Interstate 5 is not earthquake safe, and there’s no money to fix it.
Within our lifetime, there’s a good chance Seattle will feel the violent tremors of an unimaginably strong earthquake—and when that happens, Seattle’s stretch of I-5 will likely be damaged beyond repair.
The route that the busiest roadway in the state takes through Central Seattle involves a series of raised structures. Those structures include some bridges supported by hollow columns, which are now known to be especially dangerous in an earthquake. Lawmakers in Olympia have not allocated any funding to update those hollow columns, and there are currently no plans to do so.
Given these vulnerabilities, the state’s earthquake response experts have completely written off trying to use I-5 in the event of a major seismic event. First responders will instead deliver lifesaving supplies on other roadways.
