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[brownpelican]

Washington's DOT is adding HOV lanes on I-5 between M Street and Portland Avenue. Starting in September, crews will close, tear down and rebuild the Pacific Avenue overpass. It will reopen Aug. 2015 as one lane. Full reopening is set for October 2015.

The McKinley Way overpass will close in August 2015 and reopen in the winter of 2017.

Pacific Ave. detour:


McKinley Way detour:


When the bridges are done, the HOV lanes won't open until two other projects to build HOV lanes across the Puyallup River are done. Bids for those go out this fall.

http://www.king5.com/news/cities/tacoma/I-5-Tacoma-HOV-project-267054791.html

[KEK Inc.]

About time.  Next Up:  JBLM needs HOV badly.

[Bruce]

About time.  Next Up:  JBLM needs HOV badly.

After that: HOV to Marysville.

[KEK Inc.]

Oh and a better 405 between Renton and Lynwood

[jakeroot]

After that, I-7 Seattle bypass and then a freeway from Puyallup to Graham.

 

[KEK Inc.]

And later tonight, the Reginald H. Thompson Freeway. 

[Bruce]

And tomorrow, the Vashon Island Suspension Bridge.

[KEK Inc.]

Later this week, the Whidbey Island Freeway & connector to Kitsap County!

[Kacie Jane]

Oh and a better 405 between Renton and Lynwood

As amusing as the rest of the posts are, this one's genuinely in progress. Bellevue to Bothell is under construction now, with the rest in planning stages. (The main point of the project is HOT lame that will connect directly to the 167 ones.)

[jakeroot]

Oh and a better 405 between Renton and Lynwood

As amusing as the rest of the posts are, this one's genuinely in progress. Bellevue to Bothell is under construction now, with the rest in planning stages. (The main point of the project is HOT lame that will connect directly to the 167 ones.)

Do you think WSDOT will convert 405's HOV's completely to HOT? So you could have (potentially) HOT lanes all the way from Puyallup to Lynnwood?

[Bruce]

Do you think WSDOT will convert 405's HOV's completely to HOT? So you could have (potentially) HOT lanes all the way from Puyallup to Lynnwood?

That's the plan, according to WSDOT. SR 522 to SR 167 might get 2 HOT lanes, as well.

[jakeroot]

Do you think WSDOT will convert 405's HOV's completely to HOT? So you could have (potentially) HOT lanes all the way from Puyallup to Lynnwood?

That's the plan, according to WSDOT. SR 522 to SR 167 might get 2 HOT lanes, as well.

The plan you linked to shows the proposal as being two ETLs between Renton and Bothell. Without a doubt, two ETLs would be a first for Washington. We have the express lanes but they aren't toll roads. I'm all for as many ETLs as Washingtonians are willing to fund.



EDIT: Here's Washington's plan for HOT lanes:

[Alps]

I'd just as soon see an extra general lane, and keep one lane as ETL. Building a second ETL is ridiculous, based on usage in other places. Provide SOME relief for people; the 405 is one of the worst bottlenecks in Seattle!

[jakeroot]

I'd just as soon see an extra general lane, and keep one lane as ETL. Building a second ETL is ridiculous, based on usage in other places. Provide SOME relief for people; the 405 is one of the worst bottlenecks in Seattle!

From WSDOT's HOV Lane Page:

What problems is the freeway HOV system experiencing?

The freeway HOV system is very well utilized during the seven hours per weekday that are considered peak commuting periods: 6-9 am and 3-7 pm. These typical peak hours often spread into the early morning, mid-day, and evening hours, when HOV volumes can be high as well. In many locations there is high demand for HOV lanes in both directions, not just the “main direction” of travel during each peak period.

The HOV lanes on I-5, I-405, and westbound SR 520 are so well utilized that they are usually congested during the peak periods and no longer meet our established performance standard of 45 mph. This makes it difficult for express buses to stick to their schedules, impedes speed and travel time reliability for vanpoolers and carpoolers, and reduces the incentive for all users to share rides. WSDOT is working to address both over- and under-use of freeway HOV lanes through conversion of HOV lanes to HOT lanes.

They've considered extra lanes but most studies suggest that it would not increase traffic flow.

[Kacie Jane]

I'd just as soon see an extra general lane, and keep one lane as ETL. Building a second ETL is ridiculous, based on usage in other places. Provide SOME relief for people; the 405 is one of the worst bottlenecks in Seattle!

Sorry for the late reply and bump.  I always forget to check the Regional boards.

I definitely agree with you to an extent. I'm okay with the second HOT lane between Bellevue and Bothell.  Adding another GP lane there might get a lane (maybe two?) on the left to be a little more free-flowing, but you'd still have stop and go traffic on the right with all the weaving.  Also, if you get the left GP lane *too* free-flowing, HOV traffic will use it for passing, which can be dangerous.

