Mission: Not-So-Impossible – Operation Ship Canal Bridge

By: RB McKeon

A photo of the Ship Canal Bridge taken from above shows a patchwork of repairs that have been needed in recent years as the deck surface continues to show signs of wear and tear.

This is your mission, Seattle – should you choose to accept it.

Starting 10 p.m. Friday, June 20 through 5 a.m. Monday, June 23, northbound I-5 across the Ship Canal Bridge will be reduced to two lanes from SR 520 to Northeast 45th Street. Think of it as a preview of this summer’s big feature: a four-week-long two-lane reduction starting July 18.

But don’t worry, this mission is not impossible. Why? Because we’re giving you everything you need to plan head, test your options and ace the mission.

The objective: Set the stage and stay on track

This weekend’s mission isn’t just a dress rehearsal, it’s a critical setup for the summer’s main event that begins the weekend of July 18 and runs four weeks, ending on Aug. 18.

Crews will complete drainage and demolition work this weekend and prepare the bridge for upcoming around-the-clock lane reductions. Specifically, they’ll work on drainage and replace about 80% of the bridge’s scuppers in the northbound section. This work also allows our contractor to test their plan and make sure the work will go smoothly, helping us stay on schedule.

For you, this weekend is a chance to test your alternate routes, adjust travel times or try transit before the real mission begins. July’s work will be longer and more intense, but certainly not impossible, especially if you’ve already got a plan.

Mission details: What’s happening June 20-23

Northbound I-5 will have lane reductions and shift traffic from SR 520 to Northeast 45th Street from Friday night, June 20, through Monday morning, June 23.

• Northbound I-5 will be reduced to two lanes across the Ship Canal Bridge all weekend.
• To create two through lanes we will restripe the shoulder to use as a temporary lane. This requires short full closures of northbound I-5 and several ramps that will occur twice:
• Between 12:01 and 1 a.m. on Saturday, June 21 and again on Monday, June 23, to allow for restriping.
• The Mercer Street and westbound SR 520 on-ramps to northbound I-5 will be closed.
• If the weather is bad, we won’t be able to restripe to create two through lanes, but the drainage work will still take place because it is not weather dependent.

• The Mercer on-ramp to the express lanes will remain open.
• The Harvard Avenue East on-ramp will remain open.
• Express lanes will run northbound all weekend to help ease congestion.
• Expect lane reductions in the express lanes:
• 7 p.m. Saturday, June 21 until 5 a.m. Sunday, June 22.
• 7-11:59 p.m. Sunday June 22.

Mission strategy: smart planning and strategic timing

In any good mission, success starts with smart planning, and that includes when it takes place and where and how we divert traffic.

Why now?

In a region as active and fast-moving as the greater Puget Sound, there’s never a perfect time for major construction. That’s why we’ve worked closely with our partners to minimize conflicts with key summer events in Seattle. The timing of this work was carefully selected to avoid overlapping with the Seafair Torchlight Parade, Bite of Seattle, a series of sold-out concerts and the Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Hall of Fame weekend festivities.

We know how important Seattle summers are, and we want to make sure people know what to expect when traveling to and through Seattle. With a little planning and coordination, you can still experience everything Seattle has to offer while we carry out the mission to preserve I-5 for the future.

Mission support tools:

The mission doesn’t require secret codes or spy gear, just a little planning. We’ve already chosen these dates to minimize impacts, and we have a lot of resources to help you succeed:

• I-5/Yesler Way to Northgate Vic - Pavement, Deck, Joints and Drainage | WSDOT
• Download the WSDOT App from Google Play or the Apple Store
• SDOT’s Flip Your Trip Program
• Transit options like buses or light rail
• Carpool with fellow agents (aka your family and friends)
• Follow us on social media

Try a different route, take transit, adjust your timing. This is your opportunity to experiment before July’s four-week operation.

