Daily metering on Seattle’s Mercer Street on-ramps to Interstate 5 will begin Tuesday.
The Washington State Department of Transportation installed signals on the ramps to Northbound and Southbound I-5 in March and have been monitoring traffic flow on weekends only. Now metering will go full time.
After crossing Fairview Avenue, drivers headed northbound will have two lanes to merge, and drivers headed southbound will have three lanes. The signals will alternate traffic from each lane, and drivers must wait for a green light before merging, resulting in a slow leak of cars onto I-5.
Metering typically creates a steadier flow of traffic onto the freeway and reduces travel times and collisions due to merging traffic, according to WSDOT.
Seattle Department of Transportation engineers do not expect a negative effect on traffic delays.
However, critics worry metering will create a messier “Mercer Mess.” Mercer Street is considered one of the most frustrating roads for Seattle drivers with frequent gridlock.
