Construction in the Tacoma area: Upcoming extended closure of Pacific Avenue overpass
At 5 p.m. on Monday, April 6, crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will close Pacific Avenue at Interstate 5 around the clock for almost a year. During that year, the over pass will be demolished and rebuilt as part of WSDOT's I-5 - M Street to Portland Avenue - HOV project. All Pacific Avenue traffic will be detoured. If all goes according to schedule, in March 2016 the Pacific Avenue overpass will reopen to two lanes - one lane of traffic in each direction. Two months later in May, 2016, all lanes will reopen over the new Pacific Avenue overpass. More information on lane and ramp closures can be found below.
In addition to the below closures, two around-the-clock ramp closures remain in place:
- Northbound SR 7 to southbound I-5
- A Street to Interstate 705
Work on the overpass will also affect traffic on I-5. Demolition cannot take place over active traffic lanes, therefore much of the demo will occur at night when traffic volumes are lower and crews can close the appropriate ramps and lanes necessary to ensure motorist safety.
Also starting Monday night, at 11 p.m., crews will close the northbound I-5 City Center exit (exit 133) and the collector/distributor lanes to Interstate 705 and State Route 7 from eastbound State Route 16 and South 38th Street. The lanes and exit will reopen at 4 a.m. Tuesday, April 7. This overnight closure will take place each Monday through Friday through the end of April as crews demolish the bridge approaches on the northbound side of I-5. All traffic needing to use I-705 or SR 7 during those night hours will be detoured via the Portland Avenue interchange.
Once crews have removed the Pacific Avenue bridge approaches on the northbound side of I-5, they will remove the center spans of the overpass, and finish demolition work on the southbound side of I-5. During this work, in addition to ramp closures, drivers should expect nightly multi-lane closures and rolling slowdowns on I-5.
Active construction on WSDOT’s adjacent project to the north, I-5: Portland Avenue to Port of Tacoma Road – Northbound HOV, is also underway and the following overnight ramp closures are scheduled:
Wednesday, April 1
• The southbound State Route 167/Portland Avenue on-ramp to southbound I-5 will close at 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following day.
• The northbound I-5 collector/distributor exit to southbound SR 7 will close at 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. the following day.
• The E. 28th Street on-ramp to northbound I-5 will close from 9 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. the following day.
Thursday, April 2
• The northbound I-5 and Bay Street off-ramp to northbound SR 167 will close from 10 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. the following day.
Friday, April 3
• The northbound I-5 and Bay Street off-ramp to northbound SR 167 will close from 11 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. the following day.
• At 12:01 a.m., the northbound I-5 collector/distributor exit to SR 7 will close until 4 a.m.
City of Tacoma streets
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, drivers will see single lane closures on East 27th Street and Wiley Avenue.
For additional information, check the I-5 - M Street to Portland Avenue – HOV project web page and via a downloadable map (pdf 318 kb).
Information about the Tacoma Avenue South Bridge Closure is available at the City of Tacoma.
For a host of commute options check with Downtown: On the Go! and Pierce Transit.