Coming Soon: The Feature Film

2025: Four-week lane reduction on northbound I-5

• July 18–21: Full closure
• July 21–Aug. 15: Two-lane reduction
• Aug. 15–18: Full closure

2026: Extended northbound I-5 lane reductions

2027: Extended southbound I-5 lane reductions

The trilogy ends with a new long-lasting bridge deck.

Your mission is simple: Know before you go. Plan ahead. And help us keep the region moving while we make essential repairs that will last for decades.

This message will not self-destruct. It’ll just help you survive summer traffic.

Send in the cones: You’re probably going to encounter roadwork this summer

By Rachel Terlep

Grab your popcorn and your alternate routes: It’s summer blockbuster season. Except our blockbusters involve busting literal blocks. They also involve lane reductions, detours, delays and – occasionally – some drama. Coming to a highway near you.

Let’s get this out of the way: If you’re heading to a game, festival, concert, Great Aunt Tilda’s across the state…you’re almost certainly going to encounter road work. Yes, even during that MAJOR EVENT you circled on your calendar months ago.

If you feel like you’ve seen this movie before, it’s because the past few summers have been packed with roadwork. This summer will be especially tough with bigger projects spread out over more parts of the state. Cross-state travel will be difficult, particularly on major roadways like the I-90 Vantage Bridge over the Columbia River and the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle.

We’ll have 117 major projects around the state this summer!

Why? It’s not because we hate you. It’s not because we hate the Mariners or Watershed or Seafair or Spokane’s Feed the Buffalo. It’s because we have 117 projects scheduled this summer – not counting day-to-day maintenance, emergencies and local city and county projects who have their own work and closures. Between the day this blog is published (June 10) and Sept. 30, there are just 14 days with no major events happening. Talk about everything everywhere all at once.

To give you an idea what we’re up against, this is a calendar of major events around the state from June to September. This was drafted in late May, so more events may be added later this summer. And these are only major events, there are dozens of other local festivals, fairs and performances each month, too.

“But why does all the roadwork have to happen NOW?!” you ask. We’re addressing long-standing preservation needs and increasing repair demands. Some of these projects were delayed due to funding constraints, and now that money is available. Many of these projects also improve safety or general travel – and often have been requested for many years.

Why summertime? Simply put, a lot of our work requires dry, warm weather. In Washington, that gives us a little window to do a lot of projects. This also includes maintenance activities like roadway striping (Case in point: we generally can’t stripe highways in the winter.)

We try to avoid special events when we can. All lanes on the I-90 Vantage Bridge will be open during Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends. But we can’t do that for every project on every busy weekend, so – again – expect congestion and delays.

Want to keep up with the closures? Here’s a sneak preview of this summer’s biggest features.

The I-5 Ship Canal Bridge will undergo resurfacing and preservation work over the next three years, starting this summer.

Honey, I Closed the Lanes

Revive I-5

Over the next three years, crews will be resurfacing and preserving I-5 through Seattle – from Yesler Way to Northgate, including the Ship Canal Bridge. This bridge hasn’t seen long-term preservation work in 40 years, so we’re giving it some much-needed love.

This summer, contractor crews from Atkinson Construction will repair and resurface about 20% of the northbound Ship Canal Bridge deck, partially repair five expansion joints and replace bridge drain inlets.

Dates to keep in mind:

- June 20 – 23: Weekend-long lane reduction on northbound I-5

- July 18 – 21: Full northbound I-5 closure from I-90 to Northeast 45th Street

- July 21 – Aug. 15: Four-week northbound two-lane reduction across the Ship Canal Bridge

- Aug. 15 – 18: Full northbound I-5 closure from I-90 to Northeast 45th Street

Read more about our Revive I-5 work in our previous blog.

It’s year two of the Vantage Bridge deck replacement project, which means lane directions in both directions most of the summer.

Bridge Wars Episode II: Attack of the Cones

I-90 Vantage Bridge

It’s season two of our deck replacement on the I-90 Vantage Bridge, which means lane reductions in both directions for most of the summer.

