Plan ahead: Two freeways closing this weekend for construction
Aug 22, 2024, 6:36 AM
A nighttime maintenance crew with WSDOT working on highway repair. (Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
(Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
It might feel like the end of summer, considering the weather, but the summer construction season is still going strong. Two freeways will be closed this weekend for roadwork.
Getting to your weekend events, especially Saturday’s Seattle Seahawks preseason game, is not going to be easy. Construction on both freeways will limit your options and put extra traffic on the roads that are open.
The first freeway, State Route 520, will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday night until 5 a.m. Monday morning. The closure extends from Interstate 5 (I-5) on the west side to 92nd on the east side. The second freeway, northbound Interstate 405 (I-405), will be closed in Renton between State Route 167 and State Route 169. That closure begins at 12 a.m. Friday, lasting until 4 a.m. Monday.
More on highway closures: I-5 suffers hours-long backup after alleged DUI collision near SeaTac
This is going to be a giant pain, but the work needs to get done.
“We totally understand that these closures are very impactful for people trying to travel around the region,” Craig Smiley, the head of construction communications at the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said. “Unfortunately, we have a limited number of weekends where we can do work, especially with weather. Normally, that’s not an issue in August, but here we are. So we’re trying to pack a lot of work into a pretty short construction window. At this point, we’re just running out of weekends. We still have a lot of events happening, and we still have a lot of work to do.”
SR 520 is being closed to do some testing on the systems inside the new Montlake Lid. This will be the first time that the fire suppression system will be triggered. WSDOT needs to know that it operates correctly and whether the drainage system works. There is also some paving being done on the east side of SR 520. There is also some test drilling and sign work.
What’s happening on I-405 in Renton?
“Crews are going to be doing some paving,” Smiley said. “They’re also going to be installing a bunch of drainage crossings. The detour route will be up at Grady Way. If you’re heading that direction, you definitely want to give yourself some extra time to get around.”
That will put a lot of extra cars into and through downtown Renton, so don’t be surprised by that.
More from Chris Sullivan: Counting down to Montlake Lid opening on SR 520
Southbound SR 167 was also supposed to be closed this weekend in Kent, but that work has been postponed because of weather. It was supposed to be closed from 516 to 277th from Friday to Monday. The same work was postponed last weekend for weather.
And just for good measure, there is a full closure of southbound I-405 tonight from I-90 to Coal Creek Parkway for the removal of a sign bridge.
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