Originally published Thursday, February 22, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Summer construction planned for northbound I-5
Planning a summer vacation? Consider August. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) will create a commuting nightmare, paving more...
Seattle Times staff reporter
Planning a summer vacation? Consider August.
The state Department of Transportation (DOT) will create a commuting nightmare, paving more than a mile of northbound Interstate 5 and replacing failing bridge expansion joints between South Spokane Street and Interstate 90.
The work will involve nearly three weeks of intense construction from Aug. 10 into Aug. 29, when crews will close several lanes of northbound I-5 all day, leaving only two to three lanes open to traffic.
Lengthy backups and significant delays are expected, particularly affecting commuters from South King County and West Seattle.
"These closures have the potential to create unprecedented gridlock on freeways and city streets," said Lorena Eng, regional administrator for the DOT.
Drivers also can expect periodic closures of the South Spokane Street and South Columbian Way onramps to northbound I-5, and the northbound I-5 exits to Fourth Avenue South, Interstate 90 and James, Madison and Dearborn streets.
I-5 from Spokane Street to the I-90 interchange is more than 40 years old and is one of the state's busiest sections of freeway. The expansion joints connecting the concrete spans that make up the freeway are failing and pose a serious risk to drivers, according to the DOT, which said collisions are growing as the top steel plates of these joints detach.
In addition to the work on northbound I-5, the state also will repair the expansion joints on the southbound roadway, using overnight closures.
Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?
NEW - 01:26 AM
Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Husky Men's Basketball Blog | Saturday's Pac-10 games in review
- Senate vote clears hurdle
239 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
134 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
128 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
123 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
122 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
82 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
62 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
54
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Protect yourself from baggage loss
- Northwest Living | On Whidbey, a unified home from multiple recycled parts
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'





