Date:
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Contact:
Dave Ziegler, WSDOT Project Engineer, (253) 534-3100
Lisa Murdock, WSDOT Communications, (360) 357-2789
TACOMA – Tri-State and WSDOT crews are close to opening Pierce County’s first mainline high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane. A stretch of dry weather will allow crews to apply the final striping before opening the lane.
Given the forecast, the lane could open as soon as next week.
This initial HOV lane is on eastbound SR 16 from Jackson to Union avenues, about three miles of freeway. The new lane is part of a 22-project program that builds 79 miles of carpool lanes in Pierce County.
"This is a very exciting time for transportation in the Tacoma/Pierce County area,” said Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma. “These HOV lanes, and the transportation improvement projects to come, will move more people and will better connect the communities along these corridors."
Motorists who travel this route from Gig Harbor to Tacoma are accustomed to continuing on two general-purpose lanes after crossing the existing Narrows Bridge. Now drivers will see a third lane, a carpool lane which begins near Jackson Avenue.
Vehicles carrying two or more passengers will have the option of traveling in the new lane. HOV lanes are identified by diamond-shaped pavement markings.
The HOV lane becomes a general-purpose lane near the Center Street curve. At that point, drivers should begin merging left, as the three lanes will become two east of Union Avenue.
“This reconfiguration will be most effective if drivers move to the left once the HOV designation drops,” said John Nisbet, WSDOT engineer. “Moving left early will help drivers avoid a last-second attempt to merge.”
In addition to building an HOV lane, WSDOT is improving safety between Jackson and Union avenues by widening shoulders, lessening the curve at Center Street and improving the flow of merging traffic. Crews began construction of the lanes between Union and Jackson avenues in 2004 as part of the overall SR 16 corridor project.
For more information about HOV lanes, visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/HOV/FAQ.htm . Project-specific information can be found at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/PierceCountyHOV/sr16_olympic_union/.
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