With a mostly rain-free forecast this week, construction crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation set out to complete the work they started earlier this month along Interstate 5 in South Seattle. Crews will close three of five lanes on northbound I-5 south of the West Seattle Freeway to add joint seals and fill in wheel ruts approaching recently installed expansion joints.
The closures are scheduled from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night Tuesday, April 16, through Thursday, April 18. Remember to slow down and give ‘em a brake when driving through the work zone.
Weeknight lane closure details, weather dependent:
Tuesday, April 16:
- Up to three of five northbound lanes will close on I-5 between South Albro Place and the I-5/West Seattle interchange from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday.
- Crews also will close the Swift Avenue South on-ramp to northbound I-5. During the Swift Avenue on-ramp closure, drivers will be detoured to the South Michigan Street on-ramp to northbound I-5.
Wednesday, April 17:
- Up to three of five northbound lanes will close on I-5 between South Albro Place and the I-5/West Seattle interchange from 8 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.
- Crews also will close the Swift Avenue South on-ramp to northbound I-5. During the Swift Avenue on-ramp closure, drivers will be detoured to the South Michigan Street on-ramp to northbound I-5.
Thursday, April 18:
- Up to three of five northbound lanes will close on I-5 between South Albro Place and the I-5/West Seattle interchange from 8 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.
Alternate routes to Seattle
- Northbound SR 599 to Highway 99
- Northbound I-405 to westbound I-90
Tools for drivers
- Seattle area traffic: www.wsdot.com/traffic/seattle/
- Travel alerts: www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/
- Traffic products for your mobile phone and other wireless devices:www.wsdot.wa.gov/Inform/mobile.htm
- Call 5-1-1 for traffic updates.
- Tune to highway advisory radio and watch electronic highway signs for information.
Interstate 5 in King County was built in the early 1960s, and engineered to last through the 1990s. Wheel ruts and aging expansion joints are tell-tale signs of the highway’s decay. Since January 2013, contractor crews working for WSDOT replaced 24 expansion joints on the I-5/West Seattle interchange. In early April they replaced four aging highway-wide expansion joints on northbound I-5 in South Seattle. Crews need dry weather to fill in the wheel ruts with concrete.
The expansion joint replacement and wheel rut repair work is part of the $4.5 million I-5: Spokane Street Special Bridge Repair project.
