The following is a press release from the Department of Transportation:

With warm weather continuing through the weekend, Washington State Department of Transportation crews will close portions of Interstate 5 and all lanes of the state Route 520 floating bridge as they work around the clock to wrap up the summer construction season. It will also be a busy weekend for sports and other events, so Seattle-area drivers will want to give themselves extra time and pack patience along with their sunblock.

I-5 construction, closures
The left two northbound lanes of I-5 between Olive Way and Lakeview Boulevard will be closed from Friday, Sept. 13, to Monday, Sept. 16, so WSDOT contractor crews can replace worn and aging expansion joints. A third northbound I-5 lane will close between midnight and 4:30 a.m. Saturday and Monday as crews complete this work.

WSDOT bridge maintenance crews will take advantage of these lane closures to complete daytime bridge deck repair work Saturday and Sunday. Crews will extend the double-left lane closures on northbound I-5 from Lakeview Boulevard to the north end of the Ship Canal Bridge. The Mercer Street on- and off-ramps, Olive Way on-ramp, and Lakeview Boulevard off-ramp will remain open all weekend.

“Tens of thousands of people depend on SR 520 and this mile-long stretch of I-5,” said WSDOT Northwest Regional Administrator Lorena Eng. “With major events going on in South Lake Union and at the stadiums, we’re asking drivers to stay engaged, plan ahead and take alternate routes such as SR 99, I-90, and I-405 this weekend.”

Full closures of SR 520
Both directions of SR 520 will be closed between Montlake Boulevard and Interstate 405 from Friday, Sept. 13, to Sunday, Sept. 15.

After the weekend work, drivers heading toward Seattle will see big changes to westbound SR 520 as crews working on the Eastside Transit and HOV Project create new work zones to continue building a wider, safer highway. Crews will shift the westbound lanes to the south from 108th Avenue Northeast to Bellevue Way and to the north from Bellevue Way to Evergreen Point Road.

Meanwhile, crews working on the new West Connection Bridge will work from the west end of the floating bridge to pour approximately 40 truckloads of concrete to form column foundations for the new west-end bridge.

Weekend closure details
Sports fans and festival-goers heading to the Boats Afloat Show or the St. Demetrios Greek Festival Sept. 13-15, the Seattle Sounders soccer match on Sept. 13 (7 p.m. at CenturyLink Field) or the Seattle Seahawks football game Sept. 15 (5:30 p.m. at CenturyLink Field) should be aware of these details:

Northbound I-5

• 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, to 4:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 16 – Two of four left lanes on northbound I-5 will be closed between Olive Way and Lakeview Boulevard for expansion joint replacement.
• 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, to 4:30 a.m. Saturday – Three of four lanes on northbound I-5 will be closed between Mercer Street and Lakeview Boulevard while crews place a protective concrete barrier around the work zone.
• 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, and 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 – WSDOT bridge maintenance crews will extend the double-left lane closures on northbound I-5 from Lakeview Boulevard to the north end of the Ship Canal Bridge for bridge deck repair work.
• 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, to 4:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 16 – Three of four lanes on northbound I-5 will be closed between Mercer Street and Lakeview Boulevard to remove barrier and restore all four travel lanes.

SR 520

• 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, to 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 – All lanes of SR 520 from I-405 to Montlake Boulevard will be closed. Eastside Transit and HOV Project crews will use the closure to implement westbound traffic lane shifts from 108th Avenue Northeast to Evergreen Point Road, while other workers continue pouring concrete foundations for the new West Connection Bridge.

For a list of traffic tools, please visit the WSDOT website.