Southbound I-5 weekend work finishes in SeaTac, DesMoines; closures in Tukwila are next | DOT

Two weekends of the #SouthKingSlowdown remain on southbound Interstate 5 after contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation completed the third weekend of lane reductions south of Seattle at 2:30 a.m. today, Aug. 1.

August 1, 2016 5:30 pm

Two weekends of the #SouthKingSlowdown remain on southbound Interstate 5 after contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation completed the third weekend of lane reductions south of Seattle at 2:30 a.m. today, Aug. 1.

Road work for this project will take a break in anticipation of a busy Seafair weekend Saturday, Aug. 6 and Sunday, Aug. 7. Work will resume during the following two weekend, which will require a reducing the interstate to two lanes in Tukwila.

During the past three weekends, WSDOT’s contractor, MidMountain Contractors, Inc., paved 2.7 miles of the interstate in SeaTac and Des Moines. Crews will place the final layer of asphalt between South 188th Street and State Route 516 during overnight lane reductions.

“We saw a lot of drivers using different routes, taking transit or other alternatives throughout the weekend lane reductions,” WSDOT Traffic Engineer Mike Swires said. “We saw backups of about 4 miles and delays of 20 to 30 minutes each of these weekends, but they would have been much longer without drivers’ cooperation.”

Three down, two to go

After the break for Seafair, the final two weekends of lane reductions will resume in Tukwila:

· Aug. 12-15: Duwamish River Bridge to Klickitat Drive for expansion joint replacement and drainage repairs

· Aug. 19-22: Duwamish River Bridge for expansion joint repairs

Southbound SR 167 closure scheduled

Eighteen miles to the south of the work at the Duwamish River, southbound State Route 167 between Ellingson Road and 8th Street East near Algona will close during the weekend of Aug. 19-22. WSDOT contractor crews will install a culvert under the highway as part of the 8th to 277th southbound HOT lane project. Signed detours via State Route 18 and I-5 will be in place.

Using alternatives will limit delays

The remaining two weekends of lane reductions will create traffic backups. By planning ahead, drivers can take steps to limit delays:

· Allow extra time to travel through the work zones or on alternate routes.

· Ride transit, carpool or use other forms of transportation.

· Travel before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m., or reschedule discretionary trips.

· Check the Seattle Traffic page for updated traffic conditions.

· Download WSDOT’s mobile app.

· Follow the hashtag #SouthKingSlowdown on Twitter for updates from WSDOT, local media outlets and other agencies.