Freeway Fright ’07 starts tonight at 10

i5logo3.jpgMorning commuters won’t be dealing with it till Monday, but the weekend effects will be major — starting at 10 pm, the West Seattle Bridge exit to NB I-5 will close completely for the whole weekend. If your destination off I-5 is the U-District or somewhere further north, try this alternate route: Take The Viaduct; just past the Battery Street Tunnel, follow the Mercer Street/I-5 exit, which is a relatively straight shot (less than a mile) over to the interstate onramps. Meantime, these links should be handy: WSDOT’s “everything you need to know NOW about the closures” page is here; our live WS cams page including The Bridge is here.

15 Replies to "Freeway Fright '07 starts tonight at 10"

  • RobertSeattle August 10, 2007 (7:51 am)

    Another route is to take 1st Avenue, then right at Safeco Field (Edgar Martinez Drive) and then get onto I-5 or 90 via the ramps constructed in the past couple of years.

  • Chet August 10, 2007 (8:14 am)

    yes, I imagine the 1st Ave off ramp from the east bound side of W Sea bridge is going to be slammed. That and the 99 north route will see greater than normal volumes problem is these 2 routes are already congested during rush hour.

  • Flowerpetal August 10, 2007 (10:00 am)

    The Alaskan Way Viaduct congested with cars, large trucks and busses for hours on end scares the heck out of me. I wonder if DOT will be measuring before and after to see if the increased traffic flow (and it will not “flow”) will have an effect on the slowly sinking viaduct. That makes me want to take the water taxi even when it is weighed down with 100 extra riders.

  • Veronika August 10, 2007 (11:19 am)

    Does anyone know a good way to get from W. Seattle to where the Boeing access road drops you off on East Marginal? (

  • Admiral Resident August 10, 2007 (11:31 am)

    You could always take West Marginal Way southbound to 509, out to the airport and fly away to Margaritaville for a couple of weeks. But wait, the flight delays might keep you at the airport for longer than 2 weeks. :)

  • WSB August 10, 2007 (11:59 am)

    We always go to East Marginal by going through White Center to Cloverdale, past the 509 on ramp, down Cloverdale through South Park, take a left turn toward and over the South Park Bridge, then you are at East Marginal quite shortly. At least, that was our Blue Angels/Museum of Flight route!

  • Jiggers August 10, 2007 (2:51 pm)

    I don’t think traffic will be all that bad mainly because we’ve been warned and have been given enough time to make other plans. But then again, I’ve known to be wrong before.

  • Karen August 10, 2007 (3:42 pm)

    How about the Southworth ferry, drive to Bremerton and ferry across to Seattle?
    Might be just as quick!!

  • Flowerpetal August 10, 2007 (4:12 pm)

    Jiggers, I hope you are correct on this one; but I’m doubting it. I have been flabbergasted time and again this past two weeks when people have told me that they haven’t heard about the impending mess. Not sure what cave they have been in! But I do believe that there are going to be way too many people that are going to be surprised on Monday morning.

  • Sue August 10, 2007 (6:24 pm)

    All along I’ve been hearing that construction begins tonight at 10pm. Now I’m reading this article that says they will start closing 1 lane an hour starting at 7pm tonight.
    http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattletraffic/archives/119811.asp
    I don’t know if that’s true, but the WSDOT page has the “countdown to construction” pointing to 10pm. I hope they didn’t decide to change closure time at the last minute and mess up people.

  • Shawn August 10, 2007 (9:50 pm)

    Does anyone happen to know a route to get from West Seattle to I-90 during this happy period? I appreciate any help you can provide!

  • Karen August 10, 2007 (10:06 pm)

    Could you go over the bridge to Beacon hill, over it and get onto 90 from MLK?

  • Philip August 10, 2007 (10:57 pm)

    Shawn, the most direct route would be to go Northbound on East Marginal Way (via the W.S. Bridge lower level) or 1st Avenue (upper level) and turn right onto Atlantic Street. That goes straight into I-90. 4th Avenue can get you there too – just follow the signs. There’s talk of a temporary left turn signal from the W.S. Bridge upper level to 4th Avenue – not confirmed yet.

    Karen’s route may work too, but not sure how.

  • Jan August 11, 2007 (1:46 am)

    Philip…the left turn onto 4th Ave, will be on Spokane St at surface level.There’s no way to remove the median so eastbound traffic on the Spokane Street Viaduct can turn left.

  • Shawn August 11, 2007 (10:15 am)

    Karen and Philip–thank you!! I’ll do a trial run of these this weekend.

Sorry, comment time is over.