Rain this weekend might help speed up traffic for once instead of adding to gridlock.

State transportation officials on Friday said they’re delaying a plan to cut southbound Interstate 5 down to two lanes near Westfield Southcenter Mall for paving work this weekend because wet weather is expected.

“You can’t do asphalt paving in rain,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Tom Pearce. “It doesn’t set up correctly.”

Roadwork is still scheduled between South 188th Street and South 219th Street next weekend, the new start of the so-called “South King Slowdown.” Construction will start at 8 p.m. Friday, July 15, and continue through 5 a.m. Monday, July 18, Pearce said.

The department still hopes to complete five weekends of roadwork in July and August. Work involving the highway’s Duwamish River Bridge will be done on two of those weekends. The state is replacing expansion joints at the bridge, among other maintenance. That roadwork is expected for the weekends of August 12-15 and August 19-22, according to Pearce.

The slowdowns are part of a $27 million project on I-5 from Tukwila to Federal Way.

Walker Orenstein: 360-786-1826