But a 2 HOT/2 GP setup between Renton and Bellevue is frickin ridiculous.  I haven't figured out why, but during the morning rush, SB 405 likes to back up around exits 6 and 7, but the HOV lane is still completely free-flowing.  Not the case for the north half.  Definitely need a third GP lane on the southern half long before a second HOT lane.

I'm also curious if there are any related plans regarding bus stops.  When they rebuilt 520 between the bridge and 405, the bus stops moved from the outside to the median.  Are there any plans to do the same here?  Sound Transit 560 (from Seatac Airport to Bellevue) right now gets off 405 at Exit 2 to serve Renton, gets back on at Exit 5, then has to serve outside bus stops at Exits 7 and 9, then gets off , so it can't really use the HOV lanes anyway.  (The other two Sound Transit routes both bypass the freeway stops -- the 567 also bypasses Renton -- so they could, but all the Metro commuter routes serve the stops at Exits 7 and 9.)  If they're not going to build new median bus stops (and i can't imagine there would be room to), that's another good reason to build another general purpose lane instead of a HOT lane, since transit can't use it anyway.

[I94RoadRunner]

I'd just as soon see an extra general lane, and keep one lane as ETL. Building a second ETL is ridiculous, based on usage in other places. Provide SOME relief for people; the 405 is one of the worst bottlenecks in Seattle!

Sorry for the late reply and bump.  I always forget to check the Regional boards.

I definitely agree with you to an extent. I'm okay with the second HOT lane between Bellevue and Bothell.  Adding another GP lane there might get a lane (maybe two?) on the left to be a little more free-flowing, but you'd still have stop and go traffic on the right with all the weaving.  Also, if you get the left GP lane *too* free-flowing, HOV traffic will use it for passing, which can be dangerous.

But a 2 HOT/2 GP setup between Renton and Bellevue is frickin ridiculous.  I haven't figured out why, but during the morning rush, SB 405 likes to back up around exits 6 and 7, but the HOV lane is still completely free-flowing.  Not the case for the north half.  Definitely need a third GP lane on the southern half long before a second HOT lane.

I'm also curious if there are any related plans regarding bus stops.  When they rebuilt 520 between the bridge and 405, the bus stops moved from the outside to the median.  Are there any plans to do the same here?  Sound Transit 560 (from Seatac Airport to Bellevue) right now gets off 405 at Exit 2 to serve Renton, gets back on at Exit 5, then has to serve outside bus stops at Exits 7 and 9, then gets off , so it can't really use the HOV lanes anyway.  (The other two Sound Transit routes both bypass the freeway stops -- the 567 also bypasses Renton -- so they could, but all the Metro commuter routes serve the stops at Exits 7 and 9.)  If they're not going to build new median bus stops (and i can't imagine there would be room to), that's another good reason to build another general purpose lane instead of a HOT lane, since transit can't use it anyway.

What is frustrating about the Seattle area roads is that once a major road project gets built, it is already obsolete! I lived there 23 years and along with high cost for housing prices couldn't take it anymore!

[Bruce]

What is frustrating about the Seattle area roads is that once a major road project gets built, it is already obsolete!

The Seattle process delays every public works projects by decades, thus ensuring that everything (both good and bad) gets canceled or takes massive compromises. At least it prevented the R.H. Thomson and the Mercer Street Freeway...

[I94RoadRunner]

What is frustrating about the Seattle area roads is that once a major road project gets built, it is already obsolete!

The Seattle process delays every public works projects by decades, thus ensuring that everything (both good and bad) gets canceled or takes massive compromises. At least it prevented the R.H. Thomson and the Mercer Street Freeway...

I never really cared about the R.H. Thompson Parkway, however that Mercer St freeway could have been a useful connector had it been built correctly.

It would have been nice to see the WA 522 freeway get finished into Seattle before that proposal died. It was a much needed alternate route that now will never happen.

[Plutonic Panda]

There are trying to find ways to expedite this project which has been ongoing for awhile:

Construction crews building the I-5 Portland Avenue to Port of Tacoma Road southbound HOV project have found a way to speed up their construction schedule. It means another change is coming for travelers exiting to Tacoma's city center.

Crews from Guy F. Atkinson Construction began moving the location for southbound I-5 exit 133 north to the vicinity of the Port of Tacoma Road overpass. Travelers headed to I-705 and SR 7 will use the same exit and temporary collector/distributor lane as travelers exiting to Portland Avenue and Bay Street.

- https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/crews-find-way-to-speed-up-construction-on-i-5-project/52062

[OCGuy81]

I don't think I've ever been through Tacoma where there hasn't been some kind of construction on the 5....

[jakeroot]

The shared exit situation has already come and gone. I don't know why they reported on it so late. Here's a video I recorded: