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Travel tips for August 28 – September 10: construction, sports, and community events, including Labor Day weekend festivities

by on August 28, 2024
Busy day in Capitol Hill. A woman in a white long sleeve and denim shorts and sandals bikes on a bike towards the direction of the camera and a man with a beige hat, blue shirt, and black shorts scoots away from the camera in a wide bike lane. Cars facing towards the camera wait at a stop light. Separating the bike land and cars is a bus station island.
Seattleites travel along Broadway in Capitol Hill on a sunny day. Photo credit: SDOT

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At-a-glance:

SDOT construction, street closures, and travel impacts

Please note: our construction projects take place throughout Seattle. To stay informed about projects near you, subscribe to our email updates. You can select from a list of projects and subscribe to the ones you’re most interested in. Thank you.

  • S Spokane St Viaduct Deck Rehabilitation
    • We’re continuing work to repave the S Spokane St Viaduct. This includes a series of weeknight and weekend lane closures.
    • For the latest details about upcoming work, timing, and travel impacts, please visit the project web page.
  • 15th Ave W/NW & Ballard Bridge Paving & Safety Project
    • We need to close the Ballard Bridge over several weekends in September and October to complete maintenance and preservation work on the 107-year-old bridge. This includes replacing worn expansion joints to keep the bridge strong and resilient.

Regional transportation agency work

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

WSDOT has several projects affecting major highways in and around Seattle. Below is a summary of the closures with the largest travel impacts. Visit WSDOT’s website for the latest information and resources to stay informed. Please note: this work is weather-dependent.

I-5 area work:

  • Southbound I-5 off-ramp to SR 523/N 145th St | Closed nightly from 9 PM Sunday, August 25 to 5 AM Friday, August 30 for water main installation work. This is part of the City of Shoreline’s 145th Street project.
  • Northbound I-5 collector/distributor lanes | The northbound I-5 mainline off-ramp to the collector/distributor (with access to Dearborn, James, and Madison Streets) will close from 11:59 PM Wednesday, August 28 to 4 AM Thursday, August 29 for attenuator repairs. This is part of the I-5 – NB Seneca to SR 520 – Mobility Improvements project.
  • Northbound I-5 mainline lanes | Three left lanes of northbound I-5 between University St and Lakeview Blvd will close from 9 PM Tuesday, September 3 to 5 AM Wednesday, September 4 for Variable Message Sign installation. This is also part of the I-5 – NB Seneca to SR 520 – Mobility Improvements project.
  • This closure includes the University St and Mercer St on-ramps to northbound I-5.
  • Southbound I-5 off-ramp to Mercer St | The southbound I-5 mainline and express lanes off-ramps (Exit 167) to Mercer St will be closed from 10 PM Friday, September 6, through 5 AM Monday, September 9 for median barrier work. This is for the SR 520 I-5 Express Lanes Connection Project.
  • Southbound I-5 in South Seattle | Up to 3 lanes of southbound I-5 at mid-Boeing Field will close for expansion joint repairs from 10 PM Friday, September 6 through 5 AM Monday, September 9. This is for the I-5 Duwamish River to South Lucile Street Concrete Rehabilitation Project.
  • I-5 express lanes | The I-5 express lanes will operate on the weekend schedule on Labor Day, Monday, September 2.

SR 520/Montlake Blvd area work:

  • Lane reductions along westbound and eastbound SR 520 | Up to two left lanes nightly along eastbound (August 26-30) and westbound (September 3-7) SR 520 on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge between Seattle and Medina will be closed for bridge deck sealing work. This is part of the SR 520 – Floating Bridge and Approaches Bridge Decks and Soffit Sealer project.
  • Bill Dawson Trail Closure | The Bill Dawson Trail, between E Calhoun St and Montlake Blvd, will be closed from 7:30 AM Wednesday, September 4 through 3:30 PM Friday, September 6 for geotechnical boring and potholing work.

Major league sports home games

Seattle Mariners

Upcoming games at T-Mobile Park

  • Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 6:40 PM: Tampa Bay Rays
  • Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 6:40 PM: San Diego Padres

To learn more:

If you’re riding the Link light rail, get off at the Stadium Station and walk a short two blocks over to the ballpark. If taking rideshare, there is a designated rideshare lot southeast of the stadium. If driving, the Mariners Garage opens 3 hours before the first pitch. Biking, scooting, walking, or rolling to the game may also be great options, depending on your trip specifics. Find more information on navigating to T-Mobile Park here.

