Safety concerns prompted Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to close the Tacoma Avenue bridge over I-5 yesterday five days earlier than planned.
“We have seen drivers attempting to go westbound on Tacoma Avenue,” said Brenden Clarke, assistant project engineer. “That concerns us enough to close the bridge [early].”
Since the closure Monday afternoon, WSDOT crews watched traffic patterns and had some safety concerns, Clarke said, noting WSDOT was not comfortable with traffic using Tacoma Avenue, a one-way roadway, as a detour.
In April, WSDOT began closing city street bridges over I-5 through Tacoma. The three structures, located between downtown and the east Tacoma area, will be closed to traffic for more than one year.
The Yakima/Thompson bridge over I-5 closed April 10. The G/Delin bridge over I-5 closed Monday.
With yesterdays closure of the Tacoma Avenue bridge, all traffic will use M Street or Pacific Avenue. WSDOT is also installing signs directing bicycle traffic to McKinley Avenue.
According to WSDOT, contractor Kiewit Pacific has made significant progress on the Tacoma I-5 project by working through unfavorable weather conditions. These bridge closures over I-5 were originally scheduled for October 2006.
In fall 2007, WSDOT will reopen the Yakima/Thompson bridge and a combined Tacoma Avenue/G/Delin bridge.
These city street impacts are necessary to complete WSDOT’s $72.9 million I-5 improvement project through Tacoma. When complete in 2008, the project will provide safer travel and help reduce collisions and traffic congestion on I-5 from the Tacoma Mall to the Tacoma Dome.
To learn more about the project, view photos or review the detour, visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/piercecountyhov/I5_HOV_S48th_Pacific/
