Thanksgiving journey rush, WSDOT building to affect Seattle drivers this weekend

SEATTLE — The vacation journey rush has already begun forward of Thanksgiving, and with extra folks touring by air and on the roads, native highways might face added congestion.

In addition to the everyday uptick in automobiles, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) crews are finishing three main building tasks that may end in lane reductions and closures all through the Seattle area. WSDOT officers, nonetheless, mentioned none of those tasks, or another building, will linger into Thanksgiving journey beginning on Wednesday of subsequent week.

“We know that this impacts people,” mentioned Lauren Penning with WSDOT. “We know that it does cause some people delays and changes to their plans.”

Southbound Interstate 5 lane reductions

Southbound I-5 shall be decreased to 2 lanes throughout the Ship Canal Bridge. The discount spans from the NE forty fifth St/NE fiftieth St off-ramp to the SR 520 interchange.

The lane discount will begin as early as 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21, and final till 5 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 24.

The two proper lanes shall be closed whereas crews make drainage enhancements. Crews can even shut the NE forty fifth St on-ramp to southbound I-5 throughout the weekend lane discount.

People touring on the southbound I-5 ought to count on delays close to the lane reductions.

During the weekend work, the categorical lanes are open to all drivers and can function solely within the southbound route, 24 hours a day. HOV lane restrictions should nonetheless be adopted.

“If you’re heading northbound, the express lanes won’t switch northbound over the weekend,” Penning defined. “They’ll be southbound all weekend to support traffic traveling in that direction.”

Ramp closures at Interstate 405/State Route 522 interchange

Starting at 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21, till 4 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, crews will shut ramps on the Interstate 405/State Route 522 interchange.

Crews will change visitors to the brand new northbound I-405 on-ramp and activate new visitors alerts at two new intersections on SR 522 between Bothell and Woodinville.

“It will be kind of a changing, shifting situation for drivers, and we really want people to be prepared and to watch out for any changing conditions,” Penning added.

WSDOT mentioned drivers ought to plan for a collection of ramp closures, detours, and new lanes, indicators, and visitors alerts.

Eastbound State Route 520 closure

Eastbound SR 520 shall be closed all weekend between I-5 and Montlake Boulevard in Seattle.

The closure begins at 11 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21, and lasts till 5 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 24.

Eastbound SR 520 shall be open throughout Lake Washington.

“They’re [crews] gonna be removing some bridge barrier and doing some other construction that they need to get done in that stretch of the freeway,” Penning advised KOMO News.

Thanksgiving journey situations

For folks touring for Thanksgiving, WSDOT is predicting that Wednesday and the next Sunday will see probably the most congestion on native highways.

Weekend travel charts can be found online, which give drivers estimated home windows of the busiest and slowest hours. As extra folks head out the door for vacation journey, Penning mentioned drivers ought to have a plan earlier than hitting the highway.

“See if there’s an alternate route you can take, check traffic, see if maybe you might want to delay your trip or plan for extra time,” she defined.