Construction crews working on the westbound lanes of the I-90 floating bridge are making quicker-than-expected progress and will reopen lanes of traffic by 5 a.m. Saturday, July 18.

But first there will be three more days of tough commutes to get through – and crews will close all but one westbound lane of I-90 Friday night to restripe lanes on Mercer Island and in Seattle.

Crews started and finished pouring seven truckloads of concrete Tuesday morning to lock the new expansion joints into the floating bridge. The contractor began removing equipment and will spend about a day restriping all of the lanes back to normal starting at 9 p.m. Friday night.

The I-90 express lanes will be closed most of Saturday for the restriping work, but will reopen in time for bicyclists participating in the Seafair Triathlon from 6:30-10:30 a.m. Sunday, July 19.