BOTHELL, Wash. — Drivers in the Bothell and Woodinville area should prepare for heavy traffic and long delays as the I-405 widening project moves into a new phase that will bring a sequence of weekend closures through Mid-March.
This weekend, all lanes of westbound SR-522 will close at the I-405 interchange in Bothell.
It is the first of several weekend closures planned as Washington State Department of Transportation crews begin taking down the flyover ramps that once carried northbound I-405 traffic to SR-522 in Bothell.
Crews will remove the flyover ramps to open up the center of the interchange so I-405 can be widened, allowing construction to resume on the I-405/Brickyard to the SR-527 Improvement Project.
Closure schedule:
Feb. 20-21: All lanes of westbound SR 522 at the I-405 Interchange will close from 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, to 6 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, to remove the first section of the ramp over the westbound lanes of SR 522. Crews will start closing lanes as early as 8 p.m.
Feb. 27-March 2: All lanes of eastbound and westbound SR 522 at the I-405 Interchange will close from 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, to 4 a.m. Monday, March 2, to remove the remaining portion of the ramp over SR 522. Crews will start closing lanes as early as 9 p.m.
As early as March 6-9: All lanes of northbound and southbound I-405 in Bothell will close from Friday night, March 6, to Monday morning, March 9, to remove portions of the ramps over mainline I-405. Times for the closure will be released when the schedule is finalized.
As early as March 13-16: All lanes of northbound and southbound I-405 in Bothell will close Friday night, March 13, to Monday morning, March 16, to remove the remaining portion of ramps over mainline I-405. Times for the closure will be released when the schedule is finalized.
We need to take those ramps down with a series of weekend closures so that we can do it safely,” said Lauren Penning, a WSDOT spokesperson. “We know it’s really impactful for people, so we will be looking for opportunities to possibly open the road sooner, but we will need a lot of time to take these structures down.
During the weekend closures, detour routes will be posted. WSDOT also warned that the detour routes cannot carry the normal SR-5522 or I-405 freeway volume.
WSDOT shared the traffic volume with KOMO News:
Saturdays:
- I-405:170,000 daily trips
- SR 522 (east of 405): 87,000 daily trips
Sundays:
- I-405:150,000 daily trips
- SR 522 (east of 405): 72,000 daily trips
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