SEATTLE - Emergency workers are concerned about traffic jams expected when repair work shuts down lanes on northbound Interstate 5, August 10-29.

Seattle houses not only Harborview's level one trauma center, but also the University of Washington Medical Center, Children's Hospital, and other hospitals offering specialized critical care.

Medic One units transport patients of all ages, and in all types of medical distress, to hospitals around King County. I-5 is usually the most direct route when traveling from points south into Seattle, but when construction starts Friday night, medics are worried they'll either be stuck in standstill traffic or forced onto unsuitable side roads.

The first choice will be to take patients who are south of Seattle to one of the four south end medical centers.

But if they are in need of critical or specialized trauma care, the most likely option will be to skip roads altogether.

The solution for now appears to be Airlift Northwest, which has added an extra helicopter that will be kept at Boeing Field throughout the construction process.

The company has ramped up staffing and is providing lodging and food for its nurses and pilots so they can be nearby and ready for action.

"We generally pick up the sickest of the patients, or the most critically injured," said Brenda Nelson. "We're offering to pick up everybody that needs to get in there in a timely fashion."

Doctor Michael Copass is the director of emergency medicine at Harborview and Airlift Northwest.

He says planning for extra flights and staffing are a necessity.

"The situation's either going to be Y2K all over again or we're going to have just an absolute mess," he said. "And I think you have to plan for the mess."

Financially, there's a major difference financially between using Medic One and Airlift Northwest.

Medic One is funded by property taxes, so there is no additional costs to patients. But a ride on Airlift Northwest can cost patients between $6,000 and $8,000.

Traffic Wednesday night and Thursday morning

Driver will already notice significant changes to I-5 and Airport Way. Between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday, crews begin closing multiple lanes of northbound I-5 to restripe the road surface as they prepare to install concrete barriers.

Thursday morning, drivers will notice the left lane is only 10 feet wide with little shoulder. The second and third lanes on I-5 will be 13 feet wide.

The HOV lane will be open to all vehicles from Corson Street through the work zone.