Date:
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Contact:
Claudia Cornish, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Communications Manager, (253) 534-4646
GIG HARBOR – Two sets of lane closures will occur on eastbound and westbound State Route 16 next week for construction and maintenance activities on and near the Tacoma Narrows Bridges.
1) From 6 a.m. to noon on Sunday, September 9, Washington State Department of Transportation bridge maintenance crews will reduce westbound State Route 16 to two lanes across the 1950 Tacoma Narrows Bridge. During the closure, they will install a light pipe on the south side of the 1950 bridge’s steel truss at mid-span. The light pipe is a navigational aid to mariners in identifying the center of the Narrows’ navigational channel. The light pipe is 40 feet long and is enclosed in an open steel frame similar in appearance to the bridge’s open steel truss.
This is the first of two light pipes that will be installed on the 1950 bridge. The second light pipe will be installed on the north side of the bridge’s steel truss at a later date. The new bridge already has a light pipe installed on its south side.
2) At 8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 11, crews working for WSDOT’s toll contractor, TransCore, will close the 24th Street NW ramp to eastbound SR 16. They will also reroute all eastbound SR 16 lanes through the toll plaza. While traffic is rerouted, they will do maintenance work on the cameras spanning the electronic toll lanes. Traffic operations will return to normal by 5 a.m. Wednesday, September 12.
While vehicles are routed through the toll plaza, those equipped with Good To Go! transponders can use the toll booth lanes to the left labeled “ETC” (electronic toll collection). Good To Go! customers will not have to stop at the toll booths, but can simply drive through and have their transponders automatically read. Drivers without a Good To Go! account must stop at a toll booth displaying the “CASH” sign. Once through the toll booths, traffic will flow back onto eastbound SR 16 and across the new bridge.
For more information on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge project, please visit tacomanarrowsbridge.com or www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge/
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