Construction on the Burley-Olalla interchange on Highway 16 is set to start in July and continue for 25 months.
Burley-Olalla Road will be closed near the construction site for the duration. The Washington State Department of Transportation is not going to post detours, choosing instead to let drivers figure out their own alternate routes.
“We want people to find the route they’re most comfortable with,” said John Ho of the DOT.
I got on Google Maps and, with the help of my tech savvy colleagues, traced what appear to me to be the obvious alternatives. If you haven’t used Google Maps before, be advised that when you click on the link, you can zoom in and out. Written directions can be viewed by clicking on the place marks.
I’m thinking any route having to do with Purdy Drive/Highway 302 will be less than desirable due to already thick congestion, especially at the northbound exit in the p.m.
If you end up taking any of the routes, don’t literally follow my lines or you might be pulled over for erratic driving. The Google Maps program is a little touchy and I’m still getting the hang of it. Thanks for your patience while my map-making skills are under construction.
Hint: At the Mullenix exit, if you have trouble clicking on one or the other place mark because they are close together, put your cursor to the far side of either place mark and click; it’ll grab it. Also try the satellite view, which is really cool, and which helps give you an idea of where you are.
If anyone has comments, thoughts, better ideas or handy tips about alternate routes, post away. Problems using the map, call me and I try to walk you through it, (360) 792-9219. CTH
Several times in the last few months I’ve been headed northbound on HWY 16 and noticed the huge back-ups at Purdy. Is that because of the traffic backing up on the bottleneck at the Purdy Bridge?
Was wondering if there is anything in the works to replace that bridge and improve traffic through Purdy?
Regards,
Kathryn Simpson