RENTON, Wash. -- If you're driving this weekend, prepare yourself for a big mess.
A key section of Interstate 405 is shut down for construction work - and it will have a major impact on almost all surround highways, roads and bridges.
For 33 hours this weekend, Interstate 405 will be closed in both directions between Highway 167 and the Maple Valley Highway (Highway 169). Crews closed all lanes of I-405 at 2 a.m. Saturday. The road is expected to re-open at 11 a.m. Sunday. CLICK HERE to view map of closure.
Washington Department of Transportation crews took down the old Benson Road South Bridge around 5 a.m. to make way for additional lanes and a new ramp.
"We know this is an inconvenience to drivers, but we need all lanes closed to take down this bridge as safely and efficiently as possible," Eastside corridor Director Kim Henry, of the state Department of Transportation, said in a news release.
The closure will force a ripple effect that will be felt on all highways, including I-90, I-520 and I-5. If you have to drive in this area, plan for extra time and brace for major backups. WSDOT is recommending people avoid the area altogether, lest they want to be stuck in traffic expected on both the highway and city streets.
To help manage traffic, the department will run the Interstate 5 express lanes in the northbound direction and the Interstate 90 express lanes in the westbound direction throughout the closure.
The closure has been well-advertised for weeks. Lighted marquees dot the highways leading up to the area while a large orange warning banner hangs from the bridge itself. But with baseball traffic and other people traveling on a warm weekend, traffic could build up.
"You [won't be able to] get from Kent to Bellevue without going to I-5 through Seattle across 520 or [Interstate] 90," said Cheri Baldwin, a limo driver who regularly drives that area.
Cheri Baldwin said it's definitely changed her plans.
"That means I'm not coming north, anywhere in Bellevue," she said. "I'm not visiting my friends or anything in Bellevue... just because of this."
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