Let’s face it: the Blue Angels can be a little distracting while they’re up in the air. So, for safety, the Washington State Department of Transportation closes the Interstate 90 floating bridge any time they practice or perform.

That results in big backups on nearby freeways as Washington State Patrol troopers carry out elaborate maneuvers to try to keep drivers safe.

“Well, I love the Blue Angels, but” not when she gets stuck on I-90 as they take flight, Helen Cheney told KIRO 7 on Thursday. “I wish I had known it ahead of time.”

State troopers said they’re amazing that so many drivers are unaware of the more than hour-long closure of the I-90 Bridge every afternoon for four straight days.

“We try very hard, the DOT tries very hard, the media tries very hard – we partner together – to get the word out that these types of events are happening, but you can’t reach everybody all the time,” Trooper Cliff Pratt said.

Here is the full list of closure times from WSDOT: www.wsdot.wa.gov/northwest/king/seafair/

As part of the shutdown procedure, Pratt will weave his patrol car over several lanes to slow traffic, giving some uninformed drivers a very wrong idea.

“People will call 911 and report troopers for being intoxicated,” he said.

Many are resigned about the backups. R.J. Bam of Redmond was good-natured about it, if a bit sarcastic.

“This is fun, yeah,” he said. “Being stuck in traffic is a blast.”

Pedestrians who did know about the practice had a different kind of blast, as they swarmed over the closed lanes of I-90 for a perfect view of the practice flight.

Patrick McLaughlin, a recent transplant from New York, was one of them.

“Amazing, breathtaking, outstanding,” he said. “The sound of freedom.”