I-5 bridge work at Stilly could cause traffic headaches

ARLINGTON — One of the two bridge spans carrying I-5 over the Stillaguamish River will close next week for the next four months.

Work crews are replacing the 607-foot-long deck and some of the support beams of the southbound bridge.

Traffic in both directions will be reduced to two lanes approaching the bridge, and the speed limit reduced to 55 mph in both directions.

By the time the morning commute begins Tuesday, southbound traffic will be directed across the median onto the northbound bridge, which will be divided to handle both directions of traffic.

Starting overnight Monday, southbound I-5 will be reduced to one lane until about 5 a.m. while road crews stripe the highway and paint lane dividers on the temporary crossover. The road will expand to handle two lanes once the striping is done.

The work schedule may change if it rains.

“We have to stripe the highway and if there’s any moisture on the highway we can’t do that,” said Tom Pearce, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The southbound bridge was built in 1933 and has only been refurbished once in its 81-year lifespan. Built to carry old Highway 99 across the river, it now carries up to 50,000 vehicles each day during the summer months.

Mowat Construction Co., based in Woodinville, was awarded the $8.7 million contract for the project, with most of the money coming from federal bridge preservations funds.

Traffic is expected to be disrupted for the duration of the 120-day work period.

“The key message we’re trying to get out right now is the traffic: Avoid traveling at peak hours if possible,” Pearce said.

The heaviest traffic volumes are from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on the weekends in the southbound lanes, and in the northbound lanes from 3-6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on the weekends.

Local traffic is encouraged to bypass the bridge if possible: using Pioneer Highway to get to and from Stanwood from the south, or Smokey Point Boulevard and Highway 9 to get to Arlington.

Updates to the project are posted on the transporation department’s web page: wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/stillaguamishbridgerehab.

The State Patrol is monitoring speeds through the work zone, Pearce said. In addition, the 55 m.p.h. limit in the southbound lanes extends all the way to Smokey Point Boulevard.

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165 or cwinters@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.