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.

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.

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.

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.

______________________________________

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

by Susan Gilmore

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.

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

For the second workday in a row, traffic volumes remained lighter than normal with minimal backups during the afternoon commute through the northbound I-5 construction zone. However, traffic volumes on I-5 and two key alternate routes increased over Monday's afternoon and early evening commute.

Compared to Monday, afternoon and evening volumes increased 10 percent on I-5 at Boeing Access Road, seven percent on SR 99 at the First Avenue S. Bridge and four percent on I-405 in north Renton.

"We need drivers to stay the course, or we'll be in for a very slow commute," said Mark Leth, traffic engineer for the state Department of Transportation (DOT), which is repairing and resurfacing a mile of the northbound freeway at South Spokane Street.

It resembles a bus farebox, mounted on a metal stand and carried around by a wheeled handtruck, said Josh Gillanders, a water taxi boat captain.

Today, 401 people rode the water taxi downtown by 9 a.m., down from 587 trips on Monday. One theory is that many transit users stayed on buses, rather than transfer to the boat at Seacrest Marina, said Linda Thielke, spokeswoman for King County Metro Transit.

Farther south, Metro's express buses into Seattle attracted 300 to 400 more riders than the normal 7,300 or so, similar to Monday. Buses were delayed about six minutes because they detoured from I-5 onto other streets, Thielke said.

The intersection became congested enough that the city increased the length of its green signals northbound, said SDOT spokesman Gregg Hirakawa.

"This project still has many more days to go. People should not be complacent, thinking traffic is not a problem," he said. If everyone jumps back into a car, backups will occur, he said.

Two lanes of Interstate 5 remain closed as contractors resurface the northbound pavement near Spokane Street. A third lane could close as early as Thursday, if the construction continues to run ahead of schedule, state transportation officials have said.

So far, thousands of people have prevented gridlock by staying home from work, using transit, or taking different routes.

by Mike Lindblom

Spurred by warnings of gridlock as far south as Tacoma, commuters by the thousands packed commuter trains or drove alternate routes Monday.

Though one reader, Carrie from Seattle, had this to say:

Despite the ease of this morning's commute, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. My fear is that people will say to themselves, "All of these warnings about construction-related traffic were much ado about nothing" and then resume their normal driving patterns. Then we'll get the clogged roads. Maybe it will happen tomorrow, maybe it won't happen until next week, but I'm sure it's coming...

Traffic-monitoring crews observed far fewer cars on highways and city streets than is typical for a Mariners game, Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meghan Soptich said.

"From what I've heard it's been really smooth," she said.

The Mariners had an advisory about the traffic on their Web site and the Department of Transportation warned people as well, Soptich said.

"Looks like it was far lighter than usual for a Mariners game," she said. "People have been listening."

By Brian Alexander

The Monday morning commute went smoothly on northbound I-5 and alternate routes. WSDOT engineers estimate approximately 3,300 vehicles per hour on northbound I-5 south of downtown Seattle during the morning commute, which is about half of average Monday morning traffic volumes.

Calling at single ladies! I-5 construction got you down? Dreading the early morning wake up to catch the Sounder? It might be worth your while to get your beauty rest and spend a few extra minutes primping in the wee hours of the morning...riding the wave this a.m. were young, handsome and potentially single men by the car ful! Construction workers, and businessmen and bicyclists...oh my!