I-5 project, house fire, vacant Olympia businesses: Monday news roundup

The Olympian stories for May 11 include a multi-billion-dollar highway proposal and a study of vacant businesses downtown. Here’s a quick digest of local stories.

Here are key takeaways:

• The Washington State Department of Transportation is proposing to widen I-5 and replace aging bridges along a 4.7-mile stretch at the Nisqually River delta between Thurston and Pierce counties, adding HOV lanes and a shared-use path while restoring estuary habitat, with traffic forecasted to grow 30% by 2045.

• Three juveniles safely escaped a house fire in Yelm on May 9 that killed several pets and displaced occupants, with the Southeast Thurston County Fire Authority still investigating the cause.

• A downtown vacancy study commissioned by the city of Olympia found that 66% of vacant retail spaces have been empty long-term, mostly in older historic buildings, prompting recommendations to allow live-work spaces, improve sidewalks and explore a downtown parking garage.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM with the headline "I-5 project, house fire, vacant Olympia businesses: Monday news roundup."