The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is beginning its construction season early this year, with the first of “nearly 20” weekend and weekend night closures starting next weekend, January 4-7. The I-5 closures will run through April, and we’ll add these to the Traffic Impact section of the Queen Anne View Weekend Roundups.
Why January – April for these closures? According to Russ East, WSDOT Assistant Regional Administrator:
Per WSDOT, the following projects will occur between January and April:
- Replace 31 expansion joints on ramps linking I-5, the West Seattle Bridge and Columbian Way and one joint on northbound I-5 just south of the ramps
- Grind and smooth out three lanes of southbound I-5 between 50th St and Roanoke St in the University District and add durable striping to both directions of I-5 between Northgate and Roanoke St
- Replace bridge expansion joints and repave the ramp on northbound I-5 to Spokane St (West Seattle Bridge) and northbound and southbound I-5 off-ramps at Corson Ave
WSDOT traffic engineers worked with multiple agencies and organizations including the city of Seattle, sports teams, and event planners to avoid any major overlaps between construction and planned events. However, while they have identified the lightest traffic times, there will still be construction impacts.
What to do? Check before you go via WSDOT’s I-5 Reconstruction site, traffic app, or Twitter feed. And, we’ll include any I-5 impacts in the Queen Anne View Weekend Roundup.