Drivers on State Route 16 may need to plan ahead and give themselves a bit of extra travel time Thursday and Friday night.
Westbound traffic between 19th Street and 6th Avenue will be shifted onto new pavement so crews can work in the median. During working hours, 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., crews will close one westbound lane and the off-ramp to 6th Avenue. This ramp takes drivers to the Pt. Defiance Zoo and the ferry. Motorists should plan ahead and use the detour route, North Orchard Street.

The work is weather dependant.

New traffic patterns, also known as traffic ‘shifts,’ allow WSDOT to maintain the same number of travel lanes during construction projects. However, as traffic is shifted into a new configuration, drivers may need to pay extra attention. Whenever entering a work zone, follow the direction of the signs, message boards and flaggers. Nationally, 80 percent of work zone collisions result in death or injury to drivers and passengers. So Give ’em a Brake, but give yourself a “brake” too.