It’s probably best to just avoid the city center’s busiest bike street tonight. Both the Mercer and Alaskan Way Viaduct Projects will be closing parts of Dexter Ave in South Lake Union starting 7 p.m. Wednesday evening and ending 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

The state’s closure will be so worksites near Harrison and Republican can switch sides of the street. The state is moving utilities and getting the area ready to build the north portal of the Highway 99 tunnel that we don’t need and may or may not ever be finished.

So tomorrow, expect the detours and temporary bike lanes to be different. This is a complete overnight closure, so if you are in the area, be prepared to detour to 8th and give yourself a little extra time.

Details from WSDOT:

To make room for SR 99 tunnel construction, crews are relocating utilities along Dexter Avenue North. As part of this work, we will be closing Dexter between Republican and Thomas streets from 7 p.m. Nov. 19 to 5 a.m. Nov. 20 to restripe the lanes. This work is weather-dependent and may be postponed to another night this week if needed. During the closure, bicyclists and drivers will be detoured to Eighth Avenue North.

Changes to Dexter

Following this nighttime closure, traffic will be shifted to the west side of Dexter to allow crews to finalize utility work and repave Dexter at Harrison. This work will take several weeks to complete. Here’s what you can expect.

• Bicyclists: One travel lane and a separate bicycle lane will be maintained in each direction on Dexter.
• Transit riders: The bus stop on northbound Dexter at Harrison will be temporarily relocated just north of Thomas Street.
• Pedestrians: The sidewalk and crosswalk on the east side of Dexter at Harrison will be temporarily closed. Pedestrians will be detoured to Eighth.

We want to remind bicyclists and pedestrians that this area is an active construction zone so please use caution when traveling along Dexter Avenue North. Please contact us via email ([email protected]) or call our hotline (1-888-AWV-LINE) if you have questions, concerns or suggestions.

Meanwhile, SDOT continues their neverending work on Mercer, so they will be taking the street down to one lane. These may not be my favorite projects in Seattle (though yes, the new bike lanes under Aurora will be nice), but kudos to the two agencies for planning these major Dexter closures at the same time. Details:

The Seattle Department of Transportation advises travelers that southbound Dexter Avenue North will be restricted to one lane between Roy and Mercer streets between 10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19 and 6 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 20. This closure will accommodate the removal of barriers within the roadway.

One lane on southbound Dexter Avenue North will remain open at all times. Bicyclists will be required to merge with vehicular traffic. Please plan ahead and expect traffic delays.

More information about alternate routes during Mercer Corridor construction may be found at:http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/mercercorridor.htm.