Washington State Department of Transportation story.
Earlier this summer our contractor, Guy F. Atkinson Construction, developed an ambitious but attainable schedule to move lanes of southbound I-5 to the new Puyallup River Bridge. That would have set the stage for opening HOV lanes from Fife to Tacoma before the end of 2021.
As we’ve seen in other industries, supply chain issues exacerbated by the pandemic are affecting our contractor’s schedule. This issue, compounded by subcontractor availability and weather, has changed the timing of connecting and opening the I-5 HOV lanes from Fife to Tacoma. The new schedule now has the HOV lanes open in summer 2022.
We know this isn’t what you wanted to hear. Both directions of I-5 from SR 16 in Tacoma to Port of Tacoma Road in Fife are in a temporary configuration with shifted and narrowed lanes and shoulders. Sitting in traffic congestion through the construction zone is not pleasant. We gave you a timeline, and it has unfortunately changed. It’s further out, but it is still within the original project timeline.
Learn more at the WSDOT website.
