Favorable weather over the weekend allowed for major preservation work on northbound Interstate 5 between the West Seattle Bridge and downtown Seattle. The focus now shifts to this coming weekend’s work.
This past weekend Washington State Department of Transportation contractor crews poured the equivalent of more than 150 cement mixer loads of concrete in the right lanes of I-5 near the West Seattle Bridge and replaced the right half of six expansion joints underneath the Seattle Convention Center.
“There is so much to do on I-5 to keep it reliable for freight haulers and commuters that it’s important to complete this work as soon as possible,” said Project Engineer Dave Lindberg. “We understand the weekend work is inconvenient for people, but these lane and ramp closures allow us to do a large amount of work in a short period of time.”
More lane reductions this weekend
Additional work is scheduled for the weekend of April 28-29, when the crews will reduce northbound I-5 to two lanes in the same area. This time contractors will complete the following work:
- Replace more concrete on the interstate near the West Seattle Bridge as well as under the I-90 interchange.
- Replace the left half of seven expansion joints between University and Mercer streets.
Lane reductions will begin near Michigan Street at 8 p.m. Friday, April 27, and will wrap up by 5 a.m. Monday, April 30. Northbound I-5 will be reduced to two lanes between the West Seattle Bridge and downtown. All northbound I-5 traffic will be routed through the collector-distributor lanes. People who drive should note that the collector-distributor is temporarily restriped so the right lane is an exit only to Madison Street. This configuration will remain in place through the summer.
Plan ahead and use alternatives
With northbound I-5 limited to two lanes, people who use the freeway will need to plan to use alternatives:
- Transit, carpools and vanpools
- I-405, I-90, and state routes 99, 509 and 599
- Travel before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m.
- Consider postponing discretionary trips
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