Impending I-5 Repairs Could Cause Sea-Tac Delays: WSDOT

SEATTLE, WA - Drivers using northbound I-5 over the next two weekends will encounter delays as WSDOT crews repair expansion joints over the Duwamish River bridge, requiring lane reductions and exit ramp closures.

WSDOT is warning drivers to expect long delays, up to an hour in some cases. The closures will especially impact drivers headed to and from Sea-Tac Airport.

Beginning Friday at 10 p.m., the three right northbound lanes will be closed. The following weekend, three left northbound lanes will close.

"These two weekend-long closures will give them room to safely replace hardware in an expansion joint that broke in fall 2018. This permanent fix will keep the joint in good working order for years to come," WSDOT wrote in a recent blog post.

Here are the closure details:

March 15 10 p.m. to March 17 at 11:59 p.m. — The right three lanes will be closed between the I-405/SR 518 interchange and the Martin Luther King Jr. Way exit. WSDOT will also close the southbound HOV, Southcenter Boulevard, and Interurban Avenue South on-ramps to northbound I-5.

March 22 10 p.m. to March 24 at 11:59 p.m. — The three left lanes will be closed in the same vicinity as above, and the same on-ramps will be closed.

SR 518 to northbound I-5 and northbound I-5 to SR 599 will remain open.