Denny Way Bus Upgrades Planned This Summer Include Permanent I-5 Ramp Reroute

Last edited Wed Apr 22, 2026, 11:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson made good on a major campaign pledge Wednesday, laying out a plan to speed up buses on infamously congested Denny Way by installing a new half-mile eastbound bus lane and permanently rerouting traffic heading to a busy I-5 on-ramp. The reconfiguration is poised to help the notoriously delayed Route 8, often dubbed the L8, and make the journey between Uptown and Capitol Hill much quicker and more reliable.

After these changes are made in August, drivers heading to the southbound I-5 ramp at Yale Avenue from Denny Way won't be able to make their turn at Stewart Street since the slip lane from eastbound Denny to Yale will permanently close, improving pedestrian safety. Instead, I-5 bound motorists will turn right at a reconfigured Boren Avenue intersection and take a left onto Howell Street to reach the ramp.



A new eastbound business access and transit (BAT) lane will keep Route 8 buses mostly out of traffic between 5th Avenue and Stewart Street, with the existing bus lane between Fairview and I-5 moved curbside. Drivers will be able to use that BAT lane to turn right into businesses.

This additional red paint will join already planned Route 8 improvements closer to Uptown. A stretch of BAT lanes are set to be installed in May, before the FIFA Men's World Cup shuts down city construction projects early this summer.




https://www.theurbanist.org/denny-way-bus-upgrades-include-i-5-ramp-reroute/

On edit: Big changes coming to Seattle's Denny Way | FOX 13 Seattle