Traffic advisory: SR 520 Bridge to be closed in both directions this weekend

SEATTLE -- The State Route 520 Bridge will be closed in both directions this weekend as crews make the full transition from the old span to the new one.

The bridge will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.

Crews will use the weekend to transition eastbound vehicles from the existing structure to the new floating bridge. During this time, crews will pave, move barriers and paint-stripe the new roadway transitions, WSDOT said.

Once the new bridge is open to vehicle traffic, WSDOT said, crews will finish the 14-foot-wide pedestrian and cyclist path along the north side of the bridge and open it by mid to late May. However, this path will be only an “out and back” path from the Eastside, where pedestrians and cyclists can walk or ride the new path. The new path won’t reach all the way to Seattle until summer 2017 when the West Approach Bridge North project is complete, WSDOT said.