Comments (3)SEATTLE – Thousands of weary motorists were caught in backups all afternoon Saturday in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 on Saturday afternoon.
And state transportation officials warn that this weekend is just the beginning of traffic headaches in the area.
The backups are due to road construction at Mercer Street that will eventually lead to smoother traffic flow in the Mercer corridor. But first crews will need to shut down traffic inside the Mercer corridor for 20 upcoming weekends.
Backups on Saturday ranged from five miles to seven miles long for most of the afternoon, and that will be typical for many weekends to come, officials say.
Drivers won’t be the only ones affected by the “Mercer mess.”
Business owners like Russ Banks fear that customer traffic will fall of sharply due to the weekend road closures.
“We feel we’re probably going to have a sharp decline in business,” says Banks.
His furniture store on Fairview relies on weekend clientele. But the construction right outside his door could change all that.
“I would say my traffic is down about 50 percent,” he says.
It hasn’t become frustrating yet but it probably could. For that reason, Banks has pumped up his advertising – to ensure customers he’ll stay open even though Mercer will not.
Right now Mercer Street consists of four eastbound lanes. Once the project is complete, Mercer will have three lanes going east and three going west – giving drivers a straight shot towards Seattle’s city center.
The area will also get sidewalk improvements and new traffic signals – something even Banks can’t argue with.
“If we can make it through this, and if our customers help us make it through this, we will be better in the end,” he says.
In the meantime, detours have been set up to avoid Mercer Street.
• Those exiting Interstate 5 should use Stewart Street. From I-5 north, use Olive Way.
• Drivers trying to get on I-5 south should use Yale Avenue. And those trying to get on I-5 north, should use Olive Way.
• Northbound I-5 express lanes are open at peak traffic times to help traffic flow out of downtown.
Mercer Street will reopen at 5 a.m. Sunday. The next shutdown is scheduled for the weekend of May 6.
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