By TRIBUNE STAFF
Published June 27, 2012

Bickford Avenue/U.S. 2 overpass work begins soon
SNOHOMISH - The state ADepartment of Transportation will begin work on the Bickford Avenue overpass at U.S. 2 early next month. The $22.4 million project is expected to open in 2013.
Work to replace five failing culverts under the highway near Snohomish will be completed by this fall.
“The drainage culverts under the highway are so corroded that our maintenance crews call them Swiss cheese,” DOT project engineer Mark Sawyer said. “They’re past the point of repair. Replacing them will reduce our maintenance costs and help water drain off the road better.”
Drivers can expect up to six around-the-clock weekend closures of U.S. 2 this summer during repair work — three closures for eastbound U.S. 2 and three for westbound. During each closure, crews will cut open a 20-foot section of the highway and dig down 30 feet to remove the old steel culvert and install a new one, made of thick, heavy, rubberized plastic. Once the new culvert is in place, crews will repave that section of highway.
At the same time culvert work is under way, crews also will begin building storm water detention ponds and retaining walls for new on- and off-ramps that will connect to the new Bickford Avenue overpass.
“We know drivers have waited quite a while for improvements to this intersection — it can be a difficult place to turn left,” Sawyer said. “It’s actually one of the last intersections on this stretch of U.S. 2 where drivers still have to make a left turn across high-speed traffic. The overpass is going to make a big difference here.”
There were 13 collisions at the U.S. 2/Bickford Avenue intersection from 2006 to 2010, including eight involving drivers turning left from Bickford Avenue. When it’s complete in fall 2013, the new overpass will allow drivers on Bickford Avenue to cross over U.S. 2 and then merge into westbound traffic from a new right-hand onramp. Eastbound U.S. 2 drivers can exit onto Bickford Avenue using a new, longer off-ramp that will connect to the overpass.
For more information on the new Bickford Avenue overpass, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us2/bickfordsafety. Information about this summer’s U.S. 2 culvert replacements can be found at www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us2/ebeysloughtobickford.