Seattle-area weekend closures on I-405, Highway 99, light rail, Highway 520

Planning a drive to see Mom this weekend?

Those trips are taking a back seat this weekend to international soccer, as the Washington State Department of Transportation and Sound Transit squeeze in extra work before their construction blackout next month, to accommodate the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup.

Contractors will return to southbound Interstate 405 in Renton this weekend to close the highway and resume building toll lanes, in hopes of a 2027 finish. The job is running two years late, which adds pressure on the state to work as often as possible before the five-week recess, June 8 to July 10.

That I-405 shutdown, along with other major closures, will create longer, less predictable trips across the Eastside and Seattle," WSDOT announced.

I-405 southbound will close from Coal Creek Parkway in Bellevue to North 30th Street in Renton, from Friday at 11:30 p.m. until Monday at 4 a.m. Crews will pave, excavate drainage trenches and relocate traffic lanes. A signed detour will send motorists down the usual path, along the parkway through the city of Newcastle, to Renton.

Meanwhile in Kirkland, the I-405 northbound and southbound ramps will close at Northeast 85th Street, which also will close below the freeway, from Friday at 11 p.m. until Monday at 4 a.m. Traffic will be shifted to new roundabouts. The overall project will create a three-deck interchange that adds ramps for Sound Transit's future Stride buses and access to the I-405 express toll lanes.

"People should plan for miles-long backups on I-405 in both directions approaching Bellevue and Renton and heavier congestion throughout the I-405 corridor, WSDOT warns.

The northbound Highway 99 First Avenue South bridge will close from Friday at 9 p.m. until Monday at 5 a.m., so crews can replace nine steel deck panels on the drawbridge. Additional night or weekend closures are possible this month.

South-siders looking for a light rail option are out of luck.

In another pre-World Cup rush, Sound Transit will close its 1 Line between SeaTac/Airport, Tukwila International Boulevard and Rainier Beach stations, all day Saturday and Sunday. Shuttle buses will connect those three stations, while trains will operate every 10 minutes elsewhere. Crews will replace overhead power-supply equipment, which has operated since 2009, a staff report said.

Eastbound Highway 520 is also closing from Interstate 5 to Montlake Boulevard from Friday at 11 p.m. until Monday at 5 a.m. Workers will complete a shift of the ramp from northbound I-5 to eastbound 520. Meanwhile, access from the Montlake interchange to the eastbound Lake Washington bridge will be limited to transit and carpools of at least three people, using the center high-occupancy onramp.

Beyond all that, two lanes of northbound I-5 remain closed for the yearlong repave of the Ship Canal Bridge. I-5 express lanes will point north as usual, leaving less capacity for southbound travel in the mornings.

WSDOT suggests transit, park-and-ride, schedule changes and online traffic-information sites to help people cope.

Or, live closer to your mother.

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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 6:37 AM.