Nighttime commuters traveling on northbound Interstate 205 between the Glenn Jackson Bridge and Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard should expect some congestion this week.
As part of the I-205 — Mill Plain Boulevard to Northeast 18th Street project, construction crews will be hanging signs to mark the new exit. Up to three lanes of northbound I-205 will be closed each night from 11 p.m. Monday until 5 a.m. Friday.
“(Crews) are not putting any new structures up — they’re using what’s already there,” Washington Department of Transportation spokeswoman Celeste Dimichina said.
The Mill Plain Interchange to Northeast 18th Street project is expected to be finished in the late spring or early summer.
The first phase in the two-phase project began in 2008. The second phase began in 2014.
Rains delayed much of the construction this winter. In January, crews began what was a 10-week process to pour a 560-foot on-ramp bridge from Northeast 18th Street onto southbound I-205.
WSDOT is building the new I-205 northbound offramp and southbound on-ramp at Northeast 18th Street to improve safety and improve traffic conditions in east Clark County. The $40.6 million project will connect I-205 and 18th Street with a “half diamond” interchange with ramps to the south of 18th Street. Drivers heading north on I-205 will be able to exit straight onto 18th Street; an on-ramp will take vehicles off 18th Street and onto southbound I-205.
It is a companion project to the I-205, Mill Plain Exit — 112th Connector project, which was completed in 2010.
The I-205 freeway is popular with commuters and freight vehicles, used by an average of 100,000 vehicles per day, according to a WSDOT estimate.
