Major I-5 closure planned for next month

It’s not “carmageddon,” according to the Washington State Department of Transportation, but drivers should plan ahead to avoid a major, disruptive closure of Interstate 5 early next month.

Crews will completely close both directions of the freeway at the Interstate 205 junction for more than 48 hours while crews place huge girders over the roadway. I-205 will remain open, but I-5 will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday, June 7, to 5 a.m. Monday, June 10.

Workers will place a dozen girders, each 165 feet long, over the freeway. They’ll eventually support a new bridge carrying Northeast 139th Street up and over the junction, part of the $133 million Salmon Creek Interchange Project.

Southbound I-5 will be closed between I-205 and Northeast 134th Street, according to WSDOT. Northbound I-5 will be closed between state Highway 500 and I-205.

During the work, traffic should use I-205, Highway 500, state Highway 14 and Oregon’s Interstate 84 to get around the closure, according to WSDOT.

WSDOT planners expect closures on I-205 to occur later this summer. The entire Salmon Creek project, which aims to relieve congestion around the northern convergence of I-5 and I-205, is scheduled to wrap up next year.