Traffic Nightmare Coming: I-5 Closed All Weekend

SEATTLE, WA - All northbound lanes of I-5 will be closed this weekend at the West Seattle Bridge, setting up a potential traffic nightmare for anyone looking to head north, for neighborhoods in Seattle near the closure, and drivers using I-405, SR 509, and SR 99.

The closure is related to the Revive I-5 project. The I-5 closure will begin Friday night at 8 p.m. and will last until early Monday morning.

One more thing: lanes will close along southbound I-5 near the Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle on Saturday and Sunday mornings for repair work.

Here's what this weekend's I-5 closure in Seattle will look like:

• At 8 p.m. Friday, construction crews will begin closing I-5 lanes near I-405 in Tukwila. The lane closures will taper down to a single lane by the West Seattle Bridge/Columbian Way exit near Beacon Hill.
• All northbound I-5 lanes will be open north of the state convention center in downtown Seattle - that means drivers already downtown or in the University District, for example, will have unfettered access to the freeway
• I-5 on-ramps to northbound lanes between southbound I-405 and South Michigan Street will close at 8 p.m. Friday.
• The northbound on-ramp to I-5 from SR 518 (which connects to Sea-Tac) will remain open
• All I-5 off-ramps between I-405 and the West Seattle Bridge will remain open - those include Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Swift Avenue/Albro Place, and Michigan Street
• From downtown Seattle, drivers will be able to access the northbound I-5 express lanes on Saturday and Sunday afternoons

Alternate northbound routes may not be any better

Aside from I-405 and SR 99, the only ways to get north around the closure is to drive on Seattle city streets. Three major arteries parallel I-5, but you should probably avoid them.

• Airport Way cuts between I-5 and the King County Airport. The four-lane road is usually a good alternative to I-5 - except when it reaches Georgetown, a major choke-point.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Way takes drivers through South Seattle parallel with the Sound Transit light rail line. But, there are more than two dozen traffic lights along the 5 miles between Boeing Access Road and the intersection with Rainier Avenue South in the Mt. Baker area.
• Drivers can access East Marginal Way South from Boeing Access Road. The road has no choke-points and fewer lights than MLK Way - but it ends at SR 99 in Georgetown. At that point, drivers will either have to head up 1st or 4th Avenues, or chance getting into a major jam on 99.
• Beacon Avenue South should almost always be avoided. It's a neighborhood parkway with one lane in each direction. There are only a handful of lights and stop signs, but travel gets dicey near the VA hospital due to lights and heavier traffic.
• 15th Avenue South also cuts through Beacon Hill. You can catch it by making a left at the Swift/Albro exit. The road is not equipped to handle heavy traffic, and driving it might be futile anyway - the last open exit open off northbound I-5, Spokane Street, intersects with 15th.

Your best bet? Don't drive north through Seattle if you can help it. If you're going to an event in the city, take light rail.

File photo of West Seattle Bridge by Neal McNamara/Patch