By Ally Barrera

Around here, the start of boating season is considered an unofficial start of summer, and this year, the season kicks off this Saturday, May 5. Combine that with the potential of weekend sun, big home stands for the Mariners and Sounders, and some necessary roadwork, and folks heading into Seattle will need to budget extra time into their travels.

This week's MS Paint Map features all the big events happening this weekend, including the closure of the Montlake Bridge for boating season opening day festivities, and the Saturday daytime HOV lane closure on northbound I-5 in Kent.

Planning to head east of the mountains? Both directions of I-90 between North Bend and Ellenburg will be reduced to a single lane in multiple places starting around 8 p.m. each night, so be prepared for potential slowdowns on this major east-west corridor.

Folks can tackle the increased congestion and traffic delays by planning ahead and knowing their alternate routes. Also, travelers should consider other ways of getting around, like transit or carpooling.

As always, don't forget about our popular resources that'll help you #KnowBeforeYouGo:

• Our Seattle area traffic & cameras webpage.
• Using our Weekly Travel Planner.
• Downloading the WSDOT Mobile App.

Following our different Twitter accounts for real-time info.