Driver has some issues with Highway 18

Q: I commute from Enumclaw eastbound on Highway 18 four days a week. Right after the summit of Tiger Mountain, traffic routinely comes to a standstill. This is caused by the highway being reduced from two lanes to one lane. It appears that there is enough room for two lanes because the shoulder on Highway 18 is large. Two lanes would allow traffic to utilize the right lane to merge onto Interstate 90 eastbound.

Also, this might be one of the most dangerous highways in the state. Why are there not concrete barriers where it is not a divided highway? The highway is heavily frequented by semi-trucks. It is frightening how close they pass in the opposite direction. The road margin reflectors are so poor on rainy nights that they cannot be seen.

A: The state Department of Transportation is aware of the increased congestion on Highway 18 and is working on making safety improvements for sections of the roadway, said Myly Posse, a DOT spokeswoman.

Heavy freight traffic, more commuters, limited capacity due to mountainous terrain and a growing population in south King County are creating backups on the highway, Posse said.

But using the shoulder as a lane is not an option because the pavement is too shallow and could not handle the high traffic volume.

Currently, the DOT is looking at widening the highway leading to the I-90 interchange. Estimates put the cost between $3 and $13 million, Posse added.

"Unfortunately, the congestion will get worse before it gets better," Posse said. "We are currently analyzing traffic data and evaluating how these options may affect the rest of the interchange, their costs and long-term effectiveness."

But at the moment, DOT does not have the money to widen Highway 18.

"If the Legislature approves funding for the widening, we could then proceed ... and possibly start construction in 2008," Posse said.

As for the concrete barriers, Posse said, the DOT does not automatically install them on all two-lane highways because of issues with driveway and emergency-vehicle access and roadway width.

Any highway with no divider and cars traveling at high speeds can have bad accidents, but Highway 18 is not any more dangerous than other state roadways, said Jeff Merrill, a spokesman for State Patrol.

In 2005, there were 28 motor vehicle collisions on Highway 18 between 276th Avenue Northeast to the I-90 interchange. A little less than half of this section does not have concrete barriers dividing opposite traffic lanes, according to data compiled by the DOT.

The DOT considers this stretch of Highway 18 to be a "rural principal arterial" because it stretches through the Tiger Mountain State Forest. Under this category, collisions on Highway 18 fell below average compared with similar state roadways.

Moreover, none of the collisions resulted in fatalities and only two were opposite-direction accidents, according to the DOT.

"We installed median barriers on Highway 18 in the early '90s at locations that had a high number of collisions," Posse said. "For our long-range plans, we are also designing a project to widen Highway 18 from Issaquah Hobart Road to I-90. There will be two lanes in each direction separated by a wide median."

The DOT is also working on maintaining reflectors on the road. This year it has already re-striped Highway 18 twice in areas where snow plows and traffic scraped reflectors and wore off paint, Posse said.

Early warning

Kirkland: Construction crews working on the Interstate 405 mainline will take the weekend off to accommodate holiday traffic. Work on I-405 will resume Monday. The weekend of Dec. 1, the section of Northeast 116th Street under I-405 will close while crews demolish a part of the overpass.

Bellevue: No road closures are expected on Interstate 90 during the holiday weekend. Closures will restart Monday.

Mountain passes: Drivers crossing mountain passes can now access updates on traffic conditions in the mountains via their cellphones. People can go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/small on their mobiles and click on "mountain pass reports" for information.

Manuel Valdes: 206-464-8305 or mvaldes@seattletimes.com