Date:
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Contact:
Stanley Eng, Project Engineer, (253) 872-2958 (Kent)
Greg Phipps, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4702 (Seattle)
FEDERAL WAY – Crews working for WSDOT will continue to close lanes and ramps on I-5 over the next week and a half while they repair and pave aging, bumpy bridges in Federal Way.
The I-5 bridges over State Route 18 and S. 336th Street were built in 1959 and last paved in 1976. As South King County drivers can attest, the bridge surfaces were severely cracked and rutted, and blistered with potholes. Paving the bridges will give drivers a smooth, long-lasting surface and will protect the bridges from structural damage.
Drivers should expect significant delays and consider alternate routes or postpone their trips during the overnight closures. The closures could have been much more severe, but WSDOT and its contractors are using a relatively new paving material called polyester concrete. Polyester concrete hardens and strengthens much more quickly than traditional concrete, which allows crews to complete a lane of paving in one overnight closure. If crews paved with traditional concrete, drivers would encounter around-the-clock two-lane closures on I-5 lasting two to three weeks.
Bridge paving will require the following ramp and lane closures through Thursday, July 27. Crews will close I-5 lanes between SR 161 and S. 320th Street. Next week we’ll assess our work progress and provide closure information for the Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30 weekend.
Thursday, July 20
Ramps: At 7 p.m. crews will close the northbound I-5 ramp to eastbound State Route 18 and the eastbound SR 18 ramp to northbound I-5. Both ramps will reopen by 5 a.m. Friday.
Lanes: Crews will begin closing northbound lanes at 7 p.m. and southbound lanes by 8 p.m. Three northbound and three southbound lanes will be closed by midnight, reducing I-5 to one lane of traffic in each direction. All northbound lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Friday. Crews will reopen two southbound lanes by 6 a.m. Friday. The third southbound lane will reopen by 11 a.m. Friday.
Friday, July 21
Ramps: At 8 p.m. we will close the northbound I-5 ramp to westbound SR 18 and the eastbound SR 18 ramp to northbound I-5. Both ramps will reopen by 10 a.m. Saturday.
Lanes: Northbound and southbound lane closures begin at 8 p.m. Three lanes in each direction will be closed by midnight, reducing I-5 to one lane of traffic in each direction. Crews will begin reopening northbound lanes at 5 a.m. and southbound lanes at 7 a.m. All lanes will be back open by 10 a.m. Saturday.
Saturday, July 22
Ramps: At 8 p.m. we will close the northbound I-5 ramp to westbound SR 18 and the eastbound SR 18 ramp to northbound I-5. Both ramps will reopen by 10 a.m. Sunday.
Lanes: Crews will start closing northbound lanes at 8 p.m. and southbound lanes at 7 p.m. Three lanes in each direction will be closed by midnight, reducing I-5 to one lane of traffic in each direction. Crews will start reopening southbound lanes at 5 a.m. and northbound lanes by 7 a.m. All northbound lanes will be open by 10 a.m. Sunday. All southbound lanes will be open by 11 a.m. Sunday.
Sunday, July 23
Ramps: At 9 p.m. crews will close the southbound I-5 ramp to eastbound SR 18 and the westbound SR 18 ramp to southbound I-5. Crews will reopen both ramps by 5 a.m. Monday.
Lanes: Crews will start closing southbound lanes at 7 p.m. and northbound lanes by 9 p.m. Three northbound lanes will be closed by 11 p.m., reducing northbound I-5 to one lane of traffic. Three southbound lanes will be closed by midnight, reducing southbound I-5 to one lane of traffic. Crews will reopen all northbound lanes by 5 a.m. Monday and all southbound lanes by 7 a.m. Monday.
Monday, July 24 and Tuesday, July 25
Ramps: At 8 p.m. nightly crews will close the southbound I-5 ramp to eastbound SR 18 and the westbound SR 18 ramp to southbound I-5. Both ramps will reopen by 6 a.m. each following morning.
Lanes: Crews will begin closing northbound lanes at 7 p.m. and southbound lanes by 8 p.m. Three northbound and three southbound lanes will be closed by midnight, reducing northbound and southbound I-5 to one lane of traffic. All northbound lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. each following morning. Crews will reopen two southbound lanes by 6 a.m. and the third southbound lane by 11 a.m. each following morning.
Wednesday, July 26 and Thursday, July 27
Ramps: At 8 p.m. crews will close the southbound I-5 ramp to eastbound SR 18 and the westbound SR 18 ramp to southbound I-5. Both ramps will reopen by 6 a.m. each following morning.
Lanes: Crews will begin closing southbound lanes by 8 p.m. Three southbound lanes will be closed by midnight, reducing southbound I-5 to one lane of traffic. Crews will reopen two southbound lanes by 6 a.m. and the third southbound lane by 11 a.m. each following morning.
Crews will provide signed detours for all of the ramp closures. Drivers should plan for the detours by adding extra time to their trips.
WSDOT and contractor Icon Materials are teaming up to reduce congestion and improve safety on this busy stretch of I-5 by widening the freeway from eight to 10 lanes between S. 320th Street in Federal Way and the Pierce County line. For more information or to sign up for weekly project e-mail updates, visit the project Web page at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/hovPiercetoTukwila/i5HOV_Pierce_S320th.
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