The One Where We Remind You Life Is Gonna Be This Way (for a while)

By: RB McKeon

Monica Gellar with a turkey on her head standing in the kitchen talking to Chandler Bing head from the FRIENDS episode, The One With All The Thanksgivings.

This summer, northbound I-5 across the Ship Canal Bridge was down to two lanes 24/7 for four weeks and it was a big shift on Seattle’s busiest freeway. And while it wasn’t easy, you adjusted. People tried new routes, left earlier or later and even hopped on transit.

What did we observe?

Even with major summer events like the Torchlight Parade, Seafair weekend, back-to-back concerts at Lumen Field and countless Seattle sports games, the region kept moving. That was thanks to choices travelers made and the coordination of city partners, transit agencies and first responders who added service, supported traffic flow and helped keep things running smoothly.

What did we accomplish?

During those four weeks, crews resurfaced nearly 20 percent or about 900 feet of the northbound bridge deck, replaced five expansion joints and installed 94 drains and scuppers (drains built specifically for the bridge curb) to prepare for rainy weather. The work gave us a closer look at the bridge deck and set us up for what’s next.

Hydromilling machine removes a second, deeper layer of the bridge deck

What’s next?

Starting Oct. 10, we shift the focus to the southbound lanes to finish drainage improvements. Crews will saw-cut concrete, jackhammer holes, place drainage and pour concrete to lock everything in place. To do this safely, southbound I-5 across the Ship Canal Bridge, from about the Northeast 45th Street/Northeast 50th Street off-ramp to the SR 520 interchange, will be reduced to two lanes on six weekends:

Oct. 10–13
Oct. 17–20
Oct. 31–Nov. 3
Nov. 21–24
Dec. 5–8
Jan. 9–12

Lane reductions begin as early as 10 p.m. Fridays and all lanes reopen by 5 a.m. Mondays. We’ve again worked with our partners to select these weekends based on what’s happening in Seattle, and of course, to avoid the holidays, although we will work the weekend before Thanksgiving 2025.

The express lanes will be your best friend: they’ll run southbound 24/7 all weekend and as a reminder they’re open to all drivers. You can enter at all the regular locations starting at Northgate, with the first exit at Mercer Street and rejoining I-5 near the Chinatown-International District. If you’re heading north, just know the lanes won’t flip so you may see extra delays.

 

Map showing the lane reductions on southbound I-5 planned over the course of six weekends. The express lanes are shown operating in the direction of the closure.

This fall’s work is another key step toward the bigger job ahead: major bridge deck work in 2026 (northbound) and 2027 (southbound). The lessons we learned this summer about timing, traffic patterns, and how the system responds are helping us plan ahead so we can keep Seattle moving through this major preservation work.