Work to close lanes on I-90

Returning soon to Interstate 90 — the chutes.

Washington Department of Transportation crews are once again at work on the I-90 widening project between Argonne and Sullivan, and are scheduled to move westbound traffic over to the eastbound side of the freeway in mid-March.

When the changeover is complete, the westbound on- and off-ramps at Evergreen will be closed.

This is the second year of the $23.9 million construction project, which is scheduled to be complete in early 2006.

But you won’t have to wait that long to drive on all the new lanes. WSDOT expects to open them up on Nov. 1.

Until then, keep that speed down to 50 mph.

It’s for your own good

Graduated teen driver’s licensing is working.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the fatal crash rate for 16-year-olds has been falling along with the number of these teens getting their licenses.

Even though the number of 16-year-olds increased by 18 percent between 1993 and 2003, the number of crashes went down, from 1,084 in 1993 to 938 in 2003.

Middle of the pack

Washington is ranked 19th in the country in terms of smooth highways, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Best on the list is Alabama.

Worst is Massachusetts.

Idaho ranks 11th.

Divvying up the state’s gas tax

Ever wonder what the state’s 28-cent gas tax pays for?

According to the state, of each 28 cents collected:

10.21 cents goes to state highways;

5 cents goes to the special “nickel” projects across the state;

4.42 cents goes to counties;

2.46 cents goes to cities;

1.74 cents goes to transportation arterial projects in urban counties;

1.3 cents is used for the transportation improvement account for economic development and environmental projects in urban counties and cities larger than 5,000 people;

0.75 cents is used to finance bonds for state highway projects;

0.58 cents funds rural arterials;

0.55 cents pays for ferry and ferry terminal construction and upgrades;

0.54 cents funds ferry operations;

0.45 cents is used for county arterial preservation.

Thanks to the Spokane Area Good Roads Association for the tip.

Fair warning

The Spokane Police Department traffic unit will be conducting its emphasis patrol this week at Division Street and Sprague Avenue.

Watch yourself.

They will be looking for red-light runners, stop-sign crawlers and motorists not wearing their seat belts.

Slow going

In the city of Spokane, water crews working at Division Street and Third Avenue will be closing lanes during overnight hours for the next few weeks.

Maple and Ash Street commuters will also face lane restrictions due to water work near the intersections of Everett and Rowan.

Perry Street will be closed starting March 7 between North Foothills Drive and Wellesley Avenue for a sewer project.

Expect detours for about two months.

Riverside Avenue will be closed to traffic between Post and Lincoln Streets Friday evening for about four hours to make way for a crane. Riverside traffic will then be reduced to one lane in each direction on Saturday and Sunday until Sunday evening when it will be closed again entirely to remove the crane.

And utility work on Third Avenue and Stevens Street will cause some traffic restrictions between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through Wednesday.

I-90 motorists may see other restrictions near Liberty Lake, where crews are building a pedestrian bridge over the freeway.