Westbound State Route 520 will close between Montlake Boulevard and Interstate 5 in Seattle from 11 p.m. on Friday, November 13, until 5 a.m. on Monday, November 16, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has announced. The weekend closure is weather permitting, and the department says bad weather could delay or cancel the work.
Source: Washington State Department of Transportation, via JustAbouts
The closure covers only the Seattle-side end of the route. The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge across Lake Washington will remain open in both directions, so drivers can still cross the lake westbound — they simply cannot stay on SR 520 past Montlake to reach I-5.
What closes, and what stays open
All westbound traffic crossing the lake will have to leave SR 520 at Montlake Boulevard or Lake Washington Boulevard. Drivers whose destination is I-5 — northbound toward Everett or southbound through downtown Seattle — will need another route for the whole weekend.
Eastbound SR 520 is not affected and will remain open, and the SR 520 Trail, the walking and cycling path that runs alongside the highway, will also stay open throughout the weekend.
The work: expansion joints and a moved I-5 ramp
Crews will use the closure to repair expansion joints and to move the westbound off-ramp connection to northbound I-5. The work is part of the Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project, the current phase of WSDOT's long-running SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program on the Seattle side of the lake.
Source: WSDOT SR 520 construction update, Nov 6, 2026
WSDOT warns that the work will also mean construction noise for neighbours near the project throughout the weekend. Questions about the construction can go to the project's 24-hour hotline at 206-319-4520.
Because the closure is weather permitting, check the SR 520 project's current closure notice and WSDOT's real-time travel map before setting out — especially for a Friday-night or Monday-morning trip.
One weekend in a longer run of SR 520 work
The weekend closure follows weeks of overnight work on the same connection. WSDOT's closure listings show the westbound SR 520 off-ramp to northbound I-5 and East Roanoke Street has been closing on most weeknights since October 26, typically from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., with westbound traffic that stays on the highway past Montlake and Lake Washington boulevards detouring to southbound I-5. The November 13–16 closure takes that same work to a full weekend so crews can finish the joint repairs and the ramp move in one push.
SR 520 is one of only two highways across Lake Washington, linking Seattle with the Eastside cities of Medina, Kirkland, Bellevue and Redmond. When the westbound Seattle end closes, the practical alternatives are surface streets from the Montlake and Lake Washington Boulevard exits, or crossing on Interstate 90's floating bridges further south and coming back up I-5.
For Punjabi and South Asian families across the Eastside — in Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and Seattle itself — and for truck drivers moving between the Eastside warehouses and the I-5 corridor, the practical advice is the same: build extra time into any Friday-night to Monday-morning trip across the lake, and expect the I-90 crossing and I-5 through downtown to carry the diverted traffic.
What happens next
The highway is scheduled to reopen at 5 a.m. on Monday, November 16, in time for the morning commute, weather permitting. WSDOT publishes changes to the plan in its SR 520 Construction Corner notices, and drivers can confirm the current status on the project's closure page and the state travel map before travelling.