Project overview
Dozens of preservation projects are planned to revive Interstate 5 in King and Snohomish counties. Washington’s main freeway was built in the 1960s and needs major preservation and renovation work. Over the coming years, Revive I-5 projects will include pavement repair and full replacement, expansion joints, and seismic work to strengthen bridges against earthquakes.
What to expect
At this time one project is active:
Revive I-5 - Ship Canal Bridge preservation
All lanes of northbound I-5 across the Ship Canal Bridge are open until Friday night, July 10, and express lanes will operate on their regular schedule, southbound mornings and northbound afternoons and evenings. Beginning July 10, there will be another full closure of northbound I-5 to reinstall the work zone to repair and repave the two right lanes on the bridge. Northbound I-5 will reopen Monday, July 13, with two mainline right lanes; the express lanes will be northbound-only, 24 hours a day, while this work continues through the end of 2026.
See the "related links" tab for future projects.
The first set of northbound I-5 lane closures on the Ship Canal Bridge finished Sunday, June 7. Work will resume in July with a weekend-long northbound I-5 closure starting Friday night, July 10. When the freeway reopens Monday morning, July 13, the Ship Canal Bridge will be reduced to two lanes 24 hours a day until the end of 2026.
When the Seattle section of I-5 was constructed in the 1960s, designers expected it to last about 25 years before needing major work. The freeway held up well for more than 50 years, but by the mid-2010s major preservation projects became necessary.
There was no freeway when I-5 was first built, so it was relatively easy to work with limited effects to traffic. Now I-5 is a lifeline that people and commerce count on every day. Because we can’t simply close it for years to rebuild it, we are creating many different projects to revive it one section at a time.
