SEATTLE — The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has planned major freeway closures that will impact traffic over Seattle's Ship Canal Bridge for the next three years.
Starting in spring 2025, northbound Interstate 5 will be reduced to two lanes for nine months between state Route 520 and Northeast 45th Street. In 2026 and 2027, portions of southbound I-5 will be reduced to two lanes for the same amount of time in similar areas.
The closures are part of WSDOT’s Revive I-5 work to replace concrete panels and expansion joints, resurface bridge decks, improve Ship Canal Bridge drainage and repair structural components on the bridge.
“This work will cause major traffic disruptions on both northbound and southbound I-5 through the heart of downtown Seattle,” WSDOT said on its online open house website. “There is no good time to get this work done; but there are good resources to help you plan your travels.”
During the 2025 closure, WSDOT will first work on the two inside lanes of northbound I-5 before shifting to the two outside lanes.
In addition to the lane reductions, there will also be three full weekend closures of northbound I-5 as workers set the double-lane work zone in spring, move it in summer and remove it in fall.
The SR 520 and Harvard on-ramps to northbound I-5 will also be closed for about 25 days each, although not at the same time.
The I-5 Express lanes will typically be open for northbound traffic during construction, according to WSDOT.
The work will follow a similar schedule in 2026 and 2027, although in the southbound direction.
In 2026, WSDOT will reduce southbound I-5 to two lanes between SR 520 and Denny Way. WSDOT will take a break during the FIFA World Cup, which will hold matches in Seattle from mid-June to early July. Ramp closures and four full weekend closures will accompany the work. An additional full weekend closure is required to remove and reset barriers before and after the World Cup.
In 2017, the work zone will be on southbound I-5 from Northeast 50th Street to Mercer Way with ramp closures and three full weekend closures.
The project will cost $203 million and is funded through federal and state dollars.
