WSDOT said the 24-hour-a-day closure is necessary to allow contractors to perform work on the aging Steamboat Slough Bridge.

EVERETT – Beginning Friday, the southbound lanes of Highway 529 will close for four days to allow contractors to perform mechanical work on the 98-year-old Steamboat Slough Bridge.

Beginning at 11 p.m. Friday and continuing through Tuesday at 11 p.m., southbound Highway 529 will be closed for 24 hours a day from Ebey Slough to Steamboat Slough. The southbound I-5 off-ramp to Highway 529 will be closed as well, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

People who travel through Marysville should plan for additional traffic and delays near the I-5 and Fourth Street/Highway 528 interchange. Drivers should consider using the interchanges for 88th Northeast or 116th Street Northeast, the press release said.

Northbound Highway 529 will not be affected. People will need to use northbound Highway 529 in Everett to reach Smith Island but may leave the island using either direction of Highway 529.

Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.