Vantage Bridge was last overhauled in 1982 and often develops holes that go all the way through the deck. Holes like that require emergency repairs and lane closures. The bridge is also a major cross-state connection for freight and passenger travel along I-90, so these repairs are incredibly important.

All four lanes of Vantage Bridge will be open during busy summer holidays:

- Fourth of July: Thursday, July 3, to Tuesday, July 8

- Labor Day: Thursday, Aug. 28, to Tuesday, Sept. 2

The bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction on weekdays (Monday through Friday) and all lanes will be open on Saturdays and Sundays through July 8.

Starting July 9, the bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction seven days a week until the project wraps for the season in November.

We expect this project to be complete by fall 2028.

A view of I-405 roadwork in Bellevue in July 2024. Expect 10 weekends of impactful work along the I-405/SR 167 corridor this summer.

The Orange Mile(s)

I-405/SR 167 Corridor

Four projects. Fifty miles. There’s a lot to unpack here, so we’ll keep it simple.

This summer, expect up to 10 weekends of impactful work, including lane reductions and full and directional closures along the I-405/SR 167 corridor. A lot of this work will be in the Renton to Bellevue area.

Crews will add additional lanes, shift lanes, install drainage, construct retaining walls, install new signs, replace culverts and pave.

Expect significant delays during weekend closures, especially in the Renton area. Want the details of these four projects? You can find them on our project page.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…

Those are just the headliners. Also in the lineup this summer:

- Gill-more Girls: This summer, a whopping 20 fish barrier removal work zones will greet travelers on the Olympic Peninsula, including 16 on US 101 from Discovery Bay, west to Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks and south to Lake Quinault.

- Paveheart: Lots of chip seal and paving projects around the state waging battle against rough roads, too many to list here. These projects will be on main roads – like I-5 in Lewis County - and on rural roads in central and eastern Washington.

- BRIDGErton: Dearest gentle traveler, we’ve mentioned the Ship Canal and Vantage bridges. We’ll also be doing preservation work on:

• SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge - closed on intermittent weeknights mid-July through September (not including surprise reveals – a.k.a. unscheduled closures – when we must open the bridge for military vessels).
• I-82 Columbia River Bridge at Umatilla - 24/7 lane closures through the summer
• I-90 bridge at SR 21 in Ritzville – 24/7 lane closures through the summer

- The Rockfall Stabilization Picture Show: A project to reduce the risk of rocks falling onto the roadway will require lane closures and a two-day full closure of US 2 Tumwater Canyon west of Leavenworth. This project will last July through October.

Just to name a few. All said, we have 117 of these projects. We know this is a lot. We’re telling you so you can be prepared. Some tips:

- Stay informed. We get the word out in advance of busy weekends or when project details change, so pay attention to our website, app, email updates, social media and your local news to know what’s happening. You can find info about our app, social media accounts and email updates at our website.

- Get familiar with other forms of transit – buses, trains, bicycles, Link Light Rail. There are a lot of ways to get around. Even carpooling goes a long way to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

- Give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going. Leave early if you can. Take a peep at our real-time travel map before you head out the door so you can note any congestion, crashes or work zones between you and your destination (pssst, this is also a feature on our app).

- Consider altering plans, if possible, during large events or closures. Every person who does their grocery shopping before or after the big backups helps everyone else move along a little smoother. We’re all in this together, folks!

- Identify potential safety rest areas before heading out, to ensure enough breaks to avoid drowsy driving.

- Have a Plan B in mind for that hike. Trailheads parking lots fill up quickly on nice summer days. Never park along road shoulders, as this is unsafe for everyone on the roadway, including emergency response vehicles.

So, send in the cones. Don’t bother, they’re here…

Twin Power: Sheltons keep our ferries running smoothly

 By Brian Vail

Twin brothers Sam and Pete Shelton have worked together since Pete joined WSF in 2020.

