Construction won’t ease just because the hot Mariners are hosting Houston

Friday’s game against Houston is sold out, and T-Mobile Park will be near capacity all weekend long, but guess what? Construction isn’t going to be taking the weekend off.

Construction season doesn’t take the weekend off just because the Mariners are smoking hot. The nearly 48,000 fans a game are going to need a plan and a backup plan to get in and out of the stadium district all weekend.

Let’s start with Revive I-5. The expansion joint repair work isn’t taking the weekend off.  All southbound drivers will be forced off at the collector-distributor in downtown Seattle at 7:30 p.m. Friday night through early Monday morning. “We’re going to be working over on the left side freeway,” the Washington Department of Transportation’s Amy Moreno said.

Revive I-5 returns with lane closures, but drivers have some things to cheer about too

But that’s not the only issue  Later Friday night, at 11 p.m., all southbound lanes of Interstate 5 will be closed under the Convention Center.

“That’s going to shut down the entire southbound I-5 traffic,” Moreno said. “We’re actually going to have a detour that will take people off of the freeway.” That full closure lasts through Saturday morning at 6 a.m. If you are traveling overnight, Friday into Saturday, you will be detoured off the freeway at Stewart Street and into the collector-distributor lanes.

At 6 a.m. Saturday, those lanes will open up, but you will still be diverted into the C/D lanes further south for the expansion joint repair.

And that’s just the southbound construction.

Now add a closure of northbound I-5 on Saturday night to the mix. At 11 p.m. Saturday night, the two right lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 520 to 45th. This is for much-needed repairs and maintenance on the Ship Canal Bridge. Those lanes will be closed until 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

Workers will take breaks after the Mariners’ games to open up some ramps and other access around the stadiums to help people out. Moreno said they have been doing this every weekend.  “Even before the Mariners started getting hot, we would always allow for some openings of ramps after the games or big stadium events,” she said. It happened last weekend for Kenny Chesney.

I can hear you asking the question out there. Why not take a break this weekend when everyone knows it’s going to be so crowded? Moreno said they can’t afford to take time off.

“We have to get this work done,” she said. “We are sensitive that these events are going on.”

This shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Friday night. The Revive I-5 work and the full closure happen well after the Mariners’ game should end.

But you should plan for extra time and have a backup plan for getting into and out of the stadium district all weekend. The Light rail is always a decent option. Don’t forget you can dip into the tunnel for a $1.20 toll, with a Good to Go account.

My advice is get to the ballpark early and revel in the M’s success and carry those good vibes into your drive.

Check out more of Chris’ Chokepoints.

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