Starting July 8 through September, drivers on the northbound Interstate 5 collector/distributor headed to 26th Street or the Tacoma Dome will need to take a short detour via State Route 7.
Contractor crews working to build Interstate 5 HOV lanes in Tacoma will implement several overnight ramp closures next week for paving and lane striping, bridge deck work and roadway excavation. Part of this work will create a safe access point from which to excavate a concrete-lined vault full of soil contaminated with petroleum products left from original Interstate 705 construction.
Weather permitting, at 5 a.m. Friday, drivers headed to the 26th Street/Tacoma Dome exit from the northbound I-5 collector/distributor will instead be detoured to southbound State Route 7, to 38th Street, and loop around back to northbound SR 7.
Drivers using the northbound I-5 collector/distributor to I-705 will be allowed to continue to downtown Tacoma, however they will not be able to reach the 26th Street exit. Drivers using the SR 7 ramp will be able to exit to 26th Street/Tacoma Dome and continue to northbound I-705.
The vault work is a continuation of work that occurred in 2013 when two similar vaults in the same area were removed. While it is necessary to remove the vault and material for continued project construction, the contaminated soil does not represent a health or safety threat to the public or the environment.
Northbound I-5 collector-distributor exit to northbound I-705 and southbound SR 7 will close Friday, from 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning.
Drivers can also expect additional weeknight single- and double-lane closures planned for both directions of I-5 between M Street and Port of Tacoma Road.
– Washington DOT
Gas prices up in Tacoma, down nationally
Average retail gasoline prices in Tacoma have risen 1.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.66 per gallon on July 3, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 271 gas outlets in Tacoma. This compares with the national average that has fallen 3 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.26, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.
Prices Sunday were 53.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 5.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has decreased 10 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 50.7 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.
“While prices have come down, we now head to the time of year when hurricane season enters the picture,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “In the last couple of years we have seen minimal to no disruption as hurricane season largely went by with no major storms that hit land. Should we see a major hurricane enter the Gulf, gas prices may react.”
– GasBuddy.com
