Watch out for these chokepoints: Tacoma Narrows Bridge delays, I-5 shutdown and ‘deFlocking’

We now know when two weeks of construction will begin on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We kind of know when I-5 will be shut down in Shoreline. And have you heard of “deFlocking?”

It’s a Thursday Chokepoints grab bag.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge lane closures begin Oct. 24, with delays up to an hour

Let’s start with the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We told you a few weeks ago that the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) needs to put in a partial and temporary expansion joint under the two right lanes of the westbound bridge.

That work is now scheduled to begin next week. The two right lanes will be shut down at 5 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. The Jackson Avenue on-ramp will also be closed. These are full 24-hour-a-day closures that will last through Nov. 8.

WSDOT spokesperson April Leigh said there is no way to reopen the lanes during the work.

“We have to cut steel and concrete, remove that partial joint, and then we have to replace it and weld steel together, and then pour new concrete over it,” she said. “We can’t open the lanes overnight or when the work’s not happening. We can’t put a steel plate over where the joint is because the bridge moves.”

This is going to cause massive delays, especially during the afternoon commutes into Gig Harbor.

WSDOT is expecting those delays to last up to an hour. The HOV lane will be open to everyone during the work.

“If we could do it another way, we would,” Leigh said.

And this is just the start of the expansion joint work on the 76-year-old westbound bridge. Three of the four expansion joints, right under the towers, will be fully replaced next year.

We don’t have the schedule for that.

Shoreline I-5 closure for pedestrian bridge could happen in November

We also don’t have the official schedule for when I-5 will be shut down at 145th in Shoreline to place the new pedestrian bridge, but it’s down to a few potential weekends.

The City of Shoreline is still working with WSDOT to finalize the date, but the city’s Eric Bratton told me it could be Nov. 7 or Nov. 14.

“Starting Saturday night around 9 p.m., we’ll start closing the lanes down,” Bratton said. “By midnight, all of I-5 will be closed. They’ll put the bridge in place, and then by 5 a.m., we’ll start opening lanes up. And by 6 a.m., it’ll be fully open with a new bridge across I-5.”

This is just a one-night full closure of I-5 as the bridge is raised into place. The bridge is expected to open to pedestrians in the spring.

Flock camera wires cut in Mill Creek as vandalism spreads

And finally, in today’s grab bag, “deFlocking.” You might not have heard of it, but it’s what social media refers to as tracking and, in many cases, damaging or vandalizing Flock cameras.

It’s happening around the country as people express their displeasure with the surveillance and crime-fighting tool through vandalism. Covington had several of its cameras damaged in August.

Mill Creek is the latest police department to get hit. Someone cut the wires on one of the cameras over the last week.

I noticed the wires dangling during a recent drive along Seattle Hill Road. Mill Creek said this is the only camera that has been damaged, and repairs are pending.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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