A heads up for your weekend travel plans: Northbound I-5 will close from I-90 to Northeast 45th Street beginning at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, to allow crews to set up a work zone in the two left lanes of the Ship Canal Bridge.
During the weekend-long closure, the express lanes will operate northbound-only 24 hours a day. The Fifth Avenue/Cherry-Columbia Street on-ramps to the express lanes from downtown Seattle will be open to all drivers during the closure.
The work is part of the Revive I-5: Ship Canal Bridge Preservation project. Interstate 5 was built in the 1960s, and the Ship Canal Bridge now carries nearly 240,000 vehicles each day. The bridge last underwent a major preservation effort about 40 years ago.
The current project involves repairing and resurfacing the upper bridge deck, replacing aging concrete and expansion joints, enhancing drainage, and addressing other maintenance issues. Major construction is expected to continue through 2027 as crews work to extend the life of the bridge and reduce the risk of unplanned disruptions.
The work this weekend is weather-dependent. If rain is forecast, the closure and related work could be rescheduled for the following weekend.
When the freeway reopens at 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, northbound I-5 will be reduced to two lanes from north of Mercer Street to Northeast 45th Street. Those lane reductions will remain in place through June while crews repair and resurface the bridge deck.
Ramp closures starting Friday night
All northbound I-5 on- and off-ramps between I-90 and Northeast 45th Street will close in advance of the work beginning Friday, Jan. 9, and will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12.
Northbound I-5 on-ramps closing Friday evening include:
9 p.m.
- Dearborn Street
- Cherry Street
- University Street
10 p.m.
- Westbound I-90
- Olive Way
- Mercer Street
11 p.m.
- Eastbound I-90
- Harvard Avenue East
- Westbound SR 520
The westbound SR 520 off-ramp to Roanoke Street will also be closed from as early as 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, through 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12.
Mainline northbound I-5 off-ramps closing at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, include:
- Seneca Street
- Olive Way
- Mercer Street
- Lakeview Boulevard
- Eastbound SR 520
- Northeast 45th Street / Northeast 50th Street
What’s coming next
The Jan. 9–12 closure is part of a longer series of lane reductions and weekend closures on northbound I-5 across the Ship Canal Bridge:
- Jan. 9–12: Weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure for work zone set-up
- Jan. 12 – June 5: Two left northbound lanes closed across the Ship Canal Bridge
- June 5 – 8: Weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure for work zone removal
- June 8 – July 10: All lanes reopened for FIFA World Cup games
- July 10 – 13: Weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure for work zone set-up
- July 13 – end of 2026: Two right northbound lanes closed across the Ship Canal Bridge
- End of 2026: Weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure for work zone removal
All weekend-long closures for setting up or removing work zones are weather-dependent and may be rescheduled if rain prevents crews from re-striping lanes.
Photo: King County Metro