Heading south on I-5? Be sure to add time for traffic from this road work
Drivers headed south from Bellingham through Arlington on Interstate 5 will face delays for the next five months as an 88-year-old bridge over the Stillaguamish River is stripped and repainted.
Prep work is scheduled to begin Monday, April 12, on the southbound lanes of the 607-foot steel truss bridge, which was built in 1933 for U.S. 99, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
When I-5 was built in the 1960s, the bridge carried two I-5 lanes in each direction, WSDOT said.
A northbound bridge was built next to it in 1971, and traffic was separated into three northbound lanes and three southbound lanes.
Delays and lane closures are expected throughout the project, which aims to prevent continued corrosion on the bridge, WSDOT said.
In June, the three southbound lanes will be closed and southbound traffic will be diverted to the newer bridge, allowing for two lanes in each direction.
“Travelers should anticipate increased congestion and backups during peak commute hours,” WSDOT said.
Daily traffic on each span of the bridge averages 39,000 cars and trucks a day, according to WSDOT records.
Traffic can reach 50,000 cars and trucks daily in summer.
