SEATTLE — Another weekend, another slate of road closures and lane reductions across the Puget Sound.
Starting Friday, expect closures to impact traffic in Kent, Auburn, and in Pierce County, along with lane reductions that are already in place in Seattle.
In Kent, southbound State Route 167 will close between State Route 516/Willis Street and South 277th Street from 11:59 p.m., Friday, July 25, to 4 a.m. Monday, July 28. Drivers can utilize this detour to get around it. The work is to replace bridge joints and resurface the Green River bridge.
In Auburn, eastbound State Route 18 will close between C Street Southwest and Auburn Way South from 9 p.m., Friday, July 25, to 5 a.m. Monday, July 28, so that crews can perform paving work.
In Pierce County, northbound I-5 approaching DuPont will close over two nights at Steilacoom-DuPont Road. Travelers will utilize this detour over the Steilacoom-DuPont Road off- and on-ramps from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday night, July 25, and Saturday night, July 26.
The closures come as lanes are still reduced on northbound I-5 in Seattle across the Ship Canal Bridge. Those reductions are in place until 11:59 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15.
“My commute time has increased so much,” said commuter Tiasha Datta. “It takes me an hour to get to work.”
Drivers, already dealing with the traffic headaches caused by the work on I-5, are fed up.
“My daughter is going to music camp at School of Rock, and it usually takes about 20 minutes to get there, but it took me an hour and 20 on Monday,” said Laura Dean. “So, we’ve been late every day.”
Doug Adamson, spokesperson for the Washington Department of Transportation, acknowledges there will be significant impacts for drivers this weekend and at times throughout the rest of summer.
“The Pacific Northwest has a really tiny window to get this work done,” he said.
“Is the only thing drivers can do is just get used to it?” asked KIRO 7’s Madeline Ottilie.
“Nobody likes construction until it’s over. We get it,” Adamson said. “Our state transportation system is getting old. In order to keep the roadway in good working order, there’s a lot of work that has to be done.”
WSDOT is urging drivers to give themselves extra time to get around detours.
“I’ve just been leaving so early in the morning,” Datta said. “No solutions yet.”
You might consider alternate transportation options, too.
“It’s really tough,” Dean said. “People are looking for alternate transportation, like the rail and that sort of thing.”
You can find more details on the construction projects here.
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