How Seattle can survive Revive I-5

With up to 240,000 vehicles crossing north and south on Seattle's ship canal bridge each day — a bottleneck along I-5 through the city — any disruption is certain to snarl traffic throughout the region. With just two northbound lanes already closed for Revive I-5 work, commuters are already feeling the pain.

That pain likely won't subside until the end of 2027.

RELATED: Sound Transit announces opening day for light rail connecting Seattle and Bellevue

"A traffic problem is normally a regional problem," Yinhai Wang told Seattle Now.

Wang is director of the Washington State Transportation Commission and a professor of traffic engineering at the University of Washington. He notes that shutting down any portion of a freeway will cause traffic problems to stretch out through arterial roads.

"It will spill out, affecting the whole network," Wang said. "So this bigger project, closing two northbound lanes on the ship canal bridge, is certainly going to generate a regional impact."

The regional impact will continue as crews conduct repairs and preservation work in phases through 2026 and 2027, pausing briefly for the World Cup this summer.

For many years now, Seattle has known Revive I-5 was coming and would disrupt travel. Sections of the freeway through the city have already been shut down for work, but a bridge is a bottleneck and the repairs are different.

Crews will grind off the surface concrete, all the way down to the deck of the bridge where repairs will be made. Then they will repave the road.

To put the ship canal work into perspective, Wang compared it to work on the now demolished Alaskan Way Viaduct — comparable in size, but much smaller. The viaduct carried far fewer cars than the ship canal bridge does.

What to know about Revive I-5 on the Ship Canal Bridge

• Through June: Two left northbound lanes will be closed for construction.
• June 5-8: All northbound lanes on the bridge will close.
• Work on the bridge will pause for the World Cup in Seattle.
• July 10-13: Another full closure of northbound lanes.
• Through the end of 2026: Now it's time for the other two lanes of the bridge to get their makeover.
• Express lanes will only carry northbound traffic this entire time. All drivers may use the express lanes during this time. Some ramps will stay HOV only.

RELATED: No toll boost for major Seattle route during World Cup

The snarled traffic won't be over for Seattle drivers after this work is done. Throughout 2027, crews will repeat all this work on the southbound lanes.

Can you get around Revive I-5?

Whether speaking with Wang or the Washington State Department of Transportation, the answers are the same. The first thing to understand is that traffic disruptions will be worse in the beginning as drivers adapt and find new routes.

But here are a few options to consider.

Find alternate routes

Aurora Avenue (aka Highway 99) is a major north/south route with a bridge that connects north Seattle to Westlake and downtown. As a highway, however, there are traffic lights.

The University Bridge is located underneath the ship canal bridge and provides a connection over the same stretch of canal. Drivers would be using surface streets, however, with traffic lights, stop signs, and slow speeds through Eastlake and the University District. This bridge also frequently stops traffic to raise for boat crossings.

Mix up your trip

WSDOT spokesperson Tom Pearce urges drivers to consider transit options to get into Seattle, such as light rail.

“We understand that light rail doesn’t work for a lot of people," he said. "They need their car during the day, or they need their truck because they work in the trades … the people who have the option to use transit ... that removes cars on the road, opens up more space for the people who don’t have a choice.”

Light rail into Seattle begins in Lynnwood from the north, and Federal Way from the south. There are stations along the route, many with parking. The newly opened Federal Way Station was built with parking in mind.

The Sounder Train is a separate rail route with long commutes in mind. It starts at Everett in the north, and Lakewood in the south. Keep in mind that this train operates with limited hours. For example, the last morning train to Seattle from Lakewood is 6:46 a.m., and the last train leaving Seattle's King Street Station back south is at 6:30 p.m.

You can also check King County Metro's bus routes here.

RELATED: Is it Sea-Tac Airport or SEA?

Flex your schedule

Do you have the option to work from home? Do so, and take your car off the road. This is the easiest solution.

Can you flex your work schedule? In other words, can you choose to drive after rush hour traffic? Commuting when fewer cars are on the road could make for a quicker, less frustrating trip.

Jet packs

Just kidding.

Why now?

The ship canal bridge opened in the 1960s. The last time maintenance work like this was performed on it was in the 1980s. While WSDOT has been monitoring the bridge, the agency concludes that this work cannot wait any longer.

“Over the last six years, we’ve had to do more than 200 emergency repairs out there for potholes and things, and if that happens during peak travel, we have to go out there and close lanes in peak travel, in peak direction," Pearce, with WSDOT, said. "Doing the project now allows us to do the work under a schedule. It’s gonna be hard for people to get around, but they have an idea that this is coming rather than, ‘Oops, we’ve got a big pothole at 9 o’clock on a Tuesday morning and we have to fix it right now.’”