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Drivers who commute on Interstate 5 (I-5) south this weekend will experience backups through Tukwila. The , designed to improve the driving surface of the freeway, is taking up another weekend to stay on track.

“We’ve been working in South Seattle since about October, this project is going to go until next fall,” Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson, Amy Moreno, said. “We’ve been doing lane reductions on weeknights, and weekends, there are going to be about 13 weekends total. This is the fifth of those 13 weekends.”

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Moreno explained why contractors are returning to the same section they worked on before.

“This project has three parts to it, concrete panel replacement, smoothing out some uneven parts of the freeway, and there will be some expansion joint replacement. That is not happening this weekend. This weekend is going to be primarily replacing concrete panels,” she said.

I-5 lane reductions start Friday night

Lane reductions begin Friday at 10 p.m. bringing I-5 south down to one lane between Boeing Access Road and State Route 599, in Tukwila. Saturday at noon, crews will open a second lane. All lanes will reopen Monday by 4 a.m.

Moreno also warned drivers of the impact.

“We did this same pattern the first weekend in March and we saw significant traffic. So, we’re just asking people if they can take a different route, if they can consider the light rail, those are great options,” she said. “If they can travel earlier in the day or later in the day, if they can postpone that travel until we get that second lane open. It will be better but there will still be significant traffic impacts.”

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Some alternate routes this weekend include State Route 99, State Route 509 or Interstate 405.

Weeknight lane and ramp closures will continue between Seattle and Tukwila through the fall.

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.