NEW Motorists urged to avoid MLK Boulevard next Monday and Tuesday

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Motorists who use Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard are being asked to take alternate routes Monday and Tuesday.

Crews will be installing in-ground pedestrian crossing lights on the east side of the intersection of Fourth Street and MLK.

Work begins Monday morning. Two lanes on the south side of MLK will be closed, leaving only one lane available to traffic.

On Tuesday morning, workers will switch sides. The north lane of MLK will be closed to traffic, leaving two lanes available until Wednesday morning. Heavy equipment will be in use. And signs, cones and flashing barricades will be in place for the lane closures overnight.

This crosswalk, located near the Yakima Herald-Republic office, is the last in a series of four intersection improvements around the city. Work began last year. The intersection at Fourth Street and MLK is the only one to have in-ground flashers. The other, more traditional, overheard pedestrian crossing signal lights have already been installed at:

• 16th and Hathaway avenues, near the state Department of Social and Health Services building.

• 16th and Bonnie Doone avenues, near Yakima Valley Community College.

• North First and East N streets.

To get a sneak peak at the in-ground flashers, visit www.xwalk.com

-- Adriana Janovich