SEATTLE -- If weather cooperates this weekend, commuters who rely on Mercer Street for their commute will be noticing some big changes. Traffic will be shifted into newly completed lanes to allow for the next phase of construction of the two-way Mercer Street project.
“It is going to be rough,” said Angela Brady with the Seattle Department of Transportation and director of the project.
To complete the changeover the Interstate 5 on and off ramps at Mercer will have to close. The full weekend closure is expected to happen Friday January 13 through the 16. Bad weather could postpone the work.
A city news release outlined the changes:
On January 16, Stage 2 of the Mercer East Project will begin and eastbound traffic on Mercer Street will be re-routed onto the new Mercer Street lanes north of the existing lanes. Three lanes of traffic will continue eastbound on Mercer Street with access to the I-5 on-ramps and Fairview Avenue North.
This traffic shift will result in access restrictions to Mercer Street from the south, as access to Mercer Street via Boren, Terry, and Westlake avenues will be concurrently closed at Republican Street. Alternate routes should be used to reach Eastlake Avenue East and Capitol Hill (i.e. Dexter Avenue North to Republican Street).
The first few days after the switch will have commuters searching for the easiest way to navigate out of South Lake Union.
Pedestrian and bike paths will still flow north out of the area, but no cars or trucks.
The entire project is scheduled to wrap up late this year, and these traffic revisions will remain in place until then.
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