Some state traffic flow cameras to be off this coming weekend

Drivers who rely on the state Department of Transportation's traffic cameras will be left in the dark this weekend as the state cuts communication to dozens of cameras between Seattle and Tacoma.

Crews, working on upgrading the system's fiber optic cables, will cut access to 25 miles of cameras at 8 p.m. Friday and reconnect them by 4 a.m. Monday.

That means there will be no traffic flow maps on the DOT's Web site.

Traffic cameras disabled include:

• Interstate 5 between Spokane Street and the King/Pierce County line

• Highway 18 between I-5 and Highway 164; Highway 99 near the First Avenue South Bridge

• All cameras on Highways 599, 518, 167, and 161.

And five miles of the color-coded traffic flow map between Highway 900 (Martin Luther King Jr. Way South) and Spokane Street will also be unavailable.

Cameras and flow maps on I-90, Highway 520, Interstate 405 and the HOT lane system on Highway 167 will not be affected by this work.

Crews need to temporarily disable and reconnect fiber optic lines to get the system ready for future upgrades, including a high-tech electronic sign system that will be activated next summer on northbound I-5.