SEATTLE — Drivers should prepare for potential delays as major roadwork on Interstate 5 in Seattle begins Monday as the state looks to preserve the aging freeway.
Contractor crews will begin repaving and expansion joint replacement work on southbound I-5 between Interstate 90 and Spokane Street as part of a two-phase project. The work will be similar to that done on northbound I-5 in 2019.
“Interstate 5 is vitally important to our local economy,” said WSDOT Project Engineer James Harper. “The freeway has held up well since it was opened in the mid-1960s, but some recent emergency expansion joint repairs are a sure sign this work is needed now. Repaving and repairing expansion joints will keep it in good condition.”
Through mid-July, drivers should expect weeknight lane and ramp closures between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Additionally, weekend-long lane reductions that may start by mid-June. Those weekend closures would potentially extend from 7 p.m. Fridays through 5 a.m. Mondays. Closures will not occur on holiday weekends or at times when major events are expected.
The first phase of this $25.7 million project involves removing a layer of concrete on a 1.25-mile section of I-5. Crews will repave that section.
Once repaving is complete, crews will replace 40 expansion joints between I-90 and Spokane Street, plus one joint on I-90 over I-5. That work is expected to begin mid-July and will require up to 16 weekend-long lane reductions including one full southbound closure between summer and fall 2022.