Date:  Friday, August 13, 2010

Contact: Susan Fell, WSDOT Assistant Project Engineer, (360) 759-1310 (Vancouver)
Abbi Russell, WSDOT Communications, (360) 905-2058 (Vancouver)

Construction continues through the summer

RIDGEFIELD – The new SR 501 overpass at the I-5 interchange in Ridgefield will open to drivers on Tuesday, Aug. 17, as part of a larger $23 million safety and mobility project. Drivers will be switched from the old overpass to the new wider and safer overpass.

The new four-lane bridge will temporarily open to two lanes while construction continues on the new I-5 on and off-ramps.

Moving traffic onto the new overpass gives crews room to finish construction. The new ramps are being built across the old SR 501 alignment and cannot be constructed while traffic is still on it.

Demolition of the old bridge is set for early September and requires complete closures of I-5 in one direction at a time. Drivers will be detoured over the SR 501 on- and off-ramps while crews use excavators with concrete shears to crush and remove tons of steel and concrete above I-5.

Drivers can expect traffic shifts and flagging throughout the summer and fall months for ramp work, sidewalk, utility, and drainage construction as well as paving, signing and striping, and landscaping work.

The I-5 – SR 501 Ridgefield Interchange project improves safety and mobility on state and local roads by building a wider bridge to take SR 501 over I-5 and improving the I-5 ramps.

The project is funded through state and local funding sources and received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in late 2009, allowing the Washington State Department of Transportation to begin construction earlier than anticipated.

Construction is expected to be complete in late 2011 or early 2012.

For more information, please visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/I5/SR501Interchange/.

Washington State is administering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. Gov. Gregoire created a Web site, www.recovery.wa.gov, so every Washingtonian can see where tax dollars are going and hold government accountable for the results.

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WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1.

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