Weekend Seattle NB I-5 closures just ‘a taste of what's to come’
This weekend’s Seattle NB I-5 closures are just ‘a taste of what's to come’
If your weekend adventures take you onto I-5, prepare for potential delays. The Washington State Department of Transportation's 'Revive I-5' project has begun, meaning you'll likely encounter traffic disruptions and closures this weekend and throughout the summer.
SEATTLE - If your weekend plans include driving on parts of I-5, get ready for some traffic trouble. Work on the Washington State Department of Transportation’s ‘Revive I-5’ project is now underway and that means you can expect some delays and closures this weekend and throughout this summer.
The work started on Friday night and is not expected to wrap up until 5 a.m. on Monday. WSDOT told FOX 13, this weekend’s closure is just a taste of what’s to come.
Crews have been working on this for a while, but this weekend is the first big closure the public has seen, according to WSDOT spokesperson Tom Pearce.
Big picture view:
The project will rehabilitate the aging Ship Canal Bridge, which hasn’t had a major preservation effort in about 40 years. Since 2019, crews have done more than 200 emergency repairs on the bridge deck, according to WSDOT. They add, nearly 240,000 drivers travel across the bridge daily.
This weekend, only two NB I-5 lanes across the Ship Canal Bridge are open. The express lanes will also stay northbound all weekend. It’s all an effort to allow crews to complete the necessary drainage work.
What they're saying:
"Right now, we are working on the drains, replacing a lot of those. They're 60 some years old, they're clogged and so replacing them and cleaning them all out is going to really help keep water from building up on the roadway," Pearce said.
This work will also help crews get ready for a four-week lane reduction next month, but that’s not the only closure.
"We will have a full closure on northbound I-5 shortly after 12 a.m. Monday, so that we can restripe the freeway back to its original configuration in order to keep two lanes open this weekend, we had a full closure of I-5 very early this morning that allowed us to restripe the freeway, shift the lanes a little bit so that we could have two open lanes all weekend," Pearce said.
What's next:
The Monday closure will be wrapped up by 2 a.m. Drivers can expect closures now through 2027. The next phase of this project starts on July 18.
"This is really important work, because when we get to next month's work, it's going to allow us to focus on doing the bridge deck repairs and repaving the bridge deck," Pearce said. "So, this is just a taste of what's to come."
WSDOT told FOX 13, people can still get to where they want to go. They just need to plan ahead. They also urge folks to consider alternative public transportation options or carpooling.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Washington State Department of Transportation and original FOX 13 Seattle interviews.
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