Taking advantage of SR 18 maintenance closure July 21-23

Last westbound I-90 lane reduction set for July 24-27

By Tom Pearce

Lane reductions and closures will return to State Route 18 and Interstate 90 starting this weekend, with a maintenance closure of SR 18 between I-90 and Issaquah-Hobart Road. This section of SR 18 will close starting at 9 p.m. Friday, July 21, and continue through noon Sunday, July 23.

The work on I-90, which starts Monday night, July 24, will be the last of the multi-day lane reductions on the westbound interstate.

SR 18 weekend closure

Between I-90 and Issaquah-Hobart Road, our maintenance crews will do preservation work along SR 18, including drain-cleaning, clearing line-of-sight for travelers, repairing guardrail and temporarily patching potholes.

While SR 18 is closed between I-90 and Issaquah-Hobart Road for maintenance this weekend, the contractor on our I-90/SR 18 interchange project will take advantage of the closure to complete some work for their project, avoiding a separate closure later.

When possible, we try to combine work to lessen disruptions for people traveling. In this case, we have a couple of projects working to widen SR 18 that will take advantage of the maintenance closure. Our I-90/SR 18 Interchange Improvements project will do drainage work and complete bridge inspection along a two-mile section of SR 18 south of I-90. Drilling and surveying crews working on the SR 18 Widening project will collect data between Tiger Mountain and Issaquah-Hobart Road. This project is still in design and will begin construction when the first project is complete in 2025.

I-90 lane reductions

We’ve occasionally been reducing lanes on sections of westbound I-90 between Preston and Issaquah for about a year now, but this should be the last multi-day reduction. We need three days to replace a section of a bridge where the deck meets the road.

Earlier this year we replaced a bridge approach on westbound I-90 west of Preston. When we did that work we determined a portion of the bridge deck needs to be replaced. It will take three days for that work, starting Monday night, July 24.

The work will reduce westbound I-90 to one lane for 72 hours straight, leaving one left lane open from 9 p.m. Monday, July 24, to 9 a.m. Wednesday July 26. When that is finished, our contractor crews will flip traffic over to the right lane so they can repair the left side of the freeway. That will take until 9 p.m. Thursday, July 27.

While some overnight work remains, this project will finish later this summer.

Preserving our highways

These projects are examples of the work we need to do to keep our state’s highway system in good shape. When these highways were built, they carried far fewer cars and trucks. As use increased, so has wear and tear as well as demand.

The work on SR 18, along with a project to build a new I-90/SR 18 interchange, will help keep people and commerce moving. On I-90, this section is more than 40 years old and needs rehabilitation. We know it’s inconvenient when we have to do this work, but in the end, people will have a better transportation system. Thanks for your patience!