Year of I-5 repairs starts Monday; watch for lane closures

Drivers in the Puget Sound region can expect a year of construction delays, starting with some overnight lane closures of crumbling Interstate 5 next week.

Construction crews will replace or regrind 440 concrete panels of I-5 from the north King County line to south Boeing Field this year, at a cost of $21 million.

Work begins Monday night on northbound I-5 in Seattle.

There will be three overnight lane shutdowns from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. next week, from the Albro/Swift exit to the West Seattle Bridge exit.

Then, southbound I-5 entering downtown will have a more severe closure Wednesday night and Thursday night from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., followed by a weekend closure Feb. 12 to Feb. 16. Only one or two lanes will be open through downtown, with some exits closed. The state Department of Transportation predicts 45-minute delays.

Traffic coming into downtown Seattle from the south will also be jammed that weekend, because the I-5 express lanes will used for southbound traffic the entire weekend.

Future projects are planned at the I-90 floating bridge, I-405 near Renton, the Hood Canal Bridge, I-5 in North Seattle and Shoreline, Highway 520 at Overlake and I-405 at downtown Bellevue.