UDDATE | DECEMBER 4TH, 1PM: It looks like WSDOT has pushed the metering start date back one day – to Friday, December 6th. The signs on the on-ramp were changed today.
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ORIGINAL STORY
It’s not very often that road construction projects finish on time – especially when they occur in the fall – but it looks like the new, dedicated lane from Snoqualmie Parkway to the westbound I-90 on-ramp will open this week.
That means metering of the westbound on-ramp also begins this week.
Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson said 5th District Senator Mark Mullet and Representative Bill Ramos confirmed the new on-ramp lane [with new metering] would open on Thursday, December 5th. Larson said crews will complete some curb work in the spring when the weather is warmer.
Crews from Road Construction Northwest, Inc. of Renton began work in October. Modifications to the on-ramp include a dedicated right turn lane with no traffic signal for southbound Snoqualmie Parkway to westbound I-90, along with a dedicated ramp lane; a dedicated ramp lane for eastbound SR 18 drivers turning west onto I-90; retimed traffic signal for SR 18 to westbound I-90 to provide a longer green light for drivers; traffic metering for both lanes. The old weigh station return loop is being closed off with large cement barriers.
Even with the metering of the on-ramp, WSDOT says the additional ramp lane and retimed signal will result in shorter backups and improved traffic flow at this intersection.
The approximate $1 million project was funded by WSDOT, the cities of Snoqualmie, Covington, Maple Valley, and the Snoqualmie Tribe.
The I-90 on-ramps will be modified again and connected to the new I-90/SR 18 interchange prior to its opening. That major interchange improvement project is anticipated to finish sometime in 2023.
Comments
Now if only we invested that kind of money in getting more regular and reliable transit from Snoqualmie to Seattle, we wouldn’t be seeing mile-long backups to get to I-90.
Wow. Just experienced this next level nanny state traffic control this morning. So, they promised less congestion and wait times with this new on ramp for Sno Ridge residents. All they did was add EXTRA lights to stop and impede the flow of traffic onto I90. I thought giving people a quarter mile of merge lane was enough to get up to 70. Now there is a lot less then that. The moron in front of me merged at a whopping 50 miles an hour with a semi bearing down on us in the right lane blaring their horn. This “new and improved” system is going to cause more problems then it’s supposed to solve. I guess a room full of spectrum disorder traffic engineers and retread politicians though this one up and bought off on it. :-\
The on ramp is too short after the metering light, yes. No longer safe to merge onto a highway with posted 70 mph speed limit!
Willy, I sure hope you are not making fun of people with spectrum disorder. That’s probably what is needed to engineer this, if you even know what “SPECTRUM DISORDER” is. Some of the smartest people in the world have it, look it up and get some education before you write!!!
Still slow getting off the Ridge! With the metering (the only metering in the entire Valley), our idling cars have ONLY been moved forward to a holding lane. Maybe this solves the merge for Hwy 18 and Snoqualmie Pkwy onto I-90, but the previous set up worked just as well. $1.0M, what a waste.
Wow, just used this today for the first time, and people are already aggressive the offramp, even though few of us could have used it before. I, for one, was initally unsure which lane the cars from 18 were driving into since it was hard to tell until right at the offramp. Thanks for honking, person behind me!
Also, the stoplights are so close to the highway, I’m concerned this place is now an accident waiting to happen.