Plan Ahead: 520 Closure Edition

"Seattle Traffic" courtesy of Seattle Transit blogger and Seattlest Flickr Pool member Oran Viriyincy

Between PAX clogging up the Convention Center, the Seattle Marathon choking the Aurora Bridge, and 520 being closed altogether (because that's happening), the roadways of our fair city might be more than a little slow this weekend. So prepare your routes accordingly. Here's what's coming your way:

All Weekend:

• PAX begins, and lasts all weekend. Look for hordes of gamers going back and forth from their temporary home (the Convention Center) and their power source (The Cheesecake Factory). This won't re-reroute any buses, but it will make getting around downtown sticky.
• Tonight, at 11 p.m., the 520 bridge will be closed in both directions for the duration of the weekend. ALL WEEKEND. No 520 bridge. All weekend. Do not even attempt to get on it from the freeway. You will ruin everything. Not even to go see Huey Lewis at Chateau Ste. Michelle. Buses re-routed include King County Metro's 200s to the East Side, as well as Sound Transit's 545.

Saturday:

• The Seattle Marathon is holding a run this weekend--though not an actual marathon--which departs from Seattle Center, and chugs along Highway 99 through the Battery Street Tunnel.
• The Hwy 99/Aurora Bridge will also be closed during the early morning, but should be cleared up by noon. It will impact routes 3, 4, 5, 16, 26, 28 and 358.
• Also on Saturday, there are home games for both the Sounders and the Mariners, meaning SoDo will be an absolute disaster. With just one ramp getting travelers off of the Viaduct and into the stadium district, getting around won't be easy, though luckily, the games are at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, which should lighten the load. Either way, we suggest you take a bus instead--almost all of them will get you there.

Sunday:

• The Mariners also have a daytime game around 1 p.m. on Sunday, which will likely cause some back-ups. Again, take a bus.
• The Seattle Storm have also got a home game this weekend, so look out for a little extra volume on the roads around Key Arena.