LAKEWOOD – Lakewood-area motorists face a nine-mile detour from Nov. 28-30 for much-needed railroad crossing repairs.

Burlington Northern Sante Fe is rebuilding the crossing on 172nd Street NE (SR 531) just west of 19th Drive NE.

The full closure is anticipated to last from 9 a.m. Monday to 5 p.m. Wednesday, which means buses, teachers, parents and student drivers accessing Lakewood district schools west of the crossing will want to plan ahead for the lengthy detour.

Pickup times at schools and homes will stay the same, but drop-off times will are scheduled 10 to 20 minutes sooner, district officials said.

Besides school traffic, about 14,000 vehicles travel 172nd each day.

BNSF maintenance crews plan to replace old track structure and an aging, bumpy concrete crossing surface with new track, asphalt and new concrete pad for a smoother ride.

Passenger vehicles traveling eastbound from the Lake Goodwin and Seven Lakes area will be detoured to Forty Five Road, which becomes 23rd Avenue before turning onto 140th Street (Fire Trail Road) to 136th Street NE crossing over I-5 to Smokey Point Boulevard. Westbound vehicles will need to access the same route in reverse.

Snohomish County posts a weight limit on 23rd Avenue NE, so trucks will be required to use a different route if heading toward the tracks and I-5. Drivers must turn left heading north onto 3rd Avenue, which becomes Sill Road, then turn right heading east onto Pioneer Highway (SR 530) to access Smokey Point Boulevard and 172nd to the south.

Questions can be directed to BNSF Roadmaster Robert Owen at 509-531-6305.