Heads up, Fremont! If you’re heading south or coming home from the south this weekend, maybe rethink that I-5 on-ramp.
Washington State Department of Transportation is closing northbound I-5 from 11:59 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Jan. 9-12) to set up their work zone on the Ship Canal Bridge. All northbound ramps from I-90 to Northeast 45th Street will be closed, so if you’re coming from the south, Highway 99 to our neighborhood is your new best friend.
When I-5 reopens Monday morning, it’s staying squeezed down to two lanes across the Ship Canal Bridge until June. That’s right: five months of lane reductions. WSDOT will briefly open everything up for World Cup in June, then close lanes again through the end of the year.
Pro tip: The express lanes will stay open northbound 24/7 during the closure, but they won’t get you to downtown Seattle. For that, you’ll need those Edgar Martinez Drive or Dearborn, James or Madison Street exits.
This whole thing is weather-dependent. If it’s too rainy, WSDOT will punt to next weekend.
This is all part of the $203 million Revive I-5 project fixing a bridge that hasn’t had major work in 40 years.
More info: https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/revive-i-5-ship-canal-bridge-preservation