Washington transportation officials are closing all northbound lanes of I-5 in Seattle for the entire weekend, starting tonight.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) predicts that a pair of weekend road closures “could have travelers spending a lot of time in gridlock in King and Snohomish counties between the night of Friday, June 1 and early Monday, June.”
From a WSDOT release on the road closure: “At 8 p.m. on Friday, June 1 we will begin to completely close northbound I-5 at the West Seattle Bridge for the first of two full weekend closures (the second is scheduled for the weekend of July 13 – 14). The lanes are scheduled to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, June 4.”
To make matters worse, westbound US 2 will also be closed this weekend: “The westbound US 2 Hewitt Avenue trestle in Snohomish County will close at 7 p.m. Friday, June 1 between the SR 204 interchange to approximately the on-ramp from Homeacres Road. All lanes are scheduled to reopen by 4 a.m. Monday, June 4.”
WSDOT predicts that the road closure will result in heavy traffic on other roads:
- In Seattle/King County prepare for long waits on state routes 99, 509, 599, 18, 167, 520, I-405 and I-90. City streets also see significant congestion as folks try to sneak around the backups.
- In Snohomish County brace for congestion on state routes 9, 96 and 528 as those roads become crammed with travelers avoiding US 2 and the 20th Street detour.
You can click here for more information about the road closures.