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Contractors working for the (WSDOT) are prepping for work on the new Veterans Drive tunnel beneath Interstate 5 (I-5), adjacent to State Route (SR) 516.

Once completed, the Veterans Drive tunnel will provide access from the Kent Valley to the new Expressway. It will then go to the Seattle Tacoma International (Sea-Tac) Airport, which is also under construction.

More from Nate Connors: Prepare for I-5 traffic as projects return to South Seattle

During these hours WSDOT crews will install concrete barriers and restripe lanes to create a safe work zone.

Wednesday night, at midnight, all lanes of I-5 South will be narrowed to one lane between South 200th Street and South 272nd Street in Federal Way.

At 8:30 p.m. the South 200th Street on-ramp to I-5 South will close. All lanes and ramps will reopen the following morning by 5 a.m.

This work is scheduled nightly through Friday.

Drivers should plan on alternate routes or plan on lengthy delays at times.

The Veterans Drive tunnel is part of the , offering freight liners a quicker route to ports in Seattle, including Sea-Tac Airport and the Port of Seattle on Elliott Bay. This will lighten congestion on I-5 and SR 167 (Valley Highway) and increase quicker commute times for automobiles.

You can read more of Nate Connors’ stories here. Follow Nate on X, formerly known as Twitter,  and the ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio traffic team  for more traffic updates.