Snow is a maybe, but slow traffic is certain as the Washington State Department of Transportation will squeeze eastbound traffic down to one lane near on State-Route 16 near the Burley-Olalla interchange.

Starting last night at 7 p.m., crews will limit cars to one lane until Monday at 6 a.m. to allow them to pave detour routes around the construction of new bridges.

This work is the second phase of paving. The first occurred last month, when crews paved the westbound detour, and the WSDOT reported that delays averaged about 30 minutes. This time around, however, they expect the delays to grow.

“We are projecting congestion to be even worse this weekend,” said WSDOT

Project Engineer Brenden Clarke. “The traffic volumes are more

concentrated in the eastbound direction.”

The lane closure also restricts wide vehicles — no vehicles wider than 12 feet will be allowed through the construction zone. The work may be delayed in the event of severe inclement weather.

Drivers are advised to travel through the area either before 11 a.m. or after 8 p.m., when traffic volumes are the highest, and to check the WSDOT Travel Alerts website at http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/trafficalerts/ or call 511 to get current travel information.