Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) crews will start work this week to convert the D Street on-ramp at the truck route border crossing to a NEXUS-only lane.

Crews will spend this week installing pylons to separate the NEXUS-only lane from the general purpose lanes leading north from the D Street on-ramp, WSDOT spokesperson Dustin Terpening said. The pylons will help stop the NEXUS lane from getting blocked by preventing general purpose travelers from crossing into the NEXUS lane closer to the border crossing.

The pylons will stretch from the north side of the truck route/D Street interchange all the way to the border and will not affect local access west or east on D Street, Terpening explained. However, the pylons will prevent drivers turning north from D Street on to the truck route from entering the general purpose crossing lanes. Additionally, NEXUS travelers driving north on the truck route will not be able to access the NEXUS lane without traveling over the D Street interchange.

Terpening expects the pylon installations to be completed by the end of this week, depending on the weather. WSDOT crews will also be re-striping lane lines on the truck route closer to the border to line up with the Canadian border agency’s five new inspection booths.