Mercer Island residents have taken to social media to voice their displeasure with a Jan. 17 Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) single-lane closure that has massively backed up traffic on Interstate 90 through the Island.
The city of Mercer Island informed residents online about the closure of the far-right lane of eastbound I-90 between the Island and Bellevue, which will occur for the next few weeks as “WSDOT prepares the area for a temporary lane restriping in February, and eventual joint repair scheduled for the spring of 2025.”
There’s more to come as WSDOT crews will fully shutter eastbound I-90 overnight for emergency repairs starting at 11 p.m. tonight (Jan. 19) through 6 a.m. tomorrow (Jan. 20), according to a city notification. As crews prepare to commence working, they’ll close the southbound Interstate 5 to eastbound I-90 ramp at 10 p.m. and shutter the Rainier Avenue north and south ramps to eastbound I-90 at 10:30 p.m.
According to the city on social media, WSDOT crews will undertake the long-term overall expansion joint replacement project in phases with a 2025 completion date on the horizon.
“This piece of the project is to restripe and shift lanes on I-90 so the joint can be replaced while the interstate is still in operation. Once the restriping is complete, congestion should be greatly reduced. We know it’s confusing and we’re working with WSDOT to clarify details for impacts moving forward,” the city post noted.
At post time, Mercer Island Police Department and city Public Works crews were assisting with traffic flow during the closure, and the city and WSDOT are working on implementing traffic notifications and adjustments. City teams were set to deploy on-Island signage about the situation this morning.
One local Facebook poster explained Islanders’ predicaments during the closures: “The problem is that it impacts Mercer Island residents more with backups onto the Island and literally nowhere to go. Stand still as you watch the time tick and you miss appointments, doctor appointments, and there seems to have been no heads up on this.”
“This is a complete disaster,” one poster noted about being stuck in traffic last night.
Another poster kept a positive attitude during the situation: “Thank you for keeping us informed on this and other issues in the last year. The details are helpful even when the news isn’t what we would like.”
