Traffic flow through the city of Kirkland has been rerouted for worker safety, officials said.
KIRKLAND, Wash. — While state transportation crews work on a fish passage project on I-405 in Kirkland, drivers have been getting a little too creative with their travel routes for their own safety.
Washington State Department of Transportation officials closed freeway entrance ramps from Northeast 124th and 116th Streets in Kirkland to southbound I-405, in response to “dozens of drivers [going] the wrong way down the on-ramps.”
“This decision was made to protect travelers and workers alike,” agency officials wrote on social media.
In addition to closures on the highway, Kirkland city government announced an update to the traffic detour route through the closure area.
WSDOT began a fish passage restoration project beneath southbound I-405 in Kirkland on May 29, closing all lanes, as well as the on-ramps at NE 116th and NE 85th Streets. According to the agency, construction crews will create a tunnel for the new fish passage route by cutting through a section of the roadway. The street will be repaved and striped once the tunnel is complete.
The project is expected to wrap up around 4 a.m. Monday. Until then, southbound I-405 will close from the I-405/NE 85th Street interchange to N 70th Place, with signed detour routes in place for travelers through the area, according to WSDOT.
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