CHOKEPOINTS

Five-day closure for State Route 202, everyone’s favorite alternate route for I-405

Sep 12, 2024, 7:23 AM

state route 202 five-day closure...

Map of the construction projects happening on State Route 202 connecting Redmond and Woodinville. (Photo courtesy of WSDOT)

(Photo courtesy of WSDOT)

A favorite backdoor route to avoid Interstate 405 (I-405) is going to be closed all of next week.

Redmond-Woodinville Road, otherwise known as State Route 202 (SR 202), is a popular way to skip the traffic on I-405. It also features many of your favorite wineries, distilleries and ball fields. It runs on the east side of the valley, connecting Redmond and Woodinville.

And next week, a significant portion of it will be closed.

More on traffic in Seattle: Seattle has second-worst congestion, third-worst traffic in nation

SR 202 will be closed between 124th NE on the south end and 145th NE on the north end.

“That closure will be from 8 p.m. Sunday the 15th until noon on Friday the 20th,” David Rasbach, a communications consultant for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said.

It’s a full five-day closure. All through traffic will have to use another north-south route.

“The detour for that traffic between Woodinville and Redmond will use northeast 124th Street to I-405 and SR 522,” Rasbach said.

Local traffic will be able to use SR 202 south of Woodinville, but the highway will be dug up just north of 124th. Contractors are replacing two culverts just north of the intersection to improve fish habitat.

“We’re actually re-channeling two tributaries to Sammamish Creek in that area, and then we’re going to channel them underneath SR 202, just north of that interchange,” Rasbach said.

This will put a major dent in your commute through that area, and it might get in the way of an event or a show.

“We’ve already checked with Chateau St. Michelle,” Rasbach said. “They fortunately don’t have a concert until Friday evening, so I’ve made our project office know that noon is a good time to open up on Friday.”

More on WA roads: Diverging diamond interchange, two new lanes for I-90/SR 18 exchange in Snoqualmie

Wynonna Judd is playing there next Friday night.

Drivers should add plenty of extra time during the five-day closure.

This closure won’t give contractors all the time they need to finish the project. There will be continued day-time and overnight lane closures until the work is finished later this fall.

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Five-day closure for State Route 202, everyone’s favorite alternate route for I-405