I-405 lane, full closures under way

Everything was a go for the switching of southbound Interstate 405 lanes to the Oakesdale Bridge Southwest starting on Friday.

By Dean Radford • August 7, 2008 9:54 pm
Some work has resumed on a multi-million project to replace a culvert under Interstate 405 in Renton that collapsed in the December rainstorm. Crews working for the state Department of Transportation are digging a big hole for what’s known as a “stilling basin” next to Main Avenue/Benson Road just south of Renton City Hall. The basin will act to dissipate the energy of the water as it passes through the culvert under I-405
Some work has resumed on a multi-million project to replace a culvert under Interstate 405 in Renton that collapsed in the December rainstorm. Crews working for the state Department of Transportation are digging a big hole for what’s known as a “stilling basin” next to Main Avenue/Benson Road just south of Renton City Hall. The basin will act to dissipate the energy of the water as it passes through the culvert under I-405

Everything was a go for the switching of southbound Interstate 405 lanes to the Oakesdale Bridge Southwest starting on Friday.

The switching of lanes was to begin at 10 p.m. on Friday and finish at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

At least one southbound lane will remain open at all times, but state officials warn that backups will occur. The state will use traffic barrels to move traffic over. Closures also will affect the southbound onramp from Rainier Avenue/Grady Way to I-405.

The traffic control was to begin just south of the freeway’s intersection with State Route 169 and be in place by State Route 167, the Valley Freeway, according to Lisa Hodgson, the project engineer.

By design, the Renton lane switch is occurring on the first of three weekends when southbound I-405 will close for the removal of the Wilburton Tunnel. Both projects are part of a multi-million effort to widen the freeway.

“WSDOT determined that coordinating the timing of the lane and ramp closures in Renton with the Wilburton Tunnel closure may minimize the inconvenience to the traveling public,” said Hodgson.

State officials encourage motorists to find alternate routes around the Bellevue freeway closure for the three weekends.

From Friday night to Sunday afternoon crews will close the southbound SR 167 to southbound I-405 ramp and one to two lanes on southbound I-405 between SR 169 and the West Valley Highway.

Once the southbound traffic is shifted to the new bridge, construction crews will be able to begin work to build the northbound I-405 portion of the bridge.

Drivers will also notice that once traffic is shifted to the new bridge, the southbound I-405 lanes will be higher than the northbound I-405 lanes.

The I-405/I-5 to SR 169 Stage 1 Widening project is expected to open to traffic in 2010. The project will add a new lane in each direction on I-405 between SR 167 and I-5 and a new southbound lane on SR 167 from I-405 to SW 41st Street.