receive only buses and will be dedicated to buses-and-right-turns only. The second lane will receive all vehicles and carry through-moving traffic through the 181st Street intersection. A new left-turn pocket will carry left-turn traffic through the 181st Street intersection. North of 181st Street the lanes will retain the same configuration, but will be re-aligned to provide several addition parking spaces on the curb in front of City Hall.
Southbound Traffic: Heading south on 68th Avenue from 181st Street, the receiving lanes for southbound traffic at the intersection will be reduced to a single receiving lane. Continuing south to Bothell Way, the lane will split into the existing configuration with the rightmost lane for right-turns and through-movements, the second lane will remain a through-lane, and the leftmost lane will remain a left-turn lane. From Bothell Way south to 175th Street, 68th Avenue will remain unchanged from its current configuration.
The new channelization has many benefits, including reducing conflicts, improving transit speed, increasing downtown parking, and reducing crossing distances for pedestrians. See a visual diagram of the changes here.
|