From Easton to Vantage, crews made significant progress on Interstate 90 construction in 2024.
Summer 2024 marked the 15th year of construction on the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project, which improves 15 mi. of I-90 between Hyak and Easton.
Washington State Department of Transportation and contractor crews are working on the third phase of a multi-phase project, near Easton. Crews are realigning the highway, adding a new lane in each direction, stabilizing rock slopes, building wildlife crossings, improving sight distance and traffic safety.
Here's what crews accomplished in 2024:
- 16 retaining walls are in progress with 571,329 cu. yds. of embankment filled to build the eastbound lanes.
- 17 rock blasting missions completed removing 403,536 cu. yds. of debris making way for the new highway alignment.
- More than 40 culverts were installed for stormwater drainage and provide safe crossings for small animals. Construction under way on five undercrossings and an overcrossing.
All lanes of traffic for 2 mi. near Easton were shifted slightly to the north in September and will remain in the configuration through winter
Near South Cle Elum, construction on two bridges is complete, and traffic is moving smoothly in both
directions.
Photo courtesy of the Washington State Department of Transportation
Over the summer, crews built a platform stretching the length of the I-90 Vantage Bridge allowing them to work under the span. They completed 80 percent of repairs to bridge piers and replaced 60 concrete panels. The I-90/Vantage Bridge project is now 25 percent completed.
In 2025, I-90 construction work will resume on Phase 3 near Easton with plans to shift traffic onto the new alignment in two to three years. At Vantage, travelers should plan for added travel time in the spring as traffic resumes to one lane in each direction so crews replace the bridge deck.
The $335 million Phase 3 of the corridor improvement project and repairs to the Vantage Bridge are both scheduled for completion in 2028.
The $453 million Phase 1 was completed in 2019, as was the $110 million Phase 2. A fourth phase will begin in 2028 with a scheduled 2031 completion.
