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…