People heading to various Seattle-area events this weekend, including Seattle Pride festivities, the Bellevue Strawberry Festival or Shoreline Arts Festival should plan ahead for the weekend’s closure of state Route 520. Event attendees and travelers are encouraged to take alternative routes, such as Interstate 90, or use transit or carpools.
Construction of a temporary, westbound off-ramp to Montlake Boulevard in Seattle is the reason behind the highway closure, scheduled from 11 p.m. Friday, June 26, to 5 a.m. Monday, June 29.
The eastbound ramps and lanes, including the Portage Bay Bridge, will close from Interstate 5 to 92nd Avenue Northeast. The westbound lanes and ramps will close from 92nd Avenue Northeast to Montlake Boulevard.
Crews also will close a single northbound lane on Montlake Boulevard.
Contractor crews will use the closure to pour concrete and connect SR 520’s westbound lanes to a newly built, temporary off-ramp to Montlake Boulevard. The temporary westbound off-ramp, expected to open in mid-July, will carry traffic until a permanent off-ramp to Montlake is completed in summer 2017.
Other weekend work includes improvements to the eastbound SR 520 ramps to and from Montlake Boulevard, as well as utility installation in the Montlake area.