Northbound I-5 reopens after crews finish work earlier than expected

For the first time in several months you can drive on any of the four lanes on the I-5 mainline, northbound over the Lake Washington Ship Canal Bridge.

The Washington Department of Transportation announced early Sunday morning road crews finished their work earlier than expected.

And now all lanes of I-5 are open in the northbound direction.

So the freeway is open.

Not just the Express Lanes, but on the mainline of the freeway.

We haven’t seen this since two lanes of the bridge were shut down back on January 9th.

The work to reconfigure the lanes was supposed to last until 5:00 a.m. Monday.

Transportation officials expect all four lanes will stay completely unobstructed through the six FIFA World Cup soccer matches through July 10th, instead of just the two lanes we’ve put up with until now.

Also, the Express Lanes will return to mornings southbound and evenings northbound.

But don’t get used to it.

Another northbound closure is scheduled for after the World Cup games.