Road Projects, Sports Bring Weekend Traffic Headaches To Seattle

SEATTLE — A trio of road projects and several sporting events will make for a congested weekend on the roads around Seattle, and drivers heading in or out of the Emerald City should expect some delays, according to transportation officials.

Revive I-5 preservation work is scheduled from Friday night into Monday morning, affecting southbound Interstate 5 traffic at Interstate 90 as crews repair expansion joints in the area. The express lanes will also be closed between Friday night and Monday morning, while crews replace 26 concrete panels.

The Montlake Bridge will also see its first of five weekend closures, between Friday night and Monday morning. More roadwork, originally planned near State Route 520 this weekend, is on hold for now, so ramps in the area will remain open.

Congestion may be especially apparent for those trying to get to and from Seattle's stadiums, with the Sounders playing at Lumen Field Saturday afternoon, and the Mariners hosting at T-Mobile Park Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Here's a recap of what to expect, from the Washington State Department of Transportation:

Revive I-5

• All southbound I-5 traffic will funnel through the collector-distributor at I-90 from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday for as crew replace expansion joints.
• The I-5 Express Lanes will close from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday while crews replace 26 broken concrete panels.

Montlake construction

• The Montlake Bridge will close to vehicle traffic from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday for the first of five scheduled weekend closures. Pedestrian and bicyclist access will be maintained on one side of the bridge during this first weekend but may be restricted on the following closures.
• The work near SR 520 for this weekend is postponed, so all ramps to and from the highway in Montlake will remain open.

Sports in SODO

• The Seattle Sounders host Minnesota United at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lumen Field.
• The Seattle Mariners play the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.

Drivers planning to travel on I-5 and SR 520 are encouraged to plan ahead and allow for extra time, use alternative routes where possible, and consider carpooling or using public transit.

"With the collector/distributor handling all the traffic through downtown, people can still get to the stadiums, but will need to allow extra time to travel," WSDOT wrote Thursday. "After the games, the ramps from I-90 to southbound I-5 will be open to help people get home."

Drivers can find traffic alerts on WSDOT's Twitter feed or via the WSDOT Traffic app.