CHOKEPOINTS

Tacoma transition begins final piece of I-5 construction

Mar 21, 2019, 9:43 AM

tacoma, geographic insults, Pierce County, i-5...

The Tacoma Dome. (File, MyNorthwest)

(File, MyNorthwest)

Tacoma drivers have dealt with a never-ending series of lane changes and movement on I-5 as the state adds HOV lanes to the freeway. Only one major shift is left before the project is complete.

You might have noticed that some of the I-5 lanes have moved a little bit this week. They have been shifted to the outside of the freeway to allow the third and final overpass to be torn-down in Tacoma.

“We’ve shifted them out slightly because there’s no work taking place in the center median,” Washington Department of Transportation’s Cara Mitchell said.

RELATED: Seattle’s newly-opened SR 99 tunnel is still without buses

The East L Street overpass — like the Portland Avenue and McKinley Avenue overpasses before it — needs to come down so the state can add HOV lanes through the city.

“What we have to do is take the old bridges out, widen the area on either side of the freeway so we can add additional lanes, and then we rebuild the overpass so that those new bridge piers aren’t in the way of future lanes,” Mitchell said.

The overpass will start coming-down on Monday. In April, drivers will have to endure some overnight closures as the demolition continues. The biggest impact will be on April 12 and April 13, when I-5 will be reduced to a single lane as the sections over the freeway come down.

RELATED: The SR 520 project giveth and taketh away in Montlake

Then it will be the last big traffic shift, moving all southbound I-5 traffic into the northbound lanes of the freeway, over the Puyallup River.

“We will be moving three lanes of southbound I-5 onto the new northbound Puyallup River Bridge,” Mitchell said.

It will take just under three years to build the new southbound bridge and the new L Street overpass, and southbound drivers will remain in the northbound lanes for the duration. Mitchell said the state didn’t want to make a bunch of small traffic shifts, recognizing that Tacoma drivers have suffered enough.

It looks like about three more years of pain through Tacoma before the construction that’s been going-on — nearly nonstop for 25 years — will be complete. The target date is sometime in 2021.

That’s about the same time that some of the I-5 widening project through JBLM should wrap up, but the piece from the Main Gate through Steilacoom-DuPont Road won’t be finished until 2025.

 

Chokepoints

Photo: WSDOT crews pump concrete at new Veterans Drive tunnel....

Nate Connors

Late night I-5 closures coming up this week as WSDOT works on new tunnel

Contractors WSDOT are prepping for work on the new Veterans Drive Tunnel beneath I-5, adjacent to State Route 516.

11 hours ago

Image: A Pierce Transit Stream Bus can be seen in Pierce County....

Micki Gamez

South Sound travelers may opt for transit after major service change

It's been seven years since Pierce Transit announced a major service change. The change means more access to Tacoma and the region.

1 day ago

headphones windshield obstructions...

Chris Sullivan

Sullivan: Driving with headphones, windshield obstructions in Washington

It's another episode of "rules of the road," I'm tackling two driving questions: Using headphones or windshield obstructions while driving.

2 days ago

four-way stops...

Chris Sullivan

Sullivan: Why do so many people get freaked out at four-way stops?

There is no mystery to how four-way stops work, so why do so many people mess up this simple maneuver?

7 days ago

There's a right way and a wrong way to turn into traffic with a bus lane. (Graphic: Bill Kaczaraba,...

Chris Sullivan

Sullivan: Sweeping bus-only lanes, what’s the right move?

I received feedback from my story on lane sweeping last week. But what happens when you are turning and the closest lane is restricted?

9 days ago

lane sweeping...

Chris Sullivan

Sullivan: Lane sweeping is all too common and needs to stop

This is called lane sweeping and let me be crystal clear -- what that driver did to me is 100% illegal for multiple reasons.

14 days ago

Tacoma transition begins final piece of I-5 construction