Seattle Storm

Upcoming games at Climate Pledge Arena

  • Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 7:00 PM: Atlanta Dream
  • Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6:00 PM: Phoenix Mercury

To learn more:

For all major ticketed events at Climate Pledge Arena, guests receive a free public transit pass alongside their ticket. If driving to the arena, there are three parking garages available nearby. Find more information on navigating to the arena here.

Seattle Sounders FC

No upcoming games at Lumen Field in this timeframe.

To learn more:

Seattle Reign FC

No upcoming games at Lumen Field in this timeframe.

To learn more:

Community Celebrations

August 30: Waterfront Block Party – Waterfront Park

Graphic of a mom with white rimmed heart sunglasses, blue flannel with thin white vertical stripes, and a white shirt tucked into white jeans has her right arm up in a fist in a party-like matter. She holds in her left hand her son who has brown fluffy hair tipping his head down to see above black sunglasses. He wears a white shirt with a rectangular blue graphic and blue pants. The mom has her daughter standing on her left hip side. She also wears white rimmed sunglasses, a colorful horizontal striped white shirt and light pink pants. The background contains a Ferris wheel and structures by the pier and water. The entire photo is cutout and pasted on a lime green background and "waterfront block party" is written in the left corner of the image in white font and black outline. "Friends" is written in the same lime green color and black background.
A mom and her kids getting the party started at the Waterfront Block Party. Photo credit: Friends of Waterfront Park

Enjoy a day of live music, entertainment, family-friendly crafts, and food across the central waterfront. Join a public group bike ride from Olympic Sculpture Park or support vendors offering their crafts. Find more information about the Waterfront Block Party here.

The Waterfront Block Party can be reached by Sound Transit light rail (the University Street station is closest) or King County Metro bus. You can also use the free Waterfront Shuttle to explore the area.

August 31 and September 7: Husky Football Games – Husky Stadium

A tan and dark purple wall. The tan is on the left 1/3 and has the NFL logo and Huskies written in the same purple as the wall. On the purple side of the wall are NFL team names written sideways and a vertical rectangular glass pane with silver skinny horizontal plaques that write player names from the Husky team that are in that respective NFL team. Above each glass pane is also the NFL team's logo. The wall is lit by circular in-ceiling lights on the white ceiling. Two men walk past the hall.
Wall of Husky Football alumni and their respective NFL team. Photo credit: SDOT

Spend an evening with your fellow Husky fans because Husky football is back in action. Kicking off their first game of the season is the University of Washington versus Weber State on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 8 PM. The following weekend on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 12:30 PM, the Huskies will take on Eastern Michigan. Learn more about the games here.

Husky Stadium can be reached by Sound Transit light rail (the University of Washington Station is closest) or King County Metro bus. Or, depending on your trip, walking, biking, or rolling might be great ways for you to get to the game.

August 31 – September 1: Bumbershoot – Seattle Center

Crowd of people stand on a flat grassy field surrounded by luscious trees and the city skyline peeks above the trees on a sunny day. In the field a large stage is setup with a banner that writes "Fisher green stage".
People enjoying a sunny weekend out at a previous Bumbershoot Festival. Photo credit: Shutterstock

Close out summer by enjoying a weekend of impressive art from fashion to animation and wrestling to lion dance. You can also dance to live music from over 70 artists and eat your way through some of the 60+ vendors offering delicious bites and drinks. Find more information about Bumbershoot here.

Bumbershoot can be reached by King County Metro bus or by taking the Seattle Center Monorail from Westlake. You can find a range of travel options to get to Seattle Center here. Or, depending on your trip, walking, biking, or rolling might be great ways for you to get to Seattle Center.

September 8: Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival – Seattle Center

Two women dressed in light brown off shoulder baggy tops and pink hula skirts face the left with bamboo sticks that have cuts along it vertically resting on their shoulders. The two women have serious but calm faces and have green leaf bracelets on both wrist, green leaf leis, and green leaf crowns.
Hula dancers performing with Pu’ili (Bamboo sticks) at the Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival. Photo credit: Seattle Center

This free event is part of the Seattle Center Festal that helps honor and celebrate the cultures of the Pacific Northwest. The festival shares the culture of Hawaii through music, dance, food, workshops, and more. Find more information about the festival here.

Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival can be reached by King County Metro bus or by taking the Seattle Center Monorail from Westlake. You can find a range of travel options to get to Seattle Center here. Or, depending on your trip, walking, biking, or rolling might be great ways for you to get to Seattle Center.

More community events

We hope you found this post helpful in navigating Seattle during upcoming construction and community events. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

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