The summer construction blues return this weekend
Aug 9, 2018, 6:13 AM | Updated: Aug 11, 2018, 4:47 pm
(WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
The Blue Angels are gone. The Mariners are out of town. Now, it’s back to reality with more construction closures.
Northbound I-5 will be down to just two lanes over the weekend with the return of “Revive I-5.”
Paving and expansion joint work will extend from the West Seattle Bridge to SR 520.
“That’s a big section of I-5 that’s going to be closed down … squishing all that traffic through the collector-distributor lanes and back up to 520,” Lisa Van Cise with the Washington State Department of Transportation said.
Another wrinkle will add more misery to the mix. From 2 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday, there is work on the Ship Canal Bridge which will push the lane restrictions into the University District.
“Two lanes open is better than being completely closed, but two lanes open means big backups unless we see a lot of people do something different this weekend,” she said.
Van Cise said more than 50 percent diversion will be needed to prevent a complete nightmare on I-5. Even with enough diversion, I-405, SR 99, and other routes will take a beating.
Highway 2 work canceled
The work on westbound Highway 2 across the trestle has been postponed due to the rain forecast for the area.
Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson Ally Barrera says there is a big change for drivers once work continues. The 20th Street detour, the one that took drivers under the trestle to the west end, will no longer be an option as paving moves to the west end of the trestle.
The work has been rescheduled for Aug. 18-19.
