By Tom Pearce

Here’s how the paving and restriping dance will go: We’ll start closing the lanes at 8 p.m. Friday, July 29. By 10 p.m., southbound I-5 will be reduced to the two left lanes, starting just south of SR 518 and ending near SR 516. Then, on Sunday, they’ll shake it all about and switch traffic to the two right lanes. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 1.

Get ready for the #SouthKingSlowdown Hokey Pokey this weekend
Switching a work zone from one side of I-5 to the other can be a bit tricky. We’ve got move a lot of orange traffic barrels, all while keeping traffic moving. That’s what the crews will do this weekend between 6 and 10 a.m. Sunday, depending on how quickly crews complete paving the right lanes.

When crews are shifting traffic from the left to the right drivers should expect big backups and delays. A better bet will be to use alternate routes like I-405 and State Routes 99, 167 and 518. Drivers should also consider traveling early in the morning, taking transit or carpooling or postponing travel. If you choose to stick with I-5, please bring your patience and give yourself plenty of extra travel time.

Weekend lane reductions continue into August
Looking ahead, we’ll take the weekend of Aug. 6-7 off so we don’t interfere with Seafair traffic, but then we’re back to work for the final two closure weekends. On Aug. 12-15, we’ll do expansion joint replacement and drainage work on southbound I-5 in Tukwila. The big finale is Aug. 19-22. In addition to replacing expansion joints on I-5 in Tukwila, southbound State Route 167 will be closed in Pacific to place a culvert under the highway.

We know lane closures can be difficult, but we’re asking everyone to work together through this project. Between our crews and attentive drivers, we can keep everyone safe as we do the Hokey Pokey this weekend, and really, that’s what it’s all about!