Beaconians heading west from the Hill take note—The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will close the Spokane Street viaduct (formerly known as the West Seattle Freeway) overnight for three nights for work related to the Spokane Viaduct widening project.
Eastbound lanes of the viaduct will be closed from 11 p.m. tonight, February 25, until 5 a.m. on Saturday, February 26. The westbound lanes of the viaduct will be closed overnight on February 27 and 28 from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following day to remove portions of the old structure. During this closure, southbound I-5 traffic will be directed to the Forest Street exit to access surface streets. Northbound I-5 traffic and westbound traffic from Columbian Way will be detoured to surface streets at 6th Avenue South.
Drivers traveling east from South Seattle on I-90 tonight should be prepared for delays and detours. From 11:00 am tonight until 5:00 am tomorrow morning, eastbound I-90 will be closed between I-5 and I-405, with traffic detoured to the I-90 express lanes. Ramps to eastbound I-90 from northbound I-5 and Rainier Avenue South will be closed, as well as ramps on Mercer Island and further east to I-405. There will be other eastbound closures on the East Side on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
The closures are for the installation of new electronic signs as part of the Smarter Highways project. The Smarter Highways traffic management system will feature a network of sensors and electronic signs to provide drivers with information. A WSDOT video here shows how it will work. These signs have already been installed on northbound I-5 in South Seattle and will be activated there later this summer.
With luck, this weekend's closures won't cause traffic like this. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.More closures are scheduled this weekend for Spokane Street Viaduct work. Two ramps leading to West Seattle will be closed: the northbound I-5 off-ramp leading to the West Seattle Bridge, and the ramp from Columbian Way on Beacon Hill, leading to the West Seattle Bridge.
The ramps will be closed from 10:00 pm, Friday, January 29, until 5:00 am, Monday, February 1. In case of rain, crews may reschedule some of the work for the following weekend. Additionally, remember that the existing westbound Spokane Street Viaduct off-ramp to Fourth Avenue South is now closed permanently.
The Cascade Bicycle Club is conducting a survey on bicycling in Southeast Seattle, including your thoughts on cycling safety, bike trails and routes, and riding your bike to Link Light Rail.
Speaking of bike trails, the Chief Sealth Trail will be extended west of Beacon Avenue South this year. An artist is being sought by the city’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs along with SDOT to create a three-dimensional, permanent outdoor artwork “to mark the trail extension and enliven the streetscape” where the trail crosses Beacon Avenue South at South Dawson Street.
The total project budget is $50,000 and includes design, fabrication and installation costs. The application deadline is Tuesday, March 16. More information is available here.
Getting to West Seattle and Sodo from Beacon Hill is going to get more complicated, starting tonight. As we’ve reported previously, the Fourth Avenue South off-ramp from the West Seattle viaduct will be closing permanently starting at 10:00 pm tonight, eventually to be replaced by a new off-ramp at First Avenue South.
Spokane Street (at surface level) will be closed from First to Sixth avenues, though business access will be preserved. The eastbound lanes will reopen sometime in 2010, and the westbound lanes will be closed for the duration of the project.
In more short-term closures, the northbound I-5 ramp to the West Seattle Bridge will close at 10:00 pm tonight and reopen at 5:00 am on Monday. The ramp from westbound Columbian Way to the West Seattle Bridge will also be closed for the entire weekend.
Fourth Avenue South will be closed entirely between South Horton Street and Industrial Way South from 10:00 tonight until 5:00 am tomorrow morning, with possible further restrictions as needed, and the same stretch of road will be reduced to one lane in each direction for at least a month after that. This may include full closure of northbound lanes at night.
(This is an updated version of an article posted last week. The locations of some of the closures are going to be slightly different this time.)
Getting to and from Beacon Hill via Interstate 5 could be a bit more difficult this weekend. Six miles of northbound I-5 through south Seattle will be closed on Saturday night for workers to install new overhead sign bridges.
All lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm Saturday, December 12, to 8:00 am Sunday, December 13, between Boeing Access Road and I-90. Street. On-ramps in the area will start closing as early as 9 p.m.
These on-ramps will be closed from 9:00 pm Saturday to 8:00 am Sunday:
Boeing Access Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. to northbound I-5
Swift Avenue S./S. Graham Street to northbound I-5
Corson Avenue/S. Michigan Street to northbound I-5
West Seattle Bridge/Columbian Way to northbound I-5
There will be a signed detour to direct drivers to exit at Martin Luther King Way (exit 157) to Airport Way, and back onto I-5 via Edgar Martinez Drive/SR 519. Consider taking alternate routes like I-405 or SR 99 to avoid long delays and backups.
You can see more about the new overhead sign bridges here. The sign bridges are funded by the Alaskan Way Viaduct program, and are intended to improve traffic flow during the demolition and replacement of the Viaduct. The signs will be activated next summer.
View I-5 Closure December 5-6 2009 in a larger map
The section marked in red will be closed the next two Saturday nights. The section marked in blue will be closed December 12 until the next morning. The marked on-ramps will also be closed.
Getting to and from Beacon Hill via Interstate 5 could be a bit more difficult over the next couple of Saturdays. Six miles of northbound I-5 through south Seattle will be closed on the next two Saturday nights for workers to install new overhead sign bridges.
All lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm Saturday, December 5, to 8:00 am Sunday, December 6, between Boeing Access Road and Spokane Street. On-ramps in the area will start closing as early as 9 p.m.
These ramps will be closed from 9:00 pm Saturday to 8:00 am Sunday:
Boeing Access Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. to northbound I-5
Swift Avenue S./S. Graham Street to northbound I-5
Corson Avenue/S. Michigan Street to northbound I-5
The following Saturday, all lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm December 12 to 8:00 am December 13 between Boeing Access Road and I-90.
There will be a signed detour to direct drivers to exit at Martin Luther King Way (exit 157) to Airport Way, and back onto I-5 via Edgar Martinez Drive/SR 519. Consider taking alternate routes like I-405 or SR 99 to avoid long delays and backups.
You can see more about the new overhead sign bridges here. The sign bridges are funded by the Alaskan Way Viaduct program, and are intended to improve traffic flow during the demolition and replacement of the Viaduct. The signs will be activated next summer.
Remember the big I-5 repair project we warned you about a few weeks ago? After a weather delay, it starts tonight. One to three northbound lanes between Albro and Columbian will close between 7:00 pm and 5:00 am. There will be other closures soon as well; details here — Seattle Times
It may be a bit late in the season, but there are free flu shots and flu nose sprays available on Saturday, February 14 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club, 4520 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. Children must bring parents, and a certified Somali medical translator will be on hand — newrainiervista.com
