Pavement Repair Projects Underway Across 4 WA Counties

NORTH BEND, WA — A slate of pavement repair projects is officially underway across the region, and contractors will work over the next few months to address damage along three interstates and a dozen state highways.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the regional repairs will improve conditions over 20 miles of roadway and bridge decks in King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties. The $7 million project follows an emergency proclamation signed by Gov. Jay Inslee in January following heavy snow and frigid cold that degraded infrastructure across the region.

While the work will span more than 80 work sites, one of the key areas of focus will be in North Bend, between exits 31 and 32, where a quarter-mile of Interstate 90 has been down a westbound lane since last winter.

Related: Interstate 90 Pavement Repairs Begin Next Week

"The damage is the result of the cold, wet winter weather and extra wear-and-tear from slowing traffic in snowy conditions," WSDOT wrote Monday. "That combination created perfect conditions for what are known as frost heaves that heavily damaged the road surface. WSDOT maintenance crews determined the level of deterioration in North Bend required more than a patch job - it needed a full re-construction."

Fixing the lane will require contractors to fully grind off the damaged pavement and lay a fresh layer of "hot mix asphalt" before the wet months arrive. WSDOT officials said the extended rains of spring prevented fixing the road earlier in the year, forcing them to extend the project's timeline.

Contractors are aiming to finish up the work on Interstate 90 by early next month and complete the full run of regional repairs by next April. According to WSDOT, daytime lane reductions may be necessary in a few places, but most of the work is scheduled to minimize traffic impacts during off hours.

“We don’t want to add more inconvenience to drivers who have spent the last several months navigating these rough patches of road,” said James Harper, a WSDOT project engineer. “We’re especially sensitive to folks who are planning to travel during the Labor Day holiday. This project will have zero effect on drive-times over that weekend.”

Here is where repairs are scheduled around King County:

Asphalt repairs

• I-90 – Issaquah, just west of 17th Avenue NW to North Bend, west of 436th Avenue SE (mileposts 15.59 - 31.66).
  • Highlands Drive Northeast on-ramp to westbound I-90
  • East Sunset Way to eastbound I-90 ramp
  • Southbound 17th Avenue Northwest to westbound I-90 ramp
  • Front Street North to eastbound I-90 ramp
• I-405 – Kirkland, at NE 85th Street to Bothell just north of 228th Street SE (mileposts 18.1 - 26.39)
• SR 18 – Issaquah, just north of Issaquah-Hobart Road SE to just south of the West Tiger Mountain parking lot (mileposts 21.81 to 23.27)
• SR 169 – Enumclaw, just south of Enumclaw Franklin Road SE to Maple Valley just north of SE 231st Street (mileposts 3.49 to 14.25)
• SR 202 – Fall City, just south of SE Fish Hatchery Road to just north of Snoqualmie Falls (mileposts 22.68 to 25.66)
• SR 516 – Covington, just east of 186th Avenue SE to Maple Valley just east of SE 271st Place (mileposts 12.7 to 15.79)
• SR 900 – Seattle/Tukwila, just south of the S Boeing Access Road to Renton just east of Duvall Avenue NE (mileposts 6.58 to 14.4)

Bridge deck repairs

• I-90 – North Bend, at Riverbend, between exits 31 and 32
• I-405 – Kirkland, NE 116th Street overpass
• SR 900 – Tukwila, on the eastbound I-5 overpass