Lane closures planned as repaving continues this weekend on the Aurora Bridge

Travel on the Aurora Bridge will be restricted to one lane each direction this weekend as part of scheduled pavement work.

From 7 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday, traffic will be restricted to a single lane in each direction across the bridge while crews work to repave the southern part of the southbound lanes.

The $35.2 million project will repave all of Aurora Avenue between Roy Street and North 145th Street. This weekend’s work involves scraping off old asphalt, making needed repairs to the bridge deck and repaving.

Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues, spotlights promising approaches to easing gridlock, and helps readers find the best ways to get around. It is funded with the help of community sponsors Madrona Venture Group and PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company. Seattle Times editors and reporters operate independently of our funders and maintain editorial control over Traffic Lab content.

Travelers should expect heavy traffic on Aurora Avenue North, side streets and Interstate 5 as people navigate around the closures, the Seattle Department of Transportation advised.

Additional bridge paving work is scheduled throughout the summer.

This weekend’s work is weather-dependent, meaning it could be postponed if it rains. No rain is in the forecast for the Seattle area, which has experienced record-breaking heat this week.

Closures on Interstate 5 near South Lake Union may also disrupt traffic this weekend.

Between 9 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday, the southbound I-5 offramp to Mercer Street and westbound Mercer Street between I-5 and Boren Avenue North will be closed.

Crews will be repairing roadway panels on westbound Mercer Street that were damaged during the fatal crane collapse in April.

Drivers coming from I-5 will detour at Fairview Avenue North, onto Denny Way and then to Westlake Avenue North.

On Saturday, two right lanes of southbound Highway 99 across the First Avenue South Bridge near Georgetown and South Park will be closed. The closure will last from 6 to 11 a.m. while maintenance crews repair portions of the grid deck.

Also on Saturday, the University of Washington graduation ceremony will bring more traffic to the area. Commencement starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Husky Stadium.

Finally, advocates from transit, bicycling and pedestrian organizations, who have been disappointed by the city’s bike work plan, will hold a parade-like ride Sunday.

People riding bicycles, using wheelchairs, pushing strollers and simply walking will travel down Fourth Avenue between Seattle City Hall and Westlake Park from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.