Construction Delays to Continue on Cowlitz River Bridge on Interstate 5

Posted

Residents and travelers on Interstate 5 near Toledo and Vader will need to keep planning ahead due to ongoing concrete patch work being done on the Cowlitz River Bridge. Work began at the end of August and is expected to be completed later this fall, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

The stretch of southbound I-5 around the Cowlitz River Bridge will be reduced to one lane from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. starting Sept. 12 and ending on Sept. 16. The on-ramp for state Route 506 to southbound I-5 will be closed during the same times and dates.

The northbound stretch of I-5 around the Cowlitz River Bridge will be reduced to one lane from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. starting Sept. 19 through Sept. 23 and Sept. 26 through Sept. 30. The Exit 59 off-ramp will be closed during the same times and dates.



To avoid delays, WSDOT recommends avoiding traveling or finding an alternate route during peak times from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on those dates, when delays of up to an hour can be expected.

WSDOT’s contractor, Granite Construction Company, is tasked with the work which is part of a program aimed at rehabilitating concrete decks of bridges throughout Southwest Washington. The work will replace non-cement patches with cement with the goal of extending the useful life of bridges until future rehabilitation projects can properly address bridge structural needs according to the WSDOT.

More information on the project can be found at https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/21-23-swr-regionwide-bridges-concrete-deck-patching and commuters can download the WSDOT’s free mobile app or view the real-time travel map at  https://wsdot.com/Travel/Real-time/Map/ for traffic updates.