85th Street repaving begins Wednesday, plan your detour route

A reminder that the repaving of N/NW 85th Street from Ballard to I-5 begins Wednesday morning. Eastbound lanes on NW 85th Street will be closed from 15th Avenue NW to 8th Avenue NW, and traffic will be detoured to NW 80th Street.

The intersection of NW 85th Street and 15th Avenue NW. Construction begins on the east side of the intersection Wednesday morning.

The detour route will be put in place after Wednesday morning’s commute (this is a change from our earlier post, when the contractor had originally planned to put the detour in place early in the morning). However, eastbound Metro buses WILL be on the detour route from the first bus out of the base around 4 or 5 a.m., because Metro doesn’t change routes mid-shift. Rider alerts are posted at bus stops, and you can sign up for alerts online.

Westbound NW 85th Street will remain open for now, but may be narrowed to one lane at times.

SDOT Project Manager Jessica Murphy has told us that NW 80th Street is their best option for a detour route, but it won’t be able to handle all of the cars that would normally travel on NW 85th Street. So she encourages people to plan ahead and leave extra time, or switch to transit or walking.

For more information on the project, or if you have questions or concerns, check out the project’s website; email pave_85th@seattle.gov; or call the 24-hour project line (answered by a live person) at 206-496-9993.