West Seattle traffic alert: Early warning of I-5 ramp closure

Before the weekend, we mentioned the sign project that closed part of I-5 south of West Seattle last weekend and was scheduled to expand northward this weekend. Just got word from WSDOT that will include closing a ramp from The Bridge to I-5 – read on:

From WSDOT’s Patricia Michaud:

Wanted to give you a quick heads up that as part of our northbound I-5 closure in south Seattle on Saturday, crews will close the exit ramp from the West Seattle Freeway to northbound I-5. Here’s a summary of the planned closure:

11:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12 – 8 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 13
Crews will close all lanes of northbound I-5 from Boeing Access Road to the I-90 interchange.

They will also close the following ramps:
* W. Seattle and Columbian Way on-ramps to northbound I-5
* Interurban NB onramp to northbound to northbound I-5
* Swift Avenue S./S. Graham Street to northbound I-5
* Corson Avenue/S. Michigan Street to northbound I-5
* Boeing Access Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. to
northbound I-5

West Seattle drivers headed to northbound will follow a signed detour guiding them to 1st Avenue S and Edgar Martinez Drive S/SR 519 to northbound I-5.

Crews will be installing sign bridges as part of our smarter highways project. More information: www.smarterhighways.com

CMP December 7, 2009 (3:37 pm)

I love that WSDOT still refers to it as the West Seattle Freeway!

Laconique December 7, 2009 (4:05 pm)

Because it IS a freeway! What else would you call the elevated portion between I-5 and the Jeanette Williams bridge?

WSB December 7, 2009 (4:10 pm)

It is actually the West Seattle Bridge, aka the Spokane Street Viaduct. The West Seattle Freeway name was formally dropped years ago.

Laconique December 7, 2009 (4:24 pm)

Baaaah. Viaduct makes sense, but calling that entire elevated section a bridge does not. WSDOT calls it a freeway and so will I. :)

Don Anderson December 7, 2009 (4:36 pm)

The term freeway was only dropped to slow people down.

WSB December 7, 2009 (4:44 pm)

I recall vaguely that it also happened around the same time they finally found barriers they could use on the center line – We got here in 1991 and I remembered hearing time and again that there just wasn’t enough room to put up Jersey barriers between the eastbound and westbound lanes. Now the current project will roughly double the width of the whole thing by adding a whole new structure on the north side – TR

JanS December 7, 2009 (6:31 pm)

so..if you have to go north, just go up Aurora to 50th, and then go to I-5…it’s quick, easy, skip downtown altogether.

Unfortunately, when you say “freeway”, everyone thinks they can go 60-70 mph over the damned thing…people are predictable, moronic, unthinking…hmm..what else can I say about them? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not ALL people…just the moronic ones, like I said ;-)

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