WSDOT delays huge, traffic-clogging Ship Canal Bridge deck job

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In a startling last-minute delay, the Washington State Department of Transportation is postponing until next year its huge deck resurfacing on the Interstate 5 Ship Canal Bridge, where two northbound lanes were supposed to close March 1.

State officials blamed a $15 million cash-flow gap in WSDOT’s preservation funds, even though the state’s entire two-year transportation budget totals $15 billion. Hardship for travelers also played a role in what a state manager called “a perfect storm.”

The schedule change, announced Monday, will give drivers a break from double-lane closures that were to clog traffic from March until November, followed by a winter break and southbound work on the three-quarter-mile bridge, then from Roanoke to Mercer streets. The burden on Sound Transit, along with highways and side roads by drivers seeking detours, was expected to be massive.

But just over a month before work was to begin, one of the largest decking projects the state has undertaken was put on hold.

The $15 million gap seems like loose change in the universe of WSDOT, which invests billions on new and replacement highways. Last year, the state agreed to cover an increase of $600 million more than planned to build a Highway 520 replacement bridge over Portage Bay by 2031.

The Ship Canal Bridge in North Seattle, which serves a quarter-million daily travelers, has been an exemplar of declining infrastructure, both locally and nationally.

Project delays will allow another year of deterioration, along with frequent spot closures to patch sudden potholes. Urgent deck repairs have been needed 200 times since 2019, by the state’s count.

WSDOT said in its Monday announcement that the bridge’s structural parts are sound and will remain so despite another year’s wait.

The decision to postpone was mainly driven by budget constraints, said Travis Phelps, director of WSDOT’s management of mobility division. Of the $203 million, 2½-year contract with Atkinson Construction to design and build the renovated decks, this fiscal year’s share was $70 million from what is known as the preservation budget, through June 30. But as Atkinson completed its detailed schedule in recent weeks, the company needed $85 million by mid-year to repave nearby asphalt ramps and renovate the entire northbound bridge deck, costlier than the state estimated last spring, Phelps said.

“It’s all about WSDOT not having enough money before the end of the biennium. It has nothing to do with the contractor,” said Messay Shiferaw, assistant regional administrator.

Shiferaw described schedule changes as common.

Atkinson has built Washington highway projects for many decades and is considered a trusted contractor. Atkinson is now responsible for maintenance, state officials said. An interview request to regional executives in Renton wasn’t answered Monday.

One key question officials did not answer Monday is why neither the Legislature nor Gov. Bob Ferguson’s administration chose to forward $15 million to keep the schedule on track. The WSDOT preservation fund is about $500 million a year, and Phelps said every dollar has already been committed to projects around the state.

Kris Abrudan, WSDOT director of policy and strategy, said that as the agency sized up this year’s legislative timetable, it didn’t seem plausible that lawmakers would suddenly find more money before the planned March 1 project date.

A secondary factor in the postponement was the pain of blocking traffic this year just as big companies are issuing back-to-work orders to office commuters, Phelps said.

Among other effects, the I-5 roadwork delay eases one informal deadline for Sound Transit to solve its frequent train and power shutdowns, declared an emergency last week by CEO Goran Sparrman. The regional effect of transit breakdowns will be less dire if two interstate lanes aren’t lost this March.

Monday’s reschedule is purely a WSDOT decision, and it’s too soon to assess effects on transit, Sound Transit spokesperson John Gallagher said. Having all of I-5 open could add flexibility and lower the hardship for upcoming rail maintenance, such as an expected November weekend closure to install new high-voltage wires in the downtown Seattle tunnel, he said. Sooner or later, freeway and transit work could overlap, he cautioned.

In changing its I-5 schedule, WSDOT will still need to work around the 2026 FIFA World Cup when six international soccer matches will be played at Lumen Field in June. The state previously committed to not block freeway lanes during the tournament, and it’s unclear how or even whether Atkinson could scrape the deck open in early 2026 and restore four lanes by June. Phelps said that challenge and other details will be negotiated with the contractor.

The North Seattle phase of the state’s “Revive I-5” initiative was previously trimmed to defer resurfacing through the University District to Northgate until some future contract, and was delayed until after Sound Transit could open its Northgate-Lynnwood extension in summer 2024, offering new transportation options to escape I-5 traffic jams. About 100,000 daily passengers ride the 1 Line now, and by next winter the 2 Line from the Eastside is supposed to reach Seattle, and double North Seattle light rail capacity as those trains continue to Lynnwood.

Besides the postponement, an adjacent segment of I-5 southbound, from Roanoke Street to Mercer Street, will be cut from the Atkinson contract, and renovated later.

As the Roanoke-Mercer portion is subtracted, and contract renegotiations unfold, it’s likely the grand total will be less than the original $203 million, Phelps said.

Regardless of how the new Ship Canal Bridge plan shapes up, further big contracts and traffic delays loom ahead for years.