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Project Title & Location
I-5 HOV - South 48th Street to Pacific Avenue, Tacoma
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Project Description
Improves safety on I-5, from 38th Street to I-705 by adding a collector-distributor lane for safer merges on and off the freeway.
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Recent Progress
The Yakima Bridge over I-5 was opened to traffic on February 29, 2008 and the Delin Bridge over I-5 is scheduled to open to traffic in March 2008. These milestones are significant as they are City of Tacoma emergency response and public transit routes.
The Northbound I-5 Bridge Widening over M Street is expected to be complete in March 2008.
Interior painting of Yakima bridge was completed February 8, 2008.
Sign Bridges over Northbound I-5 are expected to be complete in March 2008.
Artistic Fascia panel construction was completed on February 21, 2008.
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Design Construction Impacts
Design construction impacts have been encountered throughout the life of the project and have been managed as appropriate. Listed below is a sampling of some of the design construction issues that have been managed through the life of the project.
As reported in December 2006 QPR, the finished slope at the end of the new NW wall became unstable during the November 2006 rainstorm. The project office discovered that the slope condition above the adjacent property and building is not globally stable, meaning water runoff and mudslide problems will persist. The permanent solution is expensive and interim solutions do not offer a satisfactory level of safety against mudslides and discharges to the adjacent property. WSDOT is in the process of purchasing the adjacent land and building to allow for slope flattening and management of the slope's water runoff.
Several luminaire foundations were not adequately designed and resulted in the contractor building foundations that were potentially unstable had luminaires been installed on the constructed foundations. The project office is processing a change order to remove and replace the inadequate foundations.
A portion of the City of Tacoma waterline relocation work was added to the contract. This work created conflicts within the schedule which required the contractor to reconfigure work operations in the area.
Holy Rosary Church officials claim new cracks have developed from construction on nearby streets. A consultant was hired to help monitor cracking and vibrations in the building during construction. Cracks did not expand during monitoring. The church has hired a geotechnical consultant to evaluate if construction work impacted the church building.
The project encountered a differing site condition during Delin Bridge Pier 2 shaft excavation. Soil conditions differed from those shown in the contract and required extra effort to complete shaft installation. This was the only bridge shaft that did not have geotechnical explorations prior to construction.
Additional stabilization was required during demolition of the Yakima Bridge that was not accounted for in the contract. This required additional engineering, resequencing of contractor's work, and an additional traffic staging plan.
Construction of soil nail walls specified in the contract resulted in unstable cut face soils and required alternate construction methods to stabilize and build the planned soil nail walls despite the soil conditions not differing from what was expected during design.
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Environmental Impacts / Compliance
Noise barrier walls have been constructed to minimize the traffic noise on adjacent residences and schools.
The M Street and Yakima Storm Water Detention Ponds that were used for temporary erosion control measures have been modified to their permanent configuration and await final planting for completion. Ponds must be drained before final planting work is completed.
To ensure compliance with all permits and regulations a Fall TESC Assessment was conducted by WSDOT Regional Environmental (EHS) Office and an on site review was conducted with Department of Ecology (DOE) in December. A final meeting with WSDOT EHS, DOE, and City of Tacoma is expected in spring 2008 to review final stabilization.
There have been no instances of turbid discharge exceeding 250 NTU's this year. Past instances have occurred due to poor contractor grading practices and vehicle track out onto city streets. All instances have been reported to the DOE and WSDOT EHS Office. The Contractor addressed all problem areas immediately upon recognition of problem.
The project office staff is taking administrative steps to correct the contractor's behavioral and operational breakdowns that led to the violation and to ensure the project fulfills the obligations of the environmental permits and agreements.
The project office and the contractor continue to work together to ensure the Best Management Practices (BMP's) are in place and maintained during construction.
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Impacts to Traffic
As the project comes to a close, drivers can expect long term lane closures to reopen and the frequency of nighttime lane closures to decline. Occasional nighttime lane closures and/or ramp closures on northbound and southbound I-5 throughout the project limits and on the new collector-distributor lanes will continue as the contractor completes remaining work.
Electronic message signs and highway advisory radios (HARs) will be deployed throughout the area to alert travelers about traffic conditions, lane, and ramp closures as they occur.
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