CHOKEPOINTS

Weekend Highway 99 closures timed for Mariners fans

May 7, 2015, 10:35 PM | Updated: May 8, 2015, 6:17 am

Highway 99 through Lake Union will be closed for repairs this weekend. (AP)...

Highway 99 through Lake Union will be closed for repairs this weekend. (AP)

(AP)

Highway 99 is going to be shut down through South Lake Union this weekend for construction, but the state is tweaking its project to help Mariners fans get to and from the series with the A’s.

The Washington State Department of Transportation needs to close all lanes of Highway 99 between the Battery Street Tunnel and Valley Street.

Dave Sowers with WSDOT said they need the time to continue construction for the new tunnel project.

“A couple utility relocations, we have some City Light work that’s going to be going on, as well as relocating a water line that’s right at Harrison Street,” Sowers said.

But not wanting to cripple the roads, Sowers said the state will stagger and tweak the closures to accommodate Mariners traffic.

WSDOT will hold Friday night’s southbound closure until 10 p.m. Northbound lanes will close at 11 p.m.

On Saturday, the state will reopen the lanes to match in-bound and out-bound traffic.

“We’ll reopen southbound SR 99 around 3 p.m. At least one lane will open,” Sowers said. “It depends on how much work the guys get done. At 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, the northbound lanes will both reopen again to accommodate the Mariners traffic that is leaving the stadium.”

Sowers said WSDOT is really trying to work with cities to minimize the impacts of closures on all of its projects.

“This is a window that we found that we could get this work done in and minimize our disturbance region-wide,” he said.

All of the lanes on Highway 99 are expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Sunday, so no impact for people heading to Safeco Field for Mother’s Day.

Check WSDOT for full closure details

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Weekend Highway 99 closures timed for Mariners fans