The city of Renton is extending the closure of Renton Avenue South to May 22, 2025.

At the Feb. 3 Renton City Council meeting, the council concurred with the Transportation Aviation Committee report to extend the closure to a 300-day closure.

The street was originally closed in July 2024 for the I-405 Renton to Bellevue Widening and Express Toll Lanes Project, with an completion date of Feb. 28, 2025. The closure includes a bridge taking traffic over I-405. If work activities are completed prior to May 22, the bridge will be opened to the public prior to the extension deadline.

“No one is excited about any form of extension, certainly not those who live on Renton Hill and are affected by this directly. The good news is it’s not an additional 300 days,” Councilmember Ryan McIrvin said at the meeting. “Still obviously an inconvenience.”

The extension was requested to allow the contractor, design team and WSDOT to resolve conflicts between the existing and new bridge construction such as discrepancies in rebar placement and the existing bridge as-builts, along with the design developed for the bridge. Remaining steps for the project still include completing the extension of Renton Avenue South Bridge, finishing construction of a retaining wall, installing a new storm drainage and paving and striping operations.

McIrvin said the delays are due to drawings not matching up as well as supply issues. He said the council is working to get WSDOT to come for a public presentation and to answer questions in March.

Mayor Armondo Pavone said he lives on Renton Hill.

“Finishing is critical and hopefully we can get WSDOT here soon to make that presentation so we can get people here asking the questions that they have about that project,” Pavone said.

The highway widening project is intended to increase the capacity of the I-405 freeway and build infrastructure for Sound Transit’s Stride Bus Rapid Transit system, including a new inline transit system at Northeast 44th Street in Renton.