Recap of progress made along the I-90 corridor
SNOQUALMIE PASS – From highway expansion to rock blasting, deck rehabilitation and roadway erosion mitigation, much was accomplished along the Interstate 90 corridor in 2023 from North Bend to Ellensburg.
Cabin Creek to Easton, phase 3 – rebuilding roadway, bridges and adding lanes
This summer marked the 14th year of construction on the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project, which improves 15 miles of I-90 between Hyak and Easton. Washington State Department of Transportation and contractor crews are working on phase 3, near Easton. Crews are adding a new lane in each direction, replacing concrete pavement, stabilizing rock slopes, building wildlife crossings, improving sight distance and traffic safety.
Crews also closed I-90 several times over the summer for rock blasting to make way for the added lanes. To the south of the highway, much of the work in 2023 was spent excavating dirt and building the bridges for when the new traffic lanes are shifted. Dozens of dump trucks hauled away roughly half-million cubic yards of dirt and debris. That’s well over 35,000 dump truck loads. Crews also started work on a second wildlife overcrossing near Easton. Traffic will remain in the traffic shift through the winter. This portion of the project is estimated to be complete in 2028.
I-90 South Cle Elum bridges – repairing bridge decks
Contractor crews built a detour bridge near South Cle Elum. In 2024, traffic will be shifted onto the temporary bridge so crews can repair the east and westbound bridges.
State Route 970 – stabilizing a river bank
Near Cle Elum, crews prevented the Teanaway River from eroding SR 970 by building up the embankment. This project is complete.
I-90 Vantage Bridge deck replacement
Looking ahead to 2024 construction, travelers should be aware of the work to replace the entire bridge deck on the Vantage Bridge. This work will require reducing I-90 to one lane in each direction. Crews will open all four lanes of traffic to travelers for the following summer holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. This is a multiple season project and is scheduled to be complete in 2026. Plan for delays.