Date:  Friday, February 12, 2010

Contact: Rumina Suafoa, WSDOT Project Engineer, 253-534-3100
              Emily Pace, WSDOT Communications, 253-548-2438

TACOMA – With girder repairs complete on the northbound half of the State Route 509 Puyallup River Bridge, drivers can expect a full roadway closure next Saturday, Feb. 20 when traffic in the construction zone shifts to allow work to begin on the southbound span.

Restriping the roadway and shifting traffic requires a full closure of SR 509, between I-705 in downtown Tacoma and Port of Tacoma Road, scheduled from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20. A signed detour will reroute motorists using I-705, I-5 and Port of Tacoma Road. The work is weather dependent and in the event of inclement weather the closure will be rescheduled.

Since October 2009, the southbound lanes of SR 509 at the Puyallup River Bridge have been reconfigured for one lane of traffic in each direction while crews replaced seven 140-foot-long bridge girders on the northbound bridge damaged in a December 2002 rail-car fire. With these repairs complete, crews are ready to move traffic onto the northbound lanes and begin work on the southbound bridge.

“Traveling though the work zone will feel similar to what it was like prior to the first switch,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Rumina Suafoa. “The major difference being traffic is will travel on the opposite bridge span.”

When the roadway reopens, the segment of the four-lane bridge remains restricted with two lanes with one lane of traffic in each direction and the speed limit reduced to 35 mph through the construction zone. Construction continues through June 2010.

Additional weekend closures of SR 509 between I-705 and Port of Tacoma Road will be necessary as the project progresses. The closures allow contractor crews to safely reconfigure the roadway, perform demolition work, remove existing girders and set new bridge girders.

WSDOT awarded the $2.9 million repair contract to Granite Construction Company of Everett, Wash., in June 2009. Funding comes from a settlement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe and federal bridge replacement funds.

Fire video and project photos on Flickr:
www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157622523495091/ 

Project information:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr509/puyallupriverbridge/

Tacoma traffic conditions on the Web:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/tacoma/ 

Click on “E-mail Updates” to subscribe to Pierce County Traffic News:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/tacoma/

< Go Back