WSDOT traffic advisory:

Drivers heading to northbound Interstate 5 from downtown Seattle and First Hill should prepare for the on-ramp from Cherry Street to be closed for up to three weeks. Crews working for Sound Transit will close the ramp on Wednesday, May 5 at 11 p.m.

This closure is the final step before crews can reopen the off-ramp from northbound I-5 to Olive Way which has been closed since May 2009 to allow crews working for Sound Transit prepare the ground beneath I-5 to make way for the tunnel boring machine they will use to construct the 3.15-mile light rail tunnel extension between downtown Seattle and the University of Washington.

Drivers should plan ahead and follow the signed detour route. During the closure all drivers will be allowed to use the Cherry Street on-ramp to the I-5 express lanes when the express lanes are open northbound. This on-ramp is normally restricted to transit and carpools.

Crews will also close the right lane of northbound I-5 between James Street and Olive Way on Wednesday, May 5 at 11:00 p.m. and will reopen the lane by 5 a.m. the following morning.
For more information about this project and detour maps visit www.soundtransit.org/i5undercrossing