April 2008
- The new HOV lanes on I-5 between S. 320th Street and the Pierce County line opened to traffic on July 16, 2007.
- The remaining stages of this project have not yet been funded.
WSDOT is committed to relieving congestion in the I-5 corridor by completing a continuous high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane system from Everett in the north to Tacoma in the south. In south King County, a multi-phase project is under way to add HOV lanes in both directions between Tukwila and the Pierce County line.
Why is WSDOT
adding HOV lanes to I-5 in south King County?
Ask any driver who travels on I-5 in south King County -- this section of freeway is one of the busiest in the state. Some of the worst congestion on southbound I-5 is caused by the termination of the HOV lane, where I-5 is reduced from five to four lanes southbound at South 320th Street in Federal Way.
Extending HOV lanes to the Pierce County Line will increase freeway capacity and work with regional transit expansion and Sound Transit's direct access ramp projects to improve bus service to south King County.
The End Result
These projects move WSDOT closer to completing our vision of a comprehensive HOV lane system for the Puget Sound region. When complete, there will be a continuous HOV lane in both directions of I-5 from downtown Seattle to the Pierce County line.
These projects also improve the road surface, giving drivers a smoother ride with enhanced friction.
These projects also enhance the regional transit network on a stretch of I-5 with high transit use.
Project Benefits
• Safety: Updates safety features such as guardrail to current standards. Widens bridges and shoulders.
• Congestion relief: Adding HOV lanes significantly increases the capacity of the freeway, helping to reduce travel times and congestion for all drivers. WSDOT, through computer modeling, estimates that if this project is not built, traffic congestion will average seven hours a day by 2010 and 9 hours a day by 2020. By comparison, once the project is built, we will see about five hours a day of congestion in 2010 and 8 hours a day in 2020. Average afternoon travel speeds in 2010 and 2020 would be 35 and 26 mph, respectively, if the project is not built. If the project is constructed, speeds would be 37 and 29 in 2010 and 2020.
• Environment: Constructs facilities to capture and clean storm water runoff.
What is the project timeline?
There are six phases of the HOV lane project. The timeline for each stage varies between completed projects, projects in construction, projects in design and unfunded projects.
Public Involvement
Your thoughts and opinions are important to us. Please contact us to provide input on these projects.
Environmental Protection
WSDOT designers have included elements in these projects that make them as friendly to the environment as possible, including:
- Detention ponds and grassy channels to filter highway runoff
- Maintaining natural drainage patterns and water discharge locations
- Maintaining buffers around wetlands
- Temporary erosion and sediment control methods
Please visit the
WSDOT Environmental
Services Web site for more information.
Increasing safety is one of our priorities
The I-5 HOV projects feature these elements to enhance your safety:
- Improved guardrails
- New concrete barriers
- New guardrail at steep median slopes and sign posts
- Grinding of new and existing pavement to provide additional skid resistance
- Removal of trees within 25 feet of motorists
Will this project impact tribal resources?
At WSDOT we seek to address the concerns of the tribal nations using the process outlined in Section 106 of The National Historic Preservation Act and the WSDOT Tribal Consultation Policy adopted in 2003 by the Transportation Commission as part of the WSDOT Centennial Accord Plan.
WSDOT conducted various degrees of formal consultation with affected tribes during most phases of this project. Different project phases resulted in different levels of impacts, thus different degrees of consultation. For example, in the South 320th Street to Pierce County line project, WSDOT invited six tribes to participate in consultation. In addition, because the project could impact the Hylebos Creek system, and could also have impacts to a fish resource important to the Puyallup Tribe, WSDOT conducted further consultations addressing this issue. WSDOT addressed these potential impacts in the environmental documentation process of the project. Future phases will continue to involve affected tribes.
Financial Information
The project is funded through the following sources:
- Existing Funds - $88.1 million
- 2003 Gas Tax (Nickel Funding) - $53.7 million
- Total Funding Available from all sources - $141.8 million
- Unfunded Amount Remaining - $115.7 million
This project is funded for the design, right of way acquisition and construction for different stages of this project. A good portion of this section still has interim HOV lanes, but the funded amount will enable continuous HOV lanes from the King/Pierce County line to Tukwila. The interim lanes will be reconstructed to a permanent state when additional funding is available.
For project schedule and updates, please see the
Quarterly Project Report.
How can I get more information?
Contact:
Assistant Project Engineer Mark Sawyer
WSDOT Project Office
21851 84th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032-1958
Phone: 253.872.2958
E-mail: SawyerM@wsdot.wa.gov
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