I-5 Exit to 38th to Re-Open 5 Weeks Early

​It’s always good news when a roads project wraps up early. And five weeks early is extra good news.

Weather-permitting, at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, June 25, crews will open a new southbound Interstate 5 exit to South 38th Street in Tacoma as part of its I-5/SR 16 Eastbound Nalley Valley project.

Good weather, good planning, and good hard work moved the project along faster than expected, which is good news for businesses at the Tacoma Mall, and all along 38th, and for drivers who use that exit regularly. Crews need one more dry night to complete road striping, which they’re hoping to do Monday night. Assuming the weather is clear, the southbound I-5 exit to westbound SR-16 will close at 11 p.m. Monday night, June 24, and reopen by 5 a.m. Tuesday. If it rains, they’ll have to postpone that closure. 

If it stays dry, you may not notice much difference, but the new and improved exit will be more compatible with the ultimate configuration of the I-5/State Route 16 interchange. That ultimate configuration won’t be happening for a while, but the third and final phase of the project will create an HOV bridge across the Nalley Valley viaduct, with direct-access ramps connecting the I-5 HOV lanes with SR-16 HOV lanes - probably sometime between 2020 and 2023.