UPDATE, August 18, 2016 — This is the last weekend for the #SouthKingSlowdown! If you are traveling on I-5 South in the Kent-Tukwila-Federal Way area, be prepared for traffic delays.
UPDATE, July 27, 2016 — On Fri., July 29, construction crews will start closing lanes around 8 p.m. By 10 p.m, southbound I-5 will be reduced to the two left lanes, starting just south of State Road 518 and ending near State Road 516. On Sunday, they’ll switch traffic to the two right lanes. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m., Mon., Aug. 1.
A road construction project starting July 15 in South King County will impact southbound drivers of I-5 near Tukwila, SeaTac and Des Moines. (Project was originally slated to begin July 8, but was postponed due to the weather forecast.)
Starting at 8 p.m., Friday, July 15, road construction will begin on southbound I-5. This will be the first of five weekends for the project.
WSDOT workers will reduce the interstate to two lanes between S. 188th St. in SeaTac and S. 219th St. in Des Moines to repave a 2.7 mile section of the freeway. The lane closures will occur from Friday evening through Monday morning for each of the following weekends, according to the WSDOT website:
July 15-18
July 22-25
No Roadwork Aug 6-7 due to Seafair
August 12-15
August 19-22
The work is part of a larger project to repave I-5 South from S. 320th St. to the Duwamish River Bridge. The entire project will continue through the fall of 2017. Learn more on the WSDOT blog or on the WSDOT weekend land reduction page for this project.
WSDOT offers some suggestions for avoiding the #SouthKingSlowdown:
- Allow extra travel time or select alternate travel routes
- Ride transit, carpool or use other forms of transportation
- Travel before 9 a.m. in the morning or after 9 p.m.
- Reschedule discretionary trips
- Check the Seattle traffic page for updates on traffic conditions
- Download the WSDOT mobile app for iOS or Android
Note: Kent Cornucopia Days begins Friday, July 8, so if you are planning to take I-5 to or from Kent, Washington for the summer festival, you may want to consider alternate routes, or plan for possible travel delays.
