Weather not slowing drivers

Wet weather may be slowing down construction work a bit on northbound Interstate 5 heading into Seattle, but it's not delaying commuters much this morning.

Spokane Street on-ramp reopens for daytime traffic tomorrow morning

Washington DOT says that crews continued to make progress replacing expansion joints over the weekend, but with the start of a new work just hours away, they worry complacent drivers will take to the road.

With only two lanes open to traffic for the duration of the project, they are encouraging drivers to use alternate routes, ride the bus or train, carpool, vanpool, work from home, postpone or alter trips and shift their schedules.

Janica Lockhart, a copy desk resident at the Seattle Times, reports on her Sounder commute this morning:

I left my house in North Auburn at 6:25 a.m. to catch the 6:52 a.m. train at Kent Station to King Street Station. Traffic was heavy through Auburn and Kent on Auburn Way North and Central Avenue, so I made it to the train station five minutes later than usual. I was able to catch the 6:52 a.m. train. Only a few people were left standing in the first car from Kent to King Street Station and it seemed less crowded than yesterday. The train arrived on time and I was able to catch my bus, Metro #70, to the downtown Seattle office and made it to work on time.

Traffic is piling up on Interstate-5 in the construction area south of downtown Seattle. Drivers are encouraged to take less-congested alternative routes such as Airport Way, Highway 99 or First Avenue.

DOT says:

Crews moved traffic onto the east side of northbound I-5 overnight. Drivers will see a very different looking work zone with only two lanes on northbound I-5 open for this morning's commute. This configuration will continue through the end of the project.

With one less lane of traffic, drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes, ride the bus or train, carpool, vanpool, work from home, shift their schedules and plan ahead by using our alternate routes.

Drivers traveling in the far right lane will be diverted onto the collector-distributor roadway, which provides access to off-ramps to I-90, James St. and Madison St. but also reconnects with the I-5 mainline. Drivers using the collector-distributor will be able to stay in two lanes as they rejoin mainline I-5, unlike today's single lane.

UPDATE, 5:00 p.m. -- Transportation crews have reopened all lanes of I-5 after a brush fire broke out next to the freeway near SeaTac.

The ramps at South 200th Street are still closed, but the flames have been put out, according to the Department of Transportation.

The transportation department closed up to two lanes of the freeway while SeaTac fire crews battled the blaze.

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Southbound traffic on Interstate 5 near SeaTac is backed up to Tukwila as emergency crews fight a brush fire on the side of the road.

Two lanes are closed, and Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, says motorists should take alternate routes until the fire is out.

"This thing is kicking up a lot of smoke," Phelps said. "This backup might take a while to clear."

The fire stretches from South 188th Street to South 200th Street, said Virgina Mercado of the SeaTac Fire Department. Firefighters were also blocking Military Road to protect apartments on the corner of South 200th Street.

"It's terrible," said Mercado. "They don't even have visibility."

By Seattle Times staff

Ridership on Sound Transit's trains continues to drop. While 6,719 commuters rode the train on Monday morning, the first work day of the Interstate-5 construction work that closed lanes of I-5, ridership has dropped throughout the week and only 4,815 people rode the train this morning. But that's still higher than the average ridership of 3,371.

by Susan Gilmore

This picture was taken by John Hanna, a structural engineer overseeing the I-5 project. It is of one of the expansion joints that is being repaired:

Hanna had this to say:

We are ahead of schedule and the delays will soon be over and the roadway bridges will be safer than before. Please know that if it wasn't for the hard work performed by the union Ironworkers, this project would not be ahead of schedule. This coming labor day, when the I-5 freeway is open and safe, please take a moment to thank these dedicated tradesmen and women.

Ridership fell this morning on the Sounder commuter trains, as hundreds of people apparently reverted to driving, and some possibly to express buses, to take advantage of the relatively uncrowded highways.

A total 4,956 people rode the five trains to Seattle, or got off in south-end suburbs, this morning. That's 864 fewer than Tuesday, and 1,763 fewer than the record 6,719 riders who filled the morning trains on Monday, the first weekday of the big I-5 project.

Still, the trains are still drawing a bigger crowd than usual; Sound Transit says that on a typical May weekday, 3,371 people took morning Sounder trips on the south-end line.

Transit spokeswoman Linda Robson said the trains will take on renewed importance Thursday morning, when a third lane closes on northbound Interstate 5 near Spokane Street, in the next phase of construction. She said there is plenty of space at four temporary park-and-ride lots that are going virtually unused: in downtown Kent, Sumner High School, the fairgrounds in Puyallup, and a Tacoma Dome surface parking lot.

Increased transit use is helping the region avoid severe gridlock, but greater numbers of commuters continue to bypass I-5 by detouring, canceling unnecessary trips, telecommuting, or taking time off work.

More information at soundtransit.org

The state Department of Transportation and contractor Concrete Barrier said today they are ahead of schedule on the Interstate 5 repair work and expect to finish work on northbound Interstate 5 in Seattle by 5 a.m. Aug. 25" five days ahead of schedule.