SEATTLE — Lanes closures and a massive backup on Interstate 5 early Tuesday morning were caused by routine but urgent maintenance work, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.
Two right lanes of southbound I-5 closed at the Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle for four-and-a-half hours, starting about 6 a.m. The two right lanes of the express lanes were also initially closed, although one reopened after an initial assessment.
The closure was due to delamination of the wearing surface, according to WSDOT. The agency said when the bridge deck wears down, it must be rehabilitated with a wearing surface to extend its lifetime.
Once the problem is identified, it becomes urgent, WSDOT said.
The delamination was 4 inches wide and 3 feet long, sitting in between the two right lanes of the mainline bridge. Crews used fast-setting concrete to fix the problem. The concrete was formed below the bridge, which caused the express lane closure, and applied from above.
This type of maintenance work is common on the Ship Canal Bridge and other bridges with older bridge decks and high traffic volumes, according to WSDOT. The Ship Canal Bridge saw another repair like this three weeks ago in the northbound lanes. However, that work happened on the weekend, which minimized traffic impacts.
The drive from Everett to Seattle, which usually takes an average of 29 minutes at 10:35 a.m., took 58 minutes Tuesday morning, according to the WSDOT website.
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