A pair of sold-out Taylor Swift concerts, plus Mariners games, the Capitol Hill Block Party, a Seattle Storm game, the Seattle Chinatown Seafair Parade and Bite of Seattle will strain the city’s transportation systems this weekend.
The Highway 520 floating bridge will close from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday, for continuing construction of a new interchange and landscaped lid in the two-decade, $5.1 billion megaproject. The walk-bike trail across Lake Washington remains open.
Swiftly moving the Swifties through and around traffic is a priority. To help shake it off, transit agencies will deploy extra service after the Lumen Field concerts. Rides are free for people 18 and younger. The concerts start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and could last until nearly midnight.
Here’s what else you’ll want to know — whether Swift-bound or no:
- Sounder trains will go to one Taylor Swift concert, leaving Lakewood at 3:11 p.m. Saturday and leaving Everett at 3:45 p.m., far in advance of the 6:30 p.m. show. Trains returning both north and south will depart King Street Station 35 minutes after the show, a rider alert says. They’ll stop at the usual stations in Snohomish, south King, and Pierce counties. Full schedules can be found at soundtransit.org/sounderweekend.
- Extreeeer events include the Bite of Seattle food festival Friday through Sunday, and a Seattle Storm game at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Seattle Center Monorail operates until 11 p.m. summer weekends.
- The parade starts at 7 p.m. Sunday, on Chinatown International District streets near Hing Hay Park. Light rail arrives a few steps away.
- Taking the Highway 99 toll tunnel? You need to calm down. By following the 45 mph limit, or the lower variable speeds displayed overhead, drivers can prevent rear-end crashes approaching the left-side stadium exit, where southbound lineups spill back into the curved tunnel.
- Across town, partial closures of northbound I-5, to add a lane near Seneca Street, are planned Thursday and Friday overnights starting at 11 p.m.
The Eras tour by Swift has generated transit boosts, including 140,000 riders in four Atlanta stations, reported Governing magazine. It’s a chance for pandemic-whipped transit agencies to gain or miss new customers, based on performance.
