MARYSVILLE — Drivers should plan for nightly closures of southbound State Route 529 at the Snohomish River Bridge. The highway will be closed nightly from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. from the evening of Sunday, Oct. 6, to the morning of Friday, Oct. 11.

The southbound Interstate 5 exit to SR 529 will be closed. Drivers who need to reach Smith Island can enter SR 529 using State Avenue in Marysville, or follow the detour route on southbound I-5 to northbound SR 529. Drivers in Marysville who need to travel south toward Everett should use I-5.

During the closure, contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will continue replacing and testing equipment that operates the bridge’s southbound lift span. Crews are replacing four steel axles, wheels and dozens of counterweight cables on the southbound lift span. The lift mechanisms were worn and fatigued after years of raising and lowering 250 tons of counterweight with each drawspan opening. The bridge averages about 600 openings per year.