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I-405 And SR-520 Closed This Weekend

WSDOT

State Route 520 and northbound I-405 will be closed this weekend for inspection and repairs. Both directions of SR-520 will be closed between Montlake Boulevard and I-405 from 11:00 p.m. Friday through 5:00 a.m. Monday.

Northbound I-405 from S.E. 8th Street to SR-520 from 10:00 p.m. Friday to 4:00 a.m. Monday. The I-90 ramps to northbound I-405 will also be closed.

According to Kris Olsen from the Department of Transportation, the SR-520 floating bridge is getting its annual inspection.  It has to be done in the summer in case they have to make new replacement parts before the fall rains start.

About half of the 900 aging concrete panels on Northbound 405 in Bellevue have to be dug up, replaced, and given time to cure. It’s a pain to close that much freeway for a whole summer weekend.

Olsen says scheduling it is quite a dance. Summertime is chock-full of popular events both in Seattle and on the Eastside; like Seafair, Bite of Seattle and the Bellevue Arts Festival.  Everyone wants to take advantage of the decent weather that lasts a relatively short time.

WSDOT met with local communities, transit agencies, stadium officials and venue events coordinators to find the best times and dates for closures. One of the biggest losers this weekend—long suffering Seattle Mariners fans.  There’s a three game home series with the Los Angeles Angels at SAFECO field.

But team spokeswoman Rebecca Hale says you’ve got to pick your battles. “We recognize that this is an important thing and we didn’t see that there was any reason for us to put up any kind of obstructions,” said Hale.

WSDOT recommends budgeting an extra hour for highway travel this weekend.

Get the latest from WSDOT's traffic closure page. In the meantime WSDOT suggests the following ways to avoid congestion this weekend: