The Washington State Department of Transportation reports the following traffic impacts associated with the I-5 Tacoma/Pierce County HOV construction, through Saturday, March 30.
Monday, March 25
- East L Street will close between East 28th Street and East 27th Street at 12:01 a.m. through the end of 2021.
- Eastbound SR 16 to northbound I-5 will close from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday.
- Southbound I-5 exit 132A to westbound East 38th Street will close from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday.
- Northbound I-5 exit to eastbound 38th Street will close from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 26
- Northbound I-5 exit to westbound SR 16 will close from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Wednesday. Drivers will detour to SR 7 back to southbound I-5 and to westbound SR 16.
- Southbound I-5 exit 132A to westbound East 38th Street will close from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Wednesday, March 27
- Eastbound SR 16 collector/distributor ramp to southbound I-5 will close from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday.
- Northbound I-5 exit to eastbound 38th Street will close from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday.
Thursday, March 28
- Eastbound SR 16 collector/distributor ramp to southbound I-5 will close from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday.
Friday, March 29
- Eastbound SR 16 collector/distributor ramp to southbound I-5 will close from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday.
- Portland Avenue/27th Street on-ramp to southbound I-5 will close from 11:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday.
- Northbound I-5 exit to Portland Avenue will close from 11:59 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday.
- Wiley Avenue will be closed between L Street and McKinley Way from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday.
Overnight lane closures:
- Drivers are advised to be prepared for overnight single and double lane closures on both directions of I-5 from 54th Avenue East in Fife to South 48th Street in Tacoma, and on eastbound State Route 16 near South Sprague Avenue.
- All lanes of southbound I-5 are scheduled to reopen by 6 a.m. during the week, and by 8 a.m. on weekends.
- All lanes of northbound I-5 are scheduled to reopen by 4 a.m. during the week, and by 7 a.m. on weekends.
Why are these closures necessary?
- On I-5 between Port of Tacoma Road and East L Street, contractor crews are rebuilding the center median for a future traffic shift. Crews are also preparing to remove the East L Street overpass. Some work is weather dependent and could be rescheduled.
- Contractor crews are building a new alignment for southbound I-5 near the SR 16 interchange. The new alignment makes room for direct connect HOV lanes to be built between the two highways. To do this work, southbound I-5 traffic is shifted onto a temporary alignment. Crews are installing barrier, girders, a new roadway surface, drainage and new signs. Crews are refreshing the lane striping as weather allows.
Temporary southbound I-5 configuration at SR 16 through early 2019
Design build contactor Skanska has moved all lanes of southbound I-5 onto a new temporary lane configuration so crews can begin demolishing and rebuilding southbound I-5 at the SR 16 interchange. The temporary configuration is expected to remain in place through 2018. Here is what drivers need to know:
- Drivers on southbound I-5 headed to westbound SR 16 will merge to the right between Pacific Avenue and Yakima Avenue to reach the exit to SR 16. This is the same location where drivers currently merge. We mention this because you won’t be able to merge over to westbound SR 16 at the last minute. Drivers who miss SR 16 exit can continue on southbound I-5 and exit at S. 56th Street east to northbound I-5 to SR 16.
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