Date:  Thursday, January 22, 2009

Contact: Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
Janice Marlega, Project Engineer, 360-757-5856 (Burlington)

BURLINGTON – WSDOT crews will need to close northbound Interstate 5 in Burlington for two nights next week as they demolish part of the SR 11 (Chuckanut Drive) overpass in Burlington.

Crews will close northbound I-5 from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, and Wednesday, Jan. 28, between mileposts 230 and 231 as they demolish the east span of the bridge.

The east span was damaged by an over-height truck on I-5 in July 2008. A tractor-trailer towing an excavator crashed into the overpass, severely damaging three of the six support beams, knocking off concrete and breaking 22 steel cables. Each support beam houses 20 steel cables.

The Chuckanut Drive overpass will close one day earlier, at 7 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26, and will remain closed for two months.

During the I-5 closures, northbound drivers will be detoured off I-5 at the SR 20 interchange (exit 230) and north to the Chuckanut Drive on-ramp.

WSDOT is asking drivers to plan for the closures, both on Chuckanut Drive and I-5. An average of 50,000 drivers use this stretch of I-5 daily, and 10,000 drivers commute daily on Chuckanut Drive. Delays are expected, especially during the nighttime I-5 closures.

The on- and off-ramps at the Chuckanut Drive interchange (exit 231) will remain open during most of construction.

Pictures of the damage are available on the WSDOT Flickr account - www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157606094350288/.  

For more details about the $1 million project, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SR11ChuckanutBridgeRepair/.  

< Back to News Home