Eastside braces for another weekend I-405 closure
Aug 8, 2013, 5:45 PM | Updated: 6:02 pm
The Eastside is bracing for another weekend of construction closures on I-405 that will make it tough to get around, especially in Bellevue.
Northbound lanes of Interstate 405 will be closed again for construction Friday, August 9 to the morning of Monday, August 12 from Southeast 8th Street to SR 520.
Washington Department of Transportation crews will also close the northbound State Route 167 ramp to northbound I-405 in Renton as they continue replacing hundreds of broken and cracked concrete panels.
It’s a repeat of a construction closure that snarled traffic three weeks ago. Kirkland-based traffic data company INRIX tracked the backups during the closure, and found the best routes around the traffic.
“We recommend using Bellevue Way, 124th, Richards Road. All of those roads were underused and obviously it’s going to change throughout the day,” says INRIX traffic analyst Jamie Holter.
During the last closure, many drivers converged on 148th Avenue, causing massive backups throughout the weekend.
“The goal here is to get people moving during big construction because we can’t stop the projects but we can get people around the area anyway,” Holter says.
I-405 closes Friday night at 10 p.m. and will reopen for the Monday morning commute before 5 a.m.
