Those of us living near that mighty river known as I-5 (or “The 5″, to some, and “that freakin’ highway” to others) may notice an uptick in construction noise. Part of the noise reduction work that is underway involves replacing the pavement, and that, as WSDOT explains, is noisy:

Unfortunately, replacing the concrete on I-5 is unavoidably noisy. We’re taking a number of steps to reduce construction noise, including using noise shields, noise-reducing bed-liners and providing earplugs. But at the end of the day, no doubt about it, construction is loud.

Thank you for your patience. We know the noise (and the traffic congestion) is not ideal and that’s why we’re working seven days a week to finish up the repairs as swiftly as we can.

Our work repairing the broken concrete panels and smoothing out the rutted pavement will improve traction for drivers, reducing the number of collisions and making it safer for everyone who drives on I-5 between Seattle and Shoreline.

Want some of them aforementioned earplugs? Hoof it on over to U-District (4534 University Way NE, Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. ) or down by Fremont (908 N 34th Street, Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)

Unclear exactly when they’ll be hitting our ‘hood, but this schedule makes it seem they’re heading south and getting closer.