SEATTLE — The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has postponed this weekend's work to begin replacing worn-out expansion joints on Interstate 5 in Seattle due to inclement weather.
The WSDOT made the announcement Friday morning on Twitter, saying, "We are having to postpone the Revive I-5 work this weekend due to poor weather in the forecast. We needed dry weather to pour new concrete and cure it, and alas, Mother Nature not helping. "
This would have been the first of 16 weekend-long closures through the summer to complete the project.
According to KING 5 Meteorologist Rich Marriott, the Seattle area will see off-and-on showers through Friday and into Saturday when the rain is supposed to become steadier.
When the work does begin, WSDOT said crews will start by reducing the southbound I-5 lanes between I-90 and the West Seattle Bridge to two lanes.
The project consists of replacing 35 expansion joints that are “road-worn and ready to retire.”
WSDOT previously said, while the work is weather-dependent, crews plan to work every weekend except for the following:
- Memorial Day: May 28-30
- University of Washington commencement: June 11-12
- Independence Day: July 2-4
- Labor Day: Sept. 3-5
"We understand this could be difficult for some drivers. That's why we're trying to spread the word now," said WSDOT spokesperson Amy Moreno. "Don't let this delay discourage you from summer and spring plans. Still go to those Mariners games, still go spend some time with your mom. Just plan ahead."
Expansion joints run across the width of the highway and allow sections of the roadway to “expand and contract with weather and to flex under the weight of heavy vehicles,” according to the WSDOT website. It can take crews about 55 hours to fix a single expansion joint.
The closures come after up to 10 vehicles either hit a broken expansion joint near the Spokane Street Bridge on April 1 or crashed as a result of the incident. One of the vehicles that hit the expansion joint rolled over in a crash, the WSDOT said. The driver of the vehicle suffered minor injuries.
There wasn't one specific cause of the expansion joint coming loose, according to the WSDOT. Rather, time and wear and tear eventually led to the incident.