Say goodbye to Revive I-5, for now

It’s been one heck of a month for commuters who faced unprecedented back-ups due to the massive Revive Interstate-5 (I-5) undertaking. Over the past four weeks, this project narrowed four lanes down to two lanes across Seattle’s Ship Canal Bridge, where nearly 250,000 commuters cross daily.

The closure was on northbound I-5, but the ripple effect stretched well beyond the city’s borders. To make up for the lane closures, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) kept the northbound express lanes open 24/7.

This did alleviate congestion for drivers coming into Seattle from the south; however, drivers from the north no longer had access to the express lanes. This created 13-mile backups during the morning commutes, and Interstate 405 (I-405) saw comparable backups as drivers sought an alternate route.

Closures on the horizon

The good news is, starting Monday, those days are behind us. The bad news is WSDOT needs to shut down all northbound lanes of I-5 through downtown Seattle in order to wrap up this phase of Revive I-5.

Friday at midnight, WSDOT will shut down northbound I-5 between Interstate 90 (I-90) and the Ship Canal Bridge, along with several on/off ramps along this stretch. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

During the weekend closure, the express lanes will remain open northbound.

All on- and off-ramps to and from the mainline northbound I-5 north of the express lanes entrance to Northeast 45th Street will close during the evening Friday, and remain closed until 5 a.m. Monday.

On-ramp closures include:

9 p.m.

• Dearborn Street, Cherry Street, and University Street

10 p.m.

• Westbound I-90, Olive Way, and Mercer Street
• Westbound SR 520 off-ramp to Roanoke Street

11 p.m.

• Eastbound I-90, westbound SR 520, and Harvard Avenue East

SR 18 full closure

State Route 18 (SR 18) from I-90 to Issaquah-Hobart Road will close in both directions for maintenance, repairs, and improvements this weekend. No eastbound or westbound SR 18 traffic will be allowed over Tiger Mountain from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday. Only local traffic to Southeast 104th Street will be permitted south of I-90 during the closure.

Freight traffic should use I-405 and I-90 throughout the weekend. Issaquah-Hobart Road and Issaquah city streets are not suitable for semi-trucks.

Crews will focus on the new SR 18 lanes between Lake Creek and Deep Creek. Heavy rainfall forecasted over the weekend will limit the workload.

The list of crew maintenance and repairs includes:

• Milling and grinding asphalt
• Installing nearly 1,800 linear feet of guardrail
• Landscaping, including mulching and hydroseeding
• Installing and extending electrical conduit and junction boxes
• Installing and extending storm pipe
• Installing bridge railing on the Lake Creek Bridge
• Installing a permanent barrier
• Replacing temporary signs from the eastbound I-90 off-ramp with larger, permanent signs

Maintenance crews will also use the closure to perform annual work on SR 18 over Tiger Mountain, including pavement and guardrail repairs, improving sign visibility, vegetation work, and safety checks.

Westbound SR 18 closures in Auburn

WSDOT crews are replacing westbound SR 18 expansion joints on the C Street Southwest bridge as part of a pavement repair project. Here are the closure details:

• From 11 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Sunday, the right lane of westbound SR 18 will close between M and C Streets Southeast. The Auburn Way South on-ramp to westbound SR 18 will close at the same time. A signed detour for the ramp closure will use city streets to the C Street Southwest on-ramp to westbound SR 18.
• From 2 a.m. Sunday, to 5 a.m. Monday, westbound SR 18 will close at Auburn Way South. All westbound vehicles will exit at the Auburn Way South off-ramp and use the on-ramp to return to westbound SR 18. Police officers will direct people through the intersection between the on- and off-ramps.

Eastbound SR 18 through Auburn will remain open. People should expect delays, especially during peak travel times.

Interstate-5 in Fife

Starting Saturday, Aug. 16-23, contractor crews working for WSDOT will repave all lanes of northbound I-5 from just south of Wapato Way to just north of two new bridges on I-5. After northbound lanes are repaved, crews will repave southbound I-5 through the same area at a later date.

To repave the freeway, crews will close four out of five northbound lanes nightly between 54th Avenue E. in Fife and Porter Way in Milton.

Here is this weekend’s schedule:

Saturday to Sunday morning

• Lanes begin closing at 7 p.m., with four lanes closed by 11:30 p.m. One lane remains open.
• Lanes begin reopening at 7 a.m. with all lanes open by 11 a.m.
• The 54th Avenue East on-ramp to northbound I-5 will be closed overnight from 9:30 p.m. to 9 a.m.
• Rolling slowdowns will occur from 11:59 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Sunday to Monday morning

• Lanes begin closing at 7 p.m., with four lanes closed by 11:30 p.m. One lane remains open.
• Lanes begin reopening at 7 a.m. with all lanes open by 11 a.m.

This project is weather-dependent and may be postponed if heavy rain persists.

State Route 509 in Burien

Roundabout construction continues at the South 160th Street and SR 509 interchange in Burien. This is the second of three consecutive weekend-long closures.

These weekend-long closures will allow crews to continue building two new roundabouts at the South 160th Street and SR 509 interchange.

This work is part of the SR 509 Completion Project.

5 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday

• South 160th Street will close in both directions between Ambaum Cut Off South and 5th Place S.
• The South 160th Street on-ramp to northbound SR 509 will close.
• The northbound SR 509 exit to South 160th Street will close.

Detour routes will include First Avenue South, Des Moines Memorial Drive S., S. 188th, and S. 148th streets. The southbound SR 509 off-ramp to westbound South 160th Street will remain open.

Nate Connors is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Follow him on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.

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