‘Backups of epic proportions’: Your comprehensive guide to Revive I-5 closures and traffic delays

Despite earlier claims from the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Revive I-5 is happening this summer, closing down significant stretches of the highway for four weeks, much to the chagrin of Seattle drivers and commuters.

The Revive I-5 campaign, Washington’s effort to rehabilitate Interstate 5 (I-5), is set to improve the most vital sections of the major highway, section by section, between King and Snohomish counties. The prioritization of the sections is based on traffic volume and the present conditions of the roadway, with safety being the number one concern.

With heavy backups during rush hour traffic already too common, Seattleites are about to see backups of epic proportions once two of the four lanes close for a month on northbound I-5, beginning in late July.

The project had an original start date of March 2025, but in January, WSDOT announced that Revive I-5 was going to be postponed until next year due to an abrupt revelation that there weren’t enough funds to start it.

While the massive highway overhaul is “very” critical to the state’s infrastructure, according to KIRO Newsradio traffic reporter Chris Sullivan, drivers felt a subtle sigh of relief, believing they had a little more time before significant lane closures and extensive backups. Unfortunately, that sinking feeling of looming traffic resurfaced this week when WSDOT announced they were going to start this project this summer after all.

How did WSDOT rebudget to continue Revive I-5?

“We had a budget set for the project, and when we established the budget, we thought the funding was sufficient,” WSDOT spokesperson Tom Pearce said. “However, as we got into the project and worked with the contractor, they saw what the work was going to entail and they determined that we would need more money this year.”

“The Legislature will not set our budget until, of course, late in their session, but we needed to start the work before the session was finished if we were going to do the work in 2025,” Pearce added. “In March 2025, it would have required starting before the necessary funds were fully committed from the Legislature.”

That explains why this project was initially delayed. So what changed?

“We reduced the scope of this project to focus on the Ship Canal Bridge,” Pearce explained. “We changed the plans to align our construction spending with the available funding.”

Here’s where Revive I-5 will start

This summer, with Revive I-5 back in action, WSDOT will begin working between Interstate 90 (I-90) and Ne45th Street across the Ship Canal Bridge—a vital connection between north and downtown Seattle, with 200,000 estimated daily commuters.

Recently, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) finished the I-5 Duwamish River to S. Lucile Street section along Boeing Field into Tukwila. The next phase moves north, fixing concrete, potholes, and drainage systems along the Ship Canal Bridge.

What can drivers expect to see this summer?

“We will close northbound I-5 at I-90 from July 25-28,” Pearce told KIRO Newsradio. “We’re closed the entire weekend to allow our contractors to get out and set up a work zone that will keep the people working on I-5 safe, as we’ll repave about 900 feet of the two left lanes of the Ship Canal Bridge.”

When the northbound freeway opens on July 28, the right two lanes will be open for travel, but the left two lanes will remain closed.

“We’re going to have the express lanes open northbound 24/7 while we have the two left lanes closed off the main line,” Pearce stated. “Once we finish our work on Aug. 22, we will have another full closure from Friday night, Aug. 22, to early Monday, Aug. 25, so that our contractor can go in, pick up the safety barrier that they’ve put up, restripe the freeway, and have all four lanes open on Monday morning.”

Lots of traffic congestion to go around

According to WSDOT, this will be a four-week preview of what people can expect for approximately nine months out of the year in 2026 and 2027. The traffic backups will be shared in both directions of I-5. Southbound drivers will also be without their morning express lanes, adding to an already tough commute into Seattle.

Over the course of this summer’s one-month closure, Atkinson Construction will repair and resurface about 20% of the northbound Ship Canal Bridge, partially repair five expansion joints, and replace drainage.

Restarting this summer will keep the overall project on track and allow crews to gather critical data on the bridge’s condition to better prepare for next year’s phase.

What is WSDOT’s plan for 2026?

Next year brings the World Cup to Seattle, adding further complications to the three-year highway revitalization.

“In 2026, we will close the two left lanes early in the year so that we can finish repaving and make any repairs we need,” Pearce said in anticipation of the World Cup. “When we get to early June, when the World Cup is getting ready to fire up, we will pick up everything.”

King County officials claimed the World Cup would generate at least $929 million in revenue for the county, and create nearly 21,000 jobs. Organizers estimate that 750,000 people will visit Seattle during the three-week event.

“Once the World Cup is complete, our contractor will come back out in mid-July, and then they’re going to close down the freeway again,” Pearce said. “They will close the two right lanes of the northbound bridge so that they can work on those for several months. And then, come fall 2026, they will pick it up, and we will have everything open as we get into the winter.”

What’s Revive I-5’s outlook in 2027?

In 2027, with the focus pivoting to southbound I-5, two lanes will be closed, and the other two lanes will remain open for several months. Once that work is done, WSDOT crews will flip their construction zone again, working on the previous two open lanes while opening up the recently completed lanes.

“We understand there’s no good time to do this work. People are always going places. There are always events in the city,” Pearce said. “We did the best we could to schedule this around things like the holidays, like Independence Day and Labor Day. Each of those (Ichiro) Hall of Fame weekends, we understand it is going to draw huge crowds to T-Mobile every night.”

Nate Connors is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Follow him on X. Submit news tips here.

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