As part of the giant Mercer East project, Ninth Ave N will be closed from Aloha to Republican starting the morning of Tuesday, October 12. Motor vehicles will be detoured along a new two-way Westlake Ave, but people on bikes will be able to use the sidewalk, according to Peg Nielsen at SDOT. Detour signs should direct bikers to the sidewalk.

In some ways, I wonder if this won’t be a little nicer for bikers trying to get downtown via Westlake and the bike lane on 9th. This stretch is always completely clogged with cars trying to turn left onto Mercer, sometimes making it difficult for bikes trying to continue straight through. My favorite move was to hop up onto the sidewalk here (see image above) and take the merging lane coming from Broad, then continue straight through the Mercer intersection on the walk signal, which goes much longer than the green. It was one of those great biking moments where you are just flying by all these frustrated drivers. Makes you want to shout “Ride a bike! It’s way better!”

If you are not a fan of construction areas, though, you can exit Westlake at 8th Ave and detour up to Dexter or follow the motor vehicle detour to Westlake (though I anticipate that sucking).

View Mercer project closures in a larger map

The project also includes closing eastbound Broad St from 5th to 9th, including the sidewalk on the south side. The tiny sidewalk on the north side of Broad will remain open.

From SDOT:

Weather permitting, closures of eastbound Broad Street and of Ninth Avenue N to thru traffic are scheduled to be in effect for the morning commute on Tuesday, October 12. Overnight on Monday, October 11, crews are scheduled to complete installation of temporary signals and detour striping to accommodate implementation of these closures. See below for further details.

Ninth Avenue N
Closure: Ninth Avenue N between Aloha Street and Republican Street closed to through traffic, with access for Metro transit and local business traffic only. Businesses will remain open and access to businesses will be maintained.
Duration: Approximately six months.
Purpose: Allow replacement of a nearly 100-year-old sewer line; additional utility and roadway work.
Detour: Westlake Avenue N between Aloha Street and Valley Street will be re-striped as a two-way street to provide an alternate to Ninth Avenue N; Dexter Avenue N is also an alternate route. Advanced warning signs are located at the intersection just west of the Fremont Bridge to alert drivers to traffic revisions.
Metro routes: Metro Transit Route 17 will have some temporary detours and bus stop relocations during this construction. Rider Alerts about the changes will be posted at the affected bus stops and online. Route 30 will continue on its regular route until further notice. Please visit Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro and check the “Alerts Center” for adjustments to these routes.

Eastbound Broad Street
Closure: Eastbound Broad Street between Fifth Avenue N and Ninth Avenue N. Westbound Broad Street will remain open during this period.
Duration: Approximately 12 months.
Purpose: Allow construction of an interim connection from future westbound Mercer Street lanes to westbound Broad Street, as well as a new eastbound Broad Street connection at Eighth Avenue N.
Detour: Detour route is northbound Fifth Avenue N to eastbound Mercer Street. An advanced warning sign is in place at Broad Street and Denny Avenue N alerting drivers to this upcoming closure.