Traffic across Snoqualmie Pass shifts onto a new avalanche bridge.

Things are going to look a little different in the next couple of days across Snoqualmie Pass as we get ready to put all four lanes of traffic on the new avalanche bridge. This is all part of the major improvement project to widen a 15-mi. (24 km) stretch of I-90 from Hyak to Easton.

This traffic shift is so we have enough room to start building the second avalanche bridge this summer. Once complete in 2018, the second bridge will accommodate westbound traffic, while the bridge we just finished will accommodate eastbound traffic.

Over the next several weeks, crews are going to be busy removing the old westbound lanes, blasting rock from the hillside and excavating the avalanche chutes so that snow and other debris this winter will go under the bridge, ultimately reducing the number of closures we have for avalanche control work.

Drivers will notice that the drive over the bridge is going to be a little tight, just like most areas across the pass due to construction and the need to shift traffic around the work zone. It's going to be important to pay close attention to the road and obey the speed limit across the pass.

For more information, visit http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/new-avalanche-bridge-opens-to-traffic.html.

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