13-mile backups may be ahead on I-405 in Bellevue
BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Get ready for the possibility of 13-mile backups on Interstate 405.
The Department of Transportation will be closing southbound lanes near Bellevue for three weekends in August. But at the end of it all, traffic will be reduced.
DOT crews have already begun work to expand a stretch of I-405 from a four-lane highway to six lanes. But they need to bring down the Wilburton tunnel to complete the project, and that could mean long waits and big headaches for drivers.
Road crews call a 1-mile stretch of I-405 in South Bellevue "the choke point." Every day 97,000 cars cram into four southbound lanes through Wilburton tunnel. The traffic backs up for miles.
The state has a solution, but warns it could add two hours to your weekend trip. The state is bringing in the wrecking ball, hauling in construction trucks to tear down the tunnel and add two southbound lanes to I-405.
"They'll crush the structure. It will all fall onto the roadway and then be knocked off to the sides. So we can bring traffic back in on Monday," said Brian Nielsen, WSDOT engineering manager.
The DOT will close the southbound lanes from SE 8th Street to I-90 for three weekends, beginning Aug. 8. The closures start at 11 p.m. Fridays. The road opens up at 5 a.m. on Monday.
The project could create a 13-mile backup from Bellevue to Lynnwood.
"We are certainly expecting more people on different routes in the city and obviously some of the detour routes run through some of the major corridors in Bellevue," said Ron Kasseck with Bellevue's Department of Transportation
Kasseck will watch the roads on his cameras and re-time traffic signals to avoid congestion in the city.
Ryan Goff says he's not looking forward to his weekend commute from Lakewood to Bellevue.
"You have all the commuters just wanting to go out on the weekends with the good weather and everything. It's going to be bad," he said.
Plan ahead to avoid the congestion in the southbound lanes of I-405 from Bellevue to I-90. You can get off on Southeast 8th, follow that onto 112th Southeast and Bellevue Way, which takes you to I-90.
You can also take the 520 bridge to I-5, then south on the freeway to the I-90 exit, and go east.
The Department of Transportation will be closing southbound lanes near Bellevue for three weekends in August. But at the end of it all, traffic will be reduced.
DOT crews have already begun work to expand a stretch of I-405 from a four-lane highway to six lanes. But they need to bring down the Wilburton tunnel to complete the project, and that could mean long waits and big headaches for drivers.
Road crews call a 1-mile stretch of I-405 in South Bellevue "the choke point." Every day 97,000 cars cram into four southbound lanes through Wilburton tunnel. The traffic backs up for miles.
The state has a solution, but warns it could add two hours to your weekend trip. The state is bringing in the wrecking ball, hauling in construction trucks to tear down the tunnel and add two southbound lanes to I-405.
"They'll crush the structure. It will all fall onto the roadway and then be knocked off to the sides. So we can bring traffic back in on Monday," said Brian Nielsen, WSDOT engineering manager.
The DOT will close the southbound lanes from SE 8th Street to I-90 for three weekends, beginning Aug. 8. The closures start at 11 p.m. Fridays. The road opens up at 5 a.m. on Monday.
The project could create a 13-mile backup from Bellevue to Lynnwood.
"We are certainly expecting more people on different routes in the city and obviously some of the detour routes run through some of the major corridors in Bellevue," said Ron Kasseck with Bellevue's Department of Transportation
Kasseck will watch the roads on his cameras and re-time traffic signals to avoid congestion in the city.
Ryan Goff says he's not looking forward to his weekend commute from Lakewood to Bellevue.
"You have all the commuters just wanting to go out on the weekends with the good weather and everything. It's going to be bad," he said.
Plan ahead to avoid the congestion in the southbound lanes of I-405 from Bellevue to I-90. You can get off on Southeast 8th, follow that onto 112th Southeast and Bellevue Way, which takes you to I-90.
You can also take the 520 bridge to I-5, then south on the freeway to the I-90 exit, and go east.