Vantage Bridge I-90 lane closures return 24/7 after July 4: What drivers need to know

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4 days ago

This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
You've got two more weekends of smooth traveling on eastbound I-90 across the Vantage Bridge, but after the 4th of July, the 24/7 lane restrictions return.
This is the second year of work on the 60-year-old Vantage Bridge over the Columbia River. For the last few months, WSDOT has closed a lane in each direction on Mondays through Thursdays, but reopened the lanes for weekend travel. That will be changing soon.
'After the 4th of July, we're going to close it down 24/7 for those single lane closures in each direction,' Summer Derrey, communications specialist for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said. 'Labor Day weekend will be the final weekend when all the lanes will be open, and then the lane restrictions will remain until work is stopped by the weather sometime in November.'
Drivers need to be prepared for the return of long delays through the area, especially on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
'This is a recreational route,' Derrey said. 'If you're traveling across the state between the Fourth of July and Labor Day, you will definitely need to plan for additional travel time across the Vantage Bridge.'
The best idea is to avoid the area.
'If you're farther to the north, go up toward the North Cascades and go around that way,' Derrey said. 'If you're closer to the Yakima area, loop back down to Moxie or through the Tri-Cities, and scoop back up. There are a lot of ways to avoid significant backups, just getting across that pinch point, across the Vantage bridge, depending on where you need to go.'
One place you shouldn't go is the Old Vantage Highway. Your GPS will want to send you that way. That highway is tiny. It's a windy, two-lane road with no lighting. It's an elk migration path that also attracts a variety of other animals. And during the biggest backups last year, it did not move for the final two miles as you tried to merge back onto the freeway.
I tried it at about 6:45 a.m. one morning, and it was fine. Try it at 11 a.m., and you're asking for trouble.
Be sure to check the Gorge concert schedule before you head across the bridge. Concert weekends during similar closures last year were brutal.
And we have three more years of this.
Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.