Traffic Alert: Repaving Island Crest Way Begins

Repaving work on Island Crest Way is finally underway after construction crews spent the past several weeks laying the groundwork of , and , according to a city press release.

City street engineers are urging residents to plan ahead for major traffic delays and to use detours or alternate routes whenever possible. Yesterday, two 14-foot wide were delivered to , and Merrimount Drive was shut down for about two hours while road crews repaved the intersection of Merrimount and Island Crest Way — causing significant traffic delays.

On Wednesday, Aug. 15, the entire northbound side will be paved going southbound (pavers prefer to go uphill when possible). Side streets will be closed as the paving passes by them, but cars will be detoured north and south along 88th and 90th Avenue to get in and out of the neighborhoods east of Island Crest Way. Traffic will be running on the freshly paved southbound side and flaggers will be positioned at intersections as needed. Metro routes turning on and off 86th Ave have been rerouted for Wednesday. Expect driving delays on Island Crest Way, and consider using East Mercer Way or West Mercer Way if you need to get to the southern part of the Island. By using two paving crews on these two days, the contractor is compressing three to four days of paving work into two.
 
On Thursday, crews will be paving all the side street connections:  Merrimount, 86th Ave, SE 46, SE 47, SE 48, SE 53rd, etc. The order in which these will be done is not known. Merrimount traffic will again be detoured for several hours while it is paveed. Metro buses using Island Crest Way and 86th Ave will again be on a temporary reroute for Thursday. Driving delays on Thursday should not be as severe as Tuesday and Wednesday. Also on Thursday, Mercer Island School District is scehduled to receive another set of portable classroom buildings at , and traffic may be stopped briefly around 1 p.m. for these tractor-trailers to be escorted down Island Crest Way.
 
The project's most controversial aspect — the restriping of the roadway under a "road-diet" scheme, reducing the number of traffic lanes from four down to three — is scheduled for the week beginning on Aug. 27. Some of the pavement marking materials being used have a recommend 14-day cure time for the new asphalt before their application. Road construction crews will install temporary striping as each day’s paving gets completed, which will stay in place until the permanent markings can be installed. Aside from this slight striping delay, the project is on schedule.
 
and vehicles will be given access to any areas along the project in an emergency.
 
For more information — or to address concerns about traffic control, detours, and delays, and so he can pass them on to the contractor’s traffic control supervisor — contact City Street Engineer Clint Morris at clint.morris@mercergov.org.

(Ed. Note: The infomation in this story is from a press release.)