EVERETT — Exit and entrance ramps along Highway 526 in south Everett will be closed overnight tonight, Wednesday and Thursday.
State transportation crews plan to test traffic lights, erect road signs and install crash cushions. Crash cushions are water- or sand-filled drums or other objects that soften the blow if vehicles skid into a median.
Ramps at Airport Road, Seaway Boulevard and the Boeing exit will all be closed between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. at least once over the next three days, said Amir Ahmadi, a project engineer with the state Department of Transportation.
“We don’t expect traffic problems because we’ve closed these ramps before and haven’t had trouble,” Ahmadi said.
The area has plenty of options for drivers to detour around the closed ramps, he said. Most of the work will be done at night and will wrap up before Boeing workers begin to arrive in the area in the morning.
New overhead signs will be installed in all of the areas, he said. The ramps must be closed during the installation because there is very little space on either side of the road for work crews.
New traffic lights have already been installed at the bottom of the Airport Road offramp and at the Boeing exit, he said. The ramps are being closed overnight this week so traffic engineers can test the lights and ensure they work properly.
Crash cushions will be placed in the median of Highway 526 near the Boeing exit. That ramp will be closed to make sure no one crashes into them during the installation, Ahmadi said.
The onramps and offramps between Airport Road and Highway 526 and the onramp from Seaway Boulevard to westbound Highway 526 will be closed from 7 p.m. tonight to 5 a.m. Wednesday.
The offramp from westbound Highway 526 to Airport Road and the onramp from Seaway Boulevard to westbound Highway 526 will be closed from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.
The Boeing exit to eastbound Highway 526 will be closed from 7 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.
Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422, kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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