Road closures: WSDOT shutting down 4 freeways this weekend
Sep 26, 2024, 8:54 AM | Updated: Sep 27, 2024, 6:40 pm
State Route 520 (Photo: Chris Sullivan, KIRO Newsradio)
(Photo: Chris Sullivan, KIRO Newsradio)
No matter where you’re going this weekend, you will be delayed by construction as four freeways will be closed from Friday to Monday.
A visit to the pumpkin patch or a trip to the Seattle Mariners’ final homestand will take a lot longer than expected. Five major construction projects are going to have a regional impact on weekend plans.
State Route 520 (SR 520) across Lake Washington; Interstate 405 (I-405) through Renton heading north; State Route 167 (SR 167) southbound through Kent; both directions of Interstate 5 (I-5) between Federal Way and Fife; and the Mercer Street on-ramps to I-5 both north and southbound will all be impacted by construction projects.
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SR 520 closure
Both directions of SR 520 will be shut down across the lake between I-5 and the east side that includes the bike trail. Workers need the space to get under the new Montlake Lid.
“They are doing some work on their under lid lighting,” Steve Peer with the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) said. “We have a three-acre lid that’s going over 520, and under there is lighting and a sprinkler system, and we are making sure that it all works because we’re about ready to open this project to the public for good.”
This is one of the final weekends of work on the five-year project to improve the Montlake connection to SR 520.
“After that, we’re just putting the finishing touches on the project,” Peer said. “We still have to open a lot of the trail connections for bicycles and pedestrians, so that’s kind of what’s what’s taking some of the time. It’s the finishing touches before we open this project. We’re looking to open this project probably late November, early December.”
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This project’s last and final full closure is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 12. SR 520 closes at 11 p.m. Friday night and should reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
Southbound I-405 closure
For southbound I-405, a five-mile closure between Sunset Boulevard and Coal Creek Parkway is needed for crews to shift traffic to a new bridge. This is part of the 405/Renton to Bellevue widening project, which is expected to wrap up next year. This one starts Friday night at 11 p.m., with all lanes back open by 4 a.m. Monday.
SR 167’s closure through Kent
Paving and striping the roads will shut down all southbound lanes between SR 516 and South 277th Street in Kent. Expect heavy traffic on the West Valley Highway. This closure starts at 12 a.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Monday.
I-5 closures
How do you transfer enormous steel girders weighing 230,000 pounds each? By shutting down both directions of I-5.
That’s what’s happening between Highway 18 and 54th Avenue, where a new bridge is going up at the Fife curve. Drivers will still have access during the day. I-5 will close on Saturday and Sunday nights from 10:30 p.m. until approximately 8 a.m.
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And just when you thought it was over, throw in a closure for the Mercer Street on-ramp to I-5. Friday night at 10 p.m., the on-ramp closes for pavement work and reopens at 5 a.m. Monday.
And I know you’re asking. Why is WSDOT shutting down four freeways on the same weekend?
It’s all about racing the lousy fall and winter weather. There just aren’t enough sunny weekends left to get this work done.
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