Brace Yourself: Major I-90 Closure Will Pinch Region's Roads

If you travel on I-90 between Bellevue and Seattle, the Washington State Department of Transportation has a message for you: Start making other plans.

Beginning at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, July 18, road work will take westbound I-90 near Bellevue Way S.E. from four lanes down to one, around the clock, for seven days.

To help ease the pain, WSDOT is asking you to plan now to change your commute.

Read WSDOT's I-90 Closure Survival Guide.

• Closures start at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, July 18 and go through 5:00 a.m. on Friday, July 25.
• WSDOT crews will replace two expansion joints and make repairs to a support beam on the East Channel Bridge near Bellevue Way S.E.
• For drivers who plan to take state Route 520 across Lake Washington, you'll still need to pay a toll. Officials say there are no plans to give drivers a break during the I-90 closure. Rates vary throughout the day.

​Putting extra pressure on the roads: Mariners fans making their way to Safeco Field for a stretch of home games, a Sounders match against England's Tottenham Hotspur club on Saturday, the annual Bite of Seattle and a gaming competition at Seattle Center this weekend, and President Obama will be in the Seattle area on Tuesday.

So why did WSDOT pick a busy week in July to disrupt the entire region's traffic flow? Summer sun means the best odds of being able to complete the work without any weather delays.

WSDOT also says it had to wait for nesting Peregrine falcons to leave the construction area before work could begin.