Construction on I-5 bridges to force lane closures between Everett, Marysville

Bridge construction on I-5 to require months of lane closures

Bridge construction on I-5 to require months of lane closures

EVERETT, Wash. -- If you drive Interstate 5 between Everett and Marysville, your travel time may be about to get longer.

Construction crews were staging equipment Monday night for a major job -- replacing the 20-year to 30-year-old expansion joints on six I-5 bridges.

"We are replacing 41 expansion joints on the bridges between Everett and Marysville; there are actually six bridges, three in each direction," said Kris Olson, of the Washington State Department of Transportation.

And that means lane closures.

"The north end is Marysville, the exit to Marysville or 529 ... and south of that, the closest exit, I believe, is Marine View Drive down in Everett. So this is a challenging area to get through when we start doing these lane closures," Olson said.

Starting from the south and working their way up north, construction crews will begin at the Union Slough Bridge Thursday night.

The Steamboat Slough and Ebey Slough will be done simultaneously in January.

WSDOT said the closures will only take place overnight to start.

Olson said the southbound lanes will be open by 5 a.m. and the northbound lanes will not close until 8 p.m.

All of the work is expected to be done by June 2016, WSDOT said.