The “Revive I-5” project is back in motion and has shifted to repair and resurface the right side northbound lanes of the highway across the Ship Canal Bridge. Long-term area closures include the Harvard Ave onramp — a key route for drivers leaving Capitol Hill to the north.
The resumption follows a weekend-long shutdown of northbound Interstate 5 through Seattle to reconfigure construction barriers. Mainline lanes officially reopened early Monday morning, but commuters immediately met a restricted corridor. Northbound I-5 is now reduced to two open left lanes across the Ship Canal Bridge, a chokepoint that will remain in place through the end of 2026 as crews repair and resurface the bridge deck.
For neighborhood commuters in Capitol Hill and Eastlake, the biggest new traffic puzzle is the total closure of the Harvard Ave E on-ramp to northbound I-5. To establish a work zone for contractor crews and heavy equipment, WSDOT has shuttered the neighborhood collector ramp entirely.
The northbound lanes on the east side of Eastlake Ave E are also closed between E Allison and Harvard Ave E for construction staging. Northbound traffic is being detoured east onto E Allison and then directly north up Harvard before routing back to Eastlake Ave near the bridge approach.
State traffic engineers confirmed the Harvard Ave ramp will not reopen to local traffic until mid-October with the rest of the northbound I-5 work hoped to be completed by the end of the year.
To help mitigate the loss of half the highway’s capacity, WSDOT has locked the I-5 Express Lanes into exclusively northbound, 24-hour status for the remainder of the year. However, local transit authorities warn that morning commuters heading southbound into the city will experience secondary delays without the express lane reversal. Drivers are urged to plan for significant delays, utilize light rail, or seek alternate surface routes well ahead of standard commute hours.
Check out WSDOT’s update on the I-5 closures here.
CHS reported to start 2026 on the year of challenges ahead for drivers, bus riders, bicyclists, and walkers around North Capitol Hill as multiple major transportation construction projects were coming to a head. In addition to the I-5 work, construction is underway in the area on the new 520 Roanoke Lid and Portage Bay Bridge, and the the RapidRide J line in Eastlake.
For the 520 work, crews are starting an around-the-clock soil removal project on the Boyer Hillside between East Roanoke and SR 520. This phase will run for four months, causing single-lane closures on eastbound SR 520 and heavy truck noise/traffic on Boyer Ave E.
Starting Friday, July 17th, WSDOT is implementing a full-weekend closure of Montlake Blvd (from 10 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday, July 20th to install new mast-arm sign structures and pour concrete foundations. The Montlake on-ramps to both eastbound and westbound 520 will be fully closed.
Meanwhile, WSDOT says crews are actively drilling shafts near E Roanoke to support the future lid structure with 5 out of 18 shafts currently complete.
The new westbound Portage Bay Bridge is slated for completion in 2028. The completion of the eastbound 520 bridge lanes, the three-acre landscaped lid over the highway between North Capitol Hill and Roanoke Park, and the expansion of the regional 520 pedestrian and bicycle trail is slated for 2031.
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