SEATTLE -- When eastbound drivers on Mercer Street start driving on new lanes Monday morning, the old lanes will be closed down for construction. And three northbound streets that run into Mercer -- Westlake, Terry and Boren -- will become dead-end streets.
For Susan Richardson, who owns Scoot About, a business at the corner of Mercer and Westlake, it means her company will now be located in a temporary cul-de-sac. She said it is already hard directing customers to her place; the change will make it even harder.
"We're thinking about a big banner on the side of the building to say, 'We are here!'" she said. "You can go around this way and we're still open."
Liisa Reunanen works in South Lake Union and predicts it will take her another ten to 15 minutes just to get to the freeway.
"I'm not happy, but I guess it's progress," she said.
Construction crews will close the I-5 on- and off-ramps for Mercer Street from Friday at 11 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m. to prepare for the switch.
Two-way traffic on Mercer Street should be opened this Fall, the city said.
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