Washington State Ferries are famous for having two identical ends, so they never need to turn around. But on the Walla Walla and the Chimacum, it’s not just the boats that have mirror images—it’s the crew. Meet Pete and Sam Shelton, identical twins and engine room employees who keep things running on board.

Pete, the older twin by a few minutes, works as an oiler on the Chimacum and joined our ferry system in 2020. Sam works as an assistant engineer on the Walla Walla and has been with us for over 10 years. Even though they work on different boats, they’ve followed similar paths and still share a lot in common.

The brothers grew up near the water on Key Peninsula, close to Gig Harbor. Early on they learned to navigate from their dad and uncle. As children, they were already cruising around in a small 10-foot Livingston boat. The twins sometimes ran out of gas and had to find a nearby house to call home for a ride—long before kids had cell phones.

“It shocks me because I’m thinking, ‘I’d never let my kid do this,’” said Sam. “We were eight years old, going out in that little boat with just life jackets and oars.”

As teens, Pete and Sam worked at a boat shop near Tacoma and earned valuable sea time on the boat Modoc, experience that helped them later get hired at our ferry system.

Both twins attended two years of trade school for precision machining and manufacturing. Sam went on to work for Hornblower and Pierce County while Pete was hired at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 2012.

Sam was the first to join us in 2014. He debated on working on the deck or in the engine room. Frank Longmate, a captain and one of many mentors that Sam has met, pointed him down a path that altered his career.

“I was leaning towards deck and Frank took a piece of paper and wrote down ‘QMED (Qualified Member of the Engine Department) oiler’ with all the steps it took to get a job in the engine room,” said Sam. “Frank was a really good mentor to me. He showed me the ropes.”

Sam noted the importance of listening and learning from those around us.

“I find people who are willing to share advice are almost more valuable than any class you could take,” he said. “Finding those people that are just a wealth of knowledge that can point you in the right direction.”

Sam worked his way up to assistant engineer over the years and now trains every new engine room employee, which included Pete. Sam is in now in line to be promoted to Chief Engineer.

“I’ve been in the training department since 2018 and I really enjoy sharing the knowledge (that I’ve picked up through the years),” said Sam.

Pete took a slightly different route. In 2017, he became a journeyman machinist and was named Apprentice of the Year, an award given to only one student out of over 200 in each graduating class. He stood out for his problem-solving skills, mentoring others and multiple achievement awards from the Navy. Ultimately Peter worked there for over eight years and was promoted to work leader and then supervisor by 25 years old.

It was Sam who convinced Pete to switch jobs early in 2020. Pete had been focused on his career and wanted to have more time to focus on his passions outside of work. Sam pitched Pete on our more favorable schedule. “You couldn’t pay me enough to keep going on the schedule I had before,” Pete said.

Our engine room crews work seven 12-hour shifts in a row, then get a full week off. They rotate between day and night shifts. The work-life balance is a key selling point in comparison with other maritime positions.

When COVID-19 caused many testing centers to shut down, Pete had to fly to Ketchikan, Alaska to take his oiler’s endorsement test to get hired here. He passed, applied to be an oiler and joined the team, all in one week.

The brothers share a lot in common, including their hobbies. “We always tend to copy each other,” Sam said. “One of us gets a new car, the other one does too. Our hobbies and interests are very similar.”

Pete and Sam Shelton at a training exercise together.

Pete enjoys using his 3D printer and CNC plasma cutter to make custom parts in his free time. On the Chimacum, he even created a model of the vessel’s reduction gear to help train new employees and visitors.

Looking ahead, the twins hope to work together on one of our future hybrid-electric ferries. They dream of helping build the engine room from the ground up. Sam would serve as chief engineer-the face of the engine room-while Pete would be the assistant engineer, working behind the scenes. With both on board, passengers and crew might need to do a double take to figure out how one person seems to be everywhere at once.

“I love this organization,” said Sam. “Nowhere is perfect, but the schedule, the work and the people I get to work with—it’s a great fit.”