Drivers on southbound Interstate 5 in south King County this morning were greeted with smooth new asphalt across each lane after the second weekend of #SouthKingSlowdown wrapped up at about 5 a.m. today, July 25.
Weekend-long lane reductions allowed contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation to replace two, 360-foot sections of concrete panels with fresh asphalt. They also paved three southbound lanes of the interstate between South 188th Street in SeaTac and State Route 516 in Des Moines.
“We know it’s a challenge for drivers when we reduce lanes on I-5, and we appreciate their patience,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Mike Askarian. “These lane reductions allow us to complete the work more quickly, which will result in a better finished highway.”
Crews are performing most of the work on this project during a series of overnight lane reductions that will continue into 2017. Other portions of the work, such as replacing concrete panels with asphalt, cannot be finished during overnight lane closures.
Three weekends of lane reductions remain
Weekend lane reductions will resume starting at 8 p.m. Friday, July 29. Crews will pave two lanes of southbound I-5 beginning early Saturday morning, July 30. Early Sunday morning, July 31, crews will shift traffic onto the lanes paved the previous day and pave the other two lanes. Work will be complete by 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 1.
Crews will not work during Seafair weekend, Aug. 6-7. The #SouthKingSlowdown weekend lane reductions will resume Aug. 12-15, when crews replace expansion joints on the right side of the southbound I-5 Duwamish River Bridge and complete drainage repairs under the right lanes near the southbound Interstate 405 interchange.
During the project’s final weekend, Aug. 19-22, crews will replace the expansion joints on the left side of the southbound I-5 Duwamish River Bridge. Southbound State Route 167 will be closed from Ellingson Road to 8th Street East in Pacific. Signed detours will be in place.
Drivers can help limit backups
The remaining three 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 early in the morning before 9 a.m. or later in the evening 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.
