Exit133

July 3, 2014 · Exit133

Pacific Avenue to Close Over I-5

As a part of ongoing work to improve travel on I-5 by widening and adding HOV lanes to the freeway through Tacoma, first the Pacific Avenue, then the McKinley Avenue bridges will be closed to traffic.

When the project is complete, I-5 passing downtown Tacoma in each direction will be four general-purpose lanes, plus one HOV lane. To make room for that widened freeway, both the Pacific and McKinley bridges will need to be rebuilt. WSDOT will also build a new northbound I-5 bridge over I-705.

Construction is scheduled to begin this August, with the full $168 million project expected to take three years to complete.

This September Pacific Avenue will be closed over I-5 to allow for the demolition and reconstruction of that bridge. That closure is expected to last about a year. The McKinley bridge is scheduled to follow in August of 2015, and remain closed for 18 months.

If you have questions about the project, especially about the closure of Pacific and McKinley bridges, WSDOT and the City of Tacoma invite you to a town hall meeting on the topic. The meeting will also include information on the relocated Pierce County complex.

Town Hall Meeting
Monday, July 14, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.
Lincoln High School Cafeteria
Agenda:

  •    Opening remarks: Councilmember Campbell
  •    Presentation from WSDOT regarding Pacific Avenue and McKinley Bridge closures, including information from Downtown On the Go! and Pierce Transit [questions]
  •    Presentation from City of Tacoma Public Works department [questions]
  •    Presentation from Pierce County on new Administration complex project [questions]
  •    Closing: Councilmember Campbell

Who has questions?

Filed under: Downtown Tacoma, Transportation, Neighborhoods, Lincoln, Roads

2 comments

  • paolo July 7, 2014

    One hopes on either end of the new Pacific Avenue overpass that smaller boulevard trees will be placed in the median. Furthermore, there should be some thought for making the sidewalks welcoming for pedestrians, with a dedicated bike lane, both screened from freeway sounds by concrete noise barriers. This could be a means of opening a vital link between the downtown area and the S. 38th and Pacific business district. The question arises with Pierce County's proposed administration complex slated for development in that neighborhood is whether the zoning of that neighborhood should be intensified to allow for more dense housing and office complexes, taking advantage of both the flat uplands and the bay views. But that's a story for another time.

  • thackerspeed July 7, 2014

    "Furthermore, there should be some thought for making the sidewalks welcoming for pedestrians, with a dedicated bike lane, both screened from freeway sounds by concrete noise barriers."--paolo Historically, the Right To Silence groups have been underserved.