Mountlake Terrace drivers have been advised to watch for four street and utility projects that might hinder traffic around the city over the next few months.

Work began last week on a resurfacing and reconfiguration of 212th Street Southwest between 44th and 52nd Avenues West. The project, a joint effort between the cities of Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood, also includes drainage and sanitary sewer repairs, minor traffic signal modifications, adding and modifying sidewalk ramps, and striping  and signage to accommodate bicycle lanes. Once completed, this stretch of 212th Street will change from a four-lane thoroughfare to having two lanes for vehicular traffic (one eastbound, one westbound), a center left-turn lane and at least one designated bicycle lane. Work is expected to be completed by the end of June.

The traffic signal at the corner of 44th Avenue West and 228th Street Southwest has been experiencing failures lately. The city will begin work soon on replacing the loop detectors (wires in the pavement that detect when a vehicle is at the intersection) that are being exposed in the deteriorating pavement with video detection cameras mounted on the signal mast arms. This project is expected to be completed by the end of July; until then the city will experiment with changing the signal to an all-red flashing mode from 1-5 a.m.

Work continues now on Town Center water main improvements; more than a mile of 8-16-inch-diameter water mains are being installed on 55th and 56th Avenues and 230th and 234th Streets in the Town Center area. The project includes installation of new water services and fire hydrants.

Beginning in early April, work will begin in 14 locations around the city in replacing or rerouting existing underground storm and sanitary sewer pipes that are in need of service. Approximately 3,800 linear feet of pipe will be installed and a number of manholes and catch basins added to the system.

City officials warn that traffic may be limited (or even restricted) at times in these work zones.