RENTON, Wash. — A series of freeway closures will impact drivers across the region this weekend.
The longest closures will affect drivers in Renton and Kirkland.
IN RENTON: Northbound I-405 will be closed from SR 169 (Exit 4) to Sunset Boulevard Northeast from 11:59 p.m. Friday, July 11, to 4 a.m. Monday, July 14.
IN KIRKLAND: Southbound I-405 will be closed from Northeast 124th Street to Northeast 70th Place from 11 p.m. Friday, July 11, to 4 a.m. Monday, July 14.
A shorter closure will impact drivers in downtown Seattle. The southbound lanes of I-5 will be closed near the Convention Center from 11 p.m. Friday night, July 11, until 6 a.m. Saturday, July 12. All southbound traffic will use the express lanes, which will remain open.
WSDOT had previously planned to also shut down Southbound SR 167 in Kent this weekend, but has now cancelled that closure. It will be rescheduled for another time.
“2025 and 2026 are probably our busiest years that we’ve ever had since I’ve been at WSDOT the last 10 years,” said Craig Smiley with WSDOT communications.
More closures will continue next weekend too as part of the Ship Canal Bridge Preservation project. Those closures will impact northbound lanes of I-5 near the I-90 interchange and across the Ship Canal Bridge.
“We understand that summertime is very busy, but it’s a small weather window for us to get work done,” Smiley said.
OTHER TRAFFIC: Southbound SR 167 to remain open this weekend
Some drivers told KIRO 7 they were already anticipating delays.
“Usually it’s a five to 10 minute commute for us,” said Happy Tsantilas who lives in Kirkland and co-owns Acropolis Pizza & Pasta nearby. “It will be anywhere from probably 45 minutes to an hour.”
Tsantilas recalled a previous closure on I-405 that slowed business.
“That Saturday, I think we only had six tables,” she said.
Suzuna Berry, who lives in the area, said she’s already thinking about alternate routes to get to work.
“It’s definitely going to be busy and the back way is gonna be impossible to get through,” Berry said.
WSDOT is reminding drivers that alternate routes will see delays and are not built to handle the same volume of traffic seen on freeways.
Smiley encourages people to carpool, or take public transportation or light rail.
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