The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is preparing for more weekend-long closures at the Mercer Street on and off-ramp to I-5 throughout May.
Work that is part of Mercer Corridor Project will shut down the on and off-ramps for at least two weekends this month: Friday, May 6 to Monday, May 9, and Friday, May 20 to Monday, May 23. The Mercer Street exit and on-ramp may also be closed for a third weekend, from Friday, May 13 to Monday, May 16, pending final coordination with other major work projects in the area.
The I-5 on-ramp at University Street will be concurrently closed to provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane. Fairview Avenue N will also be closed between Mercer Street and Valley Street. All detour routes will be clearly marked to support traffic flow around the closures.
Mercer Street ramp closures are required for utility installations on Fairview Avenue N at Mercer Street, including water, sewer, electrical and communications line installations, as well as to align the existing on- and off-ramps with the future westbound lanes of Mercer Street.
During weekend closures, Metro Transit plans to reroute its bus service on routes 70, 71, 72, 73 and 83 off of Fairview Avenue N from 11:00 p.m. on Friday to 5:00 a.m. on Monday. Buses will be rerouted via Eastlake Avenue E: northbound between Mercer Street and Galer Street; and southbound from Galer Street to Thomas Street. Rerouted buses will serve posted stops on Eastlake Avenue E, but will not make any stops on the cross streets between Eastlake and Fairview.