Beginning Monday, Sept. 30, for approximately six months, the I-5 Express Lanes through Seattle will be reduced to two lanes nightly from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The I-5 Express Lanes will fully close on their regular schedule, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekends.
Welcome to the I-5 Yesler to Northgate online open house! This website is designed to help you learn more about the project, what to expect during construction, why this work is necessary and how it will benefit folks traveling through Seattle.
For up to nine months each year 2025-2027, one direction of I-5 will be reduced to two lanes through a portion of Seattle. During these lane reductions our crews will:
- Replace concrete panels.
- Replace bridge expansion joints.
- Resurface Ship Canal and Lakeview Viaduct bridge decks.
- Improve drainage on the Ship Canal Bridge.
- Repair Ship Canal Bridge structure components.
Additionally, This project will repair and repave approximately 30 ramps.
This work will cause major traffic disruptions on both northbound and southbound I-5 through the heart of downtown Seattle. There is no good time to get this work done; but there are good resources to help you plan your travels and we invite you to explore this page to learn more.
Project benefits
Maintaining our existing infrastructure is essential to keep people and goods moving safely through downtown Seattle. This project will help:
- Reduce the likelihood of serious incidents.
- Reduce unplanned emergency repair closures.
- Avoid increased costs for work in the future.
- Extend the life of the highway.
What to expect during construction
- Full weekend directional closures of I-5 to set, shift, and remove the work zone.
- Three full weekend closures in 2025 and 2027.
- Four full weekend closures in 2026.
- Double-lane work zone on I-5 for nine months 2025-2027.
- While these work zones are in place, one direction of mainline I-5 will be reduced to two lanes of traffic.
- Work zone will be in place in one direction at a time.
- Express Lanes support travel in the direction of the work zone.
- Open lanes narrowed to 10.5 feet through the Ship Canal Bridge work zone.
- Speed limit reduction to 50 mph through this area.
Project timeline
