Dreaded I-5 work starts smoothly in Seattle
SEATTLE – Everyone feared it would be a nightmare, but the Monday morning commute on Interstate 5 turned out to be a dream.
Transportation officials breathed easier as about half the average number of motorists drove a mile-long stretch of the highway’s northbound lanes south of downtown, where a 19-day construction project is under way.
Washington Department of Transportation engineers estimated 3,300 vehicles an hour traveled through the construction area during the morning commute.
“So far, so good,” said Paula Hammond, the state’s interim transportation secretary.
Construction work began late Friday night on one of the most heavily used stretches of I-5 in the state. Crews are repairing and replacing expansion joints and repaving sections of the road.
Monday morning, thousands of workers switched their schedules, took vacation, worked from home or hopped on buses or trains rather than risk getting caught in backups some transportation officials feared could stretch as long as 30 miles.
It was standing room only on some of Sound Transit’s Sounder commuter trains. The first train of the day shuttled nearly 2,200 passengers from Tacoma to Seattle, more than double last week’s average, said Linda Robson, a spokeswoman for the regional transportation agency.
Nearly 5,900 people rode five Sounder trains from the south into the city – including an extra train added for the construction project. Last week, the average ridership on four trains from the south was just over 3,600, Robson said.
King County Metro’s water taxi from West Seattle across Elliott Bay to downtown set a record with 191 passengers on the third sailing of the morning, compared to 55 on a typical morning run.
Many of King County Metro’s buses were fuller than usual, and while they stayed full throughout the morning, the agency reported no significant delays.
Nearly 140 buses Metro diverted off I-5 averaged delays of less than 10 minutes, and no standby buses were needed, said Kevin Desmond, the agency’s general manager.
Drivers avoiding I-5 ran into more congestion than usual on suggested alternate routes, including U.S. 99 and Interstate 405.
Construction on I-5 is scheduled to continue through Aug. 29.