WSDOT installing new guardrails on NE 145th and 23 other locations

Safer guardrail. Photo courtesy WSDOT

It’s unrealistic to expect guardrails and barriers along our roads will never get hit, but we can help make them safer when crashes do happen. 

A new project to improve 24 guardrails and barriers across King, Snohomish and Whatcom counties begins in mid-March. 

We’re replacing materials along our guardrails and barriers at various spots along Interstates 5, 90 and 405, US 2 and State Routes 522 and 527, adding energy-absorbing equipment to improve safety during potential crashes.

Photo courtesy WSDOT

The new materials placed alongside some of our busiest on- and off-ramps facing oncoming traffic are designed to crumple to better absorb energy in the event a vehicle hits them. 

We’ll also replace the attenuators at the southbound I-5 exits to James St and NE 71st St in Seattle, adding an accordion-like cushion from nearby concrete barriers to help reduce a vehicle’s force in the event of a crash.

This important WSDOT project will impact the NE 145th on ramp to southbound I-5, which will be closed overnight on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 (11pm - 5am). The work is expected to take only one night to complete.

You can find updated project schedules on our social media accounts and our real-time Travel Center Map.