It's been eight years because I first began discussing a fix to the everyday chokepoint on Interstate 5 in between Everett and Marysville. Work is set to start on a significant improvement job next week.

North-end drivers understand exactly what I'm speaking about, that everyday backup from the Boeing Freeway to Marysville. However it's not just a weekday commuting thing. It can happen on weekends or for no evident factor.

And it's a function of the present highway style. You have on and off-ramps to downtown Everett. You have on and off-ramps from Highway 2, and you have the exit to Marine View Drive. All within about a mile of each other.

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All that weaving and lane altering simply bogs down the highway, and then you have all the lane changing in Marysville.

" It's dangerous too because you're going 60 miles an hour and, suddenly, the traffic stops," the Washington Department of Transportation‘‘ s Kurt Batdorf stated. "It's actually been a trouble area for a long time."

Work is beginning next week to add a northbound HOV lane between Marine View Drive and just south of Marysville.

" The issue exists are simply too many individuals, a lot of drivers, too many vehicles using the readily available lanes," Batdorf said. "We think that his HOV lane will assist get that traffic moving through the area more efficiently."

The task also includes a new I-5 off-ramp to State Route 529, giving chauffeurs another option to enter into Marysville.

Why is that crucial? The main Marysville exit to 4th Street is routinely supported by freight trains.

" The crossing on 4th Street prior to State Avenue returns up a number of times a day," Batdorf stated. "This provides you a chance to get into Marysville without having to go across the railway tracks."

There will also be a brand-new on-ramp from southbound SR 529 onto I-5.

Batdorf said engineers are squeezing the new HOV lane into the present freeway footprint. To do that, they have to repave the northbound shoulder and move the lanes.

The new lanes in the location will also be a foot thinner than they are currently, from 12 feet to 11 feet. They are staying within the present footprint because broadening the road would have required expanding several bridges, which would have cost a lot more cash.

And this will only include a northbound HOV lane. I asked Batdorf why refrain from doing the same southbound.

" Even though there is more traffic on the southbound lanes, there isn't the amount of combining that goes on," Batdorf stated.

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There will be a lane shift on southbound I-5 through the building zone, however that's just to create a work zone in the middle of the highway.

Drivers need to expect nighttime work, weekend work, and lane closures throughout this project, which is set to take 2 building and construction seasons. That means the fall of 2024 is when this should wrap up.

This project needs to really improve the conditions in between Everett and Marysville, but I'm uncertain simply how much it's going to help the congestion in downtown Everett. There is just so much combining there during peak time, I am anticipating those daily backups to continue.

Check out more of Chris' Chokepoints.

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