Friday Roundtable: Revive I-5 in 2026

The Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) project to conduct major preservation and repairs on the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge continues into 2026. Over the next year, expect months-long northbound lane reductions and a few weekends with a complete shutdown of the northbound I-5 lanes in Seattle.

Crews break up the old concrete road surface using a using a hydro demolition machine on the Ship Canal Bridge in 2025 (WSDOT)

The Seattle Transit Blog encourages you to take transit, walk, or bike to wherever you need to go. Sound Transit's Link 1 Line travels roughly parallel to I-5 between Lynnwood and Federal Way. The 1 Line has thousands of free parking spots in Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline, and Northgate. Additionally, King County Metro runs a plethora of bus routes across the Ship Canal. These routes include:

Montlake Bridge: 43, 48, 255, 271, ST 542, ST 556

University Bridge: 49, 70

I-5 Ship Canal Bridge: 303, 322, ST 510, ST 515, ST 586

Aurora Bridge: 5, 28, E Line

Fremont Bridge: 31, 32, 40, 62

Ballard Bridge: 17, D Line

The schedules and maps for these routes can be found here. Metro will be running extra buses as needed to minimize travel delays. Metro toldSeattle Transit Blog that on weekdays, it will likely add extra service on routes 40, 62, 101, 255, D Line, E Line, and ST 545. On weekends, extra service will likely be added to routes 40, 62, 101, D Line, E Line, and ST 545. Metro confirmed that it will add additional buses to other routes as needed.

January 9 - 12 [Full Northbound Closure]

Northbound I-5 will be closed through downtown Seattle this weekend from 11:59pm Friday night until 5am Monday morning. The express lanes will remain open for northbound traffic. To prepare for the closure, several on-ramps to northbound I-5 will close as early as 9:00pm Friday. Dearborn Street, Cherry Street, University Street on-ramps will close at 9:00pm. Westbound I-90, Olive Way, and Mercer Street on-ramps will close at 10:00pm. Eastbound I-90, Harvard Avenue East, and Westbound SR 520on-ramps will close at 11:00pm. The northbound off-ramps between Seneca Street and NE 50th St will close at 11:59pm.

As a reminder, the 1 Line will be using shuttle buses between Capitol Hill station and SODO station during the late night and mornings this weekend. The shuttle buses will run:

• From 10:00pm on Friday, Jan. 9, until noon on Saturday, Jan. 10
• From 10:00pm on Saturday, Jan. 10, until noon on Sunday, Jan. 11

Map of the open and closed sections of I-5 near I-90.January 12 - June 5 [Northbound Lane Reduction]

When the northbound I-5 lanes open on Monday at 5:00am, the left two lanes on the Ship Canal Bridge will remain closed. The express lanes will remain open 24/7 for northbound traffic.

June 5 - 8 [Full Northbound Closure]

Northbound I-5 will be closed through downtown Seattle in early June from 11:59pm Friday night until 5am Monday morning. The express lanes will remain open for northbound traffic. WSDOT has not shared specific details for this closure yet, but it should be similar to the full closure this weekend.

June 8 - July 10

All northbound I-5 lanes will be open as WSDOT is expecting higher traffic volumes from the World Cup games.

July 10 - 13 [Full Northbound Closure]

Northbound I-5 will be closed through downtown Seattle in July from 11:59pm Friday night until 5am Monday morning. The express lanes will remain open for northbound traffic. WSDOT has not shared specific details for this closure yet, but it should be similar to the full closure this weekend.

July 13 - end of 2026 [Northbound Lane Reduction]

When the northbound I-5 lanes open on Monday at 5:00am, the right two lanes on the Ship Canal Bridge will remain closed. The express lanes will remain open 24/7 for northbound traffic.

End of 2026 [Full Northbound Closure]

Northbound I-5 will be closed through downtown Seattle sometime near the end of 2026 from 11:59pm Friday night until 5am Monday morning. The express lanes will remain open for northbound traffic. WSDOT has not shared specific details for this closure yet, but it should be similar to the full closure this weekend.

This is an open thread.