Traffic headaches this time on the Eastside during this weekend of closures on I-405. This, as drivers and crews endure record-setting heat.
Eastside drivers have spent this late summer weekend trying to maneuver around the traffic caused by this weekend closures on I-405 from Renton to Kirkland.
They have been trying to keep cool, too.
A KIRO 7 crew found the perfect spot to show what WSDOT crews have been up to this weekend. It’s grueling work that has had a lot of people stuck in traffic in record setting heat.
It hardly matters whether on the freeway or on surface streets, drivers here on the Eastside have been frustrated.
“Just this area right here is is a bit slow,” said Preston Glidden of Renton. “And then I have to turn left into work. So, I have to make sure I can get over there to be able to turn. So, that’s a bit of a bear.”
He has plenty of company.
“So, if I try to come off of the hill and go anywhere, then instead of maybe 10 minutes,” said Sonette Garcia, “it’s taking me like 30 (minutes) to get just down the hill so I can go somewhere.”
Blame it on this work on I-405 from Renton to Kirkland.
But WSDOT says its crews have gotten a lot done, even in this weekend’s record-setting temperatures.
“So, we’re doing our best to make sure that they’re getting their breaks,” said Craig Smiley, WSDOT spokesman. “They’re staying really well hydrated. And just trying to take care of them out there.”
It turns out, says Smiley, the paving materials actually like the dry heat. And crews have gotten so much done, they are completing some additional tasks for other future work, all of it aimed at improving this stretch of roadway.
“So, not only is it going to ride better, but it’s going to have a lot more more capacity and traffic operations that function a lot better, too,” Smiley said. “This is an area where see saw a lot of congestion on a daily basis and this project should have a very big improvement.”
But he says a lot more work has to be done before that happens.
There is some good news; no road work will be done during Labor Day weekend!
But brace yourselves for a September full of weekend road closures.
©2025 Cox Media Group
