Open house May 26 for major Port of Tacoma Road project

The City of Tacoma and the Port of Tacoma will host an open house this month to discuss the Port of Tacoma Road Reconstruction Project.

According to City and Port officials, Port of Tacoma Road — the major heavy-haul arterial serving the Port of Tacoma — is in poor condition and needs to be rebuilt from the base up. Through a collaboration between the City and Port, nearly $7.4 million in grants were acquired for the design and construction of approximately 7,800 feet of road surface on Port of Tacoma Road between East 11th Street and Marshall Avenue.

The $9.2 million project will replace the existing asphalt pavement with concrete that will withstand the heavy-haul traffic that travels along this corridor. In addition to the new road surface, the project will also provide improved pedestrian access by completing missing segments of sidewalk which will meet current ADA standards. A permanent traffic signal will be constructed at the entrance to the Washington United Terminal, and a new signal will be constructed at Lincoln Avenue. Conduits will also be installed to support a future Intelligent Transportation System.

One of the project challenges is maintaining traffic access to marine terminals and businesses, according to City and Port officials, and long- and short-term goals are to keep industry rolling after the six-month project is expected to begin on Mon., June 1. City and Port officials began to host a series of public open houses last year to discuss the project, seek business and driver feedback on the traffic management plan, and work one-on-one with property owners and Port tenants regarding design and construction access concerns (see “Open house planned for major Port of Tacoma Road project,” Tacoma Daily Index, Jan. 27, 2014; and “Port of Tacoma Road: Open house Dec. 15 for $9.2M reconstruction project,” Tacoma Daily Index, Dec. 4, 2014). During construction, the City will post weekly project schedule updates online at cityoftacoma.org. The Port will also provide project updates through text and e-mail alerts. Sign up to receive these alerts online at portoftacoma.com or via text message — Text PORT ROADWORK to 468311 to receive text alerts (message and data rates apply); Text PORT ROADWORK and your e-mail address to 468311 to receive e-mail alerts.

City and Port officials will host an open house on Tues., May 26, between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., at the Fabulich Center, located at 3600 Port of Tacoma Road (Room 104), in Tacoma.

More information about the Port of Tacoma Road Reconstruction Project is available online here or by contacting City of Tacoma Project Manager Tom Rutherford at trutherford@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 591-5767.

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of the Port of Tacoma Road Reconstruction Project, click on the following links: