Seattle drivers got their full freeway back nine hours early on Sunday night. The full closure of northbound Interstate 5 from Interstate 90 to Northeast 45th Street ended at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) said, and crews removed the Revive I-5: Ship Canal Bridge Preservation work zone from the two right northbound lanes of the bridge. All northbound I-5 lanes are open, and ramps were in the process of reopening, according to a WSDOT news release issued at 7:47 p.m. Sunday.

Source: Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) — via My Edmonds News

The reopening closes the loop on a plan WSDOT set out on October 21, when it said nearly 10 months of northbound lane reductions across the Ship Canal Bridge could be removed over the October 30 to November 2 weekend — after a weekend-long full closure, and only if dry weather held. Awaaz Punjab reported that milestone plan on October 21. The dry weather did hold, crews finished the removal work ahead of the Monday 5 a.m. deadline, and the result drivers were promised has now actually happened: four northbound lanes instead of two.

What crews did over the weekend

To remove the work zone, crews had to reconfigure the lanes, pick up the pinned barriers that had separated traffic from the work area, and restripe the lanes and shoulders, according to WSDOT's project summary. The closure itself began late on Friday, October 30 — adjacent ramps and lanes began closing as early as 9 p.m., with all northbound lanes from I-90 to Northeast 45th Street closed from 11:59 p.m. — while the express lanes stayed in their northbound configuration through the work.

Background: why this bridge has squeezed Seattle all year

The northbound side of the Ship Canal Bridge has been reduced from four lanes to two for most of the 2026 work season, since the start of the year. The Revive I-5 preservation project is repairing the bridge deck and improving its drainage system — work WSDOT says is meant to address infrastructure problems that had required repeated emergency repairs on the more than 60-year-old bridge. A dry fall put the project ahead of schedule, which is why a reopening first discussed for November 2 arrived on the evening of November 1 instead.

I-5 is the main north-south freeway through Seattle and the Puget Sound region, carrying commuters, buses and long-haul freight — including the trucking corridor that links Washington with Oregon, California and the Canadian border. WSDOT says the Ship Canal Bridge alone carries nearly a quarter of a million people each day, which is why two missing lanes on it have been felt across the whole region's traffic, and why their return matters beyond Seattle itself.

What changes for Monday — and what does not

The express lanes will remain northbound until closing early on Monday, November 2, in preparation for reopening southbound at 5 a.m., WSDOT said. After that, the express lanes will operate on their regular schedule until construction begins on the southbound lanes of the Ship Canal Bridge, which WSDOT says could start as early as February 2027.

Sunday's milestone marks the completion of major Revive I-5 construction in 2026 — it does not end the work altogether. WSDOT said drivers should still expect some overnight closures and lane reductions on mainline I-5 and on the express lanes through the remainder of the year, while crews carry out bridge maintenance and drainage improvements on the underside of the Ship Canal Bridge. WSDOT has said it will give advance notice of those closures.

What happens next

The next major phase is the mirror image of this year's work: construction in the southbound lanes of the Ship Canal Bridge, planned for 2027 and possibly starting as early as February. Until then, the remaining 2026 work is overnight and underneath the bridge, not the long-term two-lane squeeze drivers have lived with since January. Drivers planning early Monday trips should still check WSDOT's latest updates before setting out, as ramp reopening was still in progress when Sunday night's release was issued.