By Joe Veyera
It’s not too late to start preparing an alternative route to get around town this weekend, or the beginning of next week, with stretches of State Route 99 set to close starting Friday at 10 p.m., with things not getting completely back to normal until 5 a.m. Wednesday.
From 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, SR 99 will be closed in both directions between South Spokane Street and Valley Street, with northbound 99 will remaining open at South Royal Brougham way and southbound 99 remaining open from the Columbia Street on-ramp until midnight, due to the traffic expected from the Seahawks preseason matchup with Chicago at Centurylink Field tonight.
At 5 a.m. Monday, crews will reopen the stretch south of the Battery Street Tunnel, but SR 99 will remain closed through the tunnel to Valley Street until 5 a.m. Wednesday, with northbound drivers forced to exit at either Seneca Street or Western Avenue.
These closures will also affect those using mass transit for their commute, with Ballard riders of the RapidRide D Line and Route 28 Express both experiencing reroutes. For more details on the missed stops for the RapidRide D Line, click here. For more details on the Route 28 Express, which connects Crown Hill and Ballard to Downtown, click here.
WSDOT has also released its recommendations to help mitigate the effects of the closure:
- Allow plenty of extra travel time
- Leave early or delay your trip to avoid traveling during peak commute periods in the morning and afternoon
- Delay or reschedule discretionary trips
- Consider telecommuting
- Use King County Metro during off peak hours, or share a ride in a car or vanpool
- If you must drive, know before you go and use WSDOT’s travel tools
For more information on the closures, click here.
wonder why the D line is effected – it goes to Ballard. The E line uses 99.
Because the D turns into the C downtown and gets on the viaduct at Columbia.