WSDOT has been assembling those grey 100 foot long steel construction beams this week which weigh 36,000 pounds each.
“We worked really closely to make sure the detour we set up would be an easy one” WSDOT is shutting down a stretch of northbound Interstate 5 this weekend in Seattle and traffic is going to be detoured.
Starting at 10 O’clock on Friday night drivers are going to be detoured at eastbound Highway 520 “They’ll get off at Montlake boulevard” says WSDOT’s Kevin Black “And they’ll turnaround on Hamlin Street which is right before the Montlake Bridge, and they’ll get back on westbound 520 and then they’ll be able to rejoin northbound I-5.”
The 12-hour window will allow crews to install 100-foot-long highway construction beans that weigh 36-thousand pounds each “This is going to be the base for the new flyover ramp” Black says “The main goal of this is for transit and carpools to be able to have a more direct access to the South Lake Union neighborhood and Mercer Street.”
The I-5/520 project is scheduled to be completed by the spring of 2024.
WSDOT has been spreading the word for more than a month with detour with signs as far south at SEATAC “As far down as the 405 exit just before the airport, and we have some other ones before the West Seattle Bridge and I-90 as well” Black says “And if you’re coming from the eastside we have alerts over on 520 on some of our messaging boards.”
The Washington State Patrol is going to maintain a high profile during the closure, but neglecting to pay attention could cost you “If you do not exit at Montlake boulevard, you will have to remain on 520 and you will end up paying the bridge toll.”
Northbound I-5 is scheduled to reopen at 10 O’clock Saturday morning. But an hour later the state shuts down the express lanes on the freeway until 10 am Sunday.
