Date:
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Contact:
Patty Michaud, WSDOT Communications, 425-405-1785 (Everett), Cell (206) 786-4079
Connie Lewis, WSDOT Communications, 425-405-1796 (Everett) Cell (425) 471-4222
EVERETT – By the end of the week, crews working for WSDOT will reach a major milestone on the Interstate 5 Everett HOV expansion: placing the final bridge girder of the project.
On Thursday and Friday night, Dec. 20 and 21, crews will place six, 152-foot long girders. Each 80-ton girder, weighing as much as 16 elephants, requires two cranes to lift it into place. Starting at 7 p.m. Thursday and 9 p.m. Friday, crews will close two lanes of southbound I-5 at 41st Street to allow space for the trucks carrying the girders. Drivers on southbound I-5 may also experience rolling slowdowns while the cranes lift the girders off of the trucks.
Once the girders are positioned in their final location, crews will begin building the lanes that will carry traffic on and below the bridge. Crews expect to begin that work in January.
“This exciting milestone brings us closer to opening the new HOV lanes and completing the project this spring” said Project Director Mike Cotten.
The new bridge will carry southbound I-5 traffic. North and southbound I-5 HOV traffic headed to or from Broadway Avenue will travel under the bridge using the old left-hand Broadway exit.
When the project is complete, crews will have widened or built 23 bridges using 251 girders made of 24 million pounds of steel and concrete – about the weight of 108 Boeing 787 airplanes.
More Challenges Ahead
As crews work to open the new lanes, they are also preparing for more challenges resulting from damage caused by a third party. In December 2006, a third party truck hauling an excavator, struck and severely damaged a girder on the I-5 southbound bridge passing over Pacific Avenue. Crews are currently scheduled to replace the girder next spring. While the bridge has been temporarily repaired to allow traffic to safely pass over and under it, crews must replace the girder to permanently fix the bridge.
“Since our crews are already working in the area, having them do the work now is the most efficient way to get the necessary repairs done,” said Cotten.
Since fall 2005, crews on the Everett HOV freeway expansion project have been working to widen I-5 with additional lanes through Everett.
The $263 million project is scheduled to be complete by June 2008. Find out more about the I-5 Everett HOV freeway expansion project by visiting www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/HOVSR526toUS2/.
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