More weekend-long lane reductions planned for I-5, SR 509 through September

Thursday, August 3, 2017 12:17pm

The Washington State Department of Transportation is rehabilitating about 10 miles of northbound I-5 from South 260th Street in Des Moines to the Duwamish River. The work includes replacing broken concrete panels, grinding the concrete surface, replacing part of the concrete with asphalt, replacing eight expansion joints and ADA improvements. COURTESY IMAGE, WSDOT

Three more weekends of lane reductions on northbound Interstate 5 between Kent and Tukwila are scheduled for August, along with three weekends that will reduce both directions of State Route 509 to a single lane in Burien.

Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will be hard at work to revive I-5 and improve SR 509:

• Aug. 11-14: Northbound I-5 paving and SR 509 guardrail replacement and paving.

• Aug. 18-21 and 25-28: Replace expansion joints on northbound I-5.

• Sept. 8-11 and 15-18: Both directions SR 509 guardrail replacement and paving.

“We know that weekend-long lane reductions cause delays for drivers, but the work produces tremendous benefits,” WSDOT Regional Administrator Lorena Eng said in a media release. “Each weekend on northbound I-5 saves us up to 30 nights of lane closures. Working weekends means we complete the job in less time and save the taxpayers a lot of money.”

Northbound I-5 in SeaTac, Tukwila

The weekend of Aug. 11-14, three lanes will close to pave the final layer of asphalt on northbound I-5 from State Route 516 in SeaTac to South 170th Street in Tukwila. The weekends of Aug. 18-21 and 25-28, three lanes will close for expansion joint replacement at the Duwamish River Bridge in Tukwila.

Lane closures will begin at 8 p.m. each Friday. By 10 p.m., northbound I-5 will reduce to two lanes until 5 a.m. each Monday. All work is weather-dependent.

The final two weekends of lane reductions, to replace expansion joints at Interurban Avenue, have yet to be scheduled.

Guardrail and paving on SR 509

The left lane in both directions of SR 509 in Burien will close Aug. 11-14, Sept. 8-11 and 15-18 for guardrail repair and replacement and paving.

Lanes will close at 7 p.m. each Friday and reopen at 6 a.m. each Monday. The paving work is weather-dependent.

Plan ahead

Each day more than 100,000 vehicles travel northbound I-5 between Kent and Tukwila, and up to 30,000 use SR 509 in Burien. During the weekend-long lane reductions, drivers can help ease congestion by:

• Using bus or light rail service.

• Carpooling.

• Scheduling trips early or late in the day.

• Using alternative routes like I-405, or state routes 99 and 167.

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