Welcome to "Ask the Traffic Team," a Web page created to answer your everyday questions about traffic issues in WSDOT's Olympic Region. You can find common questions sorted by subject in our Frequently Asked Questions archive.
To submit your question, simply e-mail our Public Affairs office and provide as much detail as possible. You can typically expect a response with a week.
Questions for the weeks of Feb. 3 - 24, 2012.
Union Ave. merge
Scott from Tacoma has struggled through the SR 16 construction for the past year, but no one seems to be addressing the backup caused by the Union Ave merge. Does WSDOT plan to fix this and solve the congestion problem?
Speed limit change
Justin from Olympia is concerned about the speed limit change on US 101 between Cooper Point Road. Previously, the speed limit was 60 mph, but has now been dropped to 45 mph – and most drivers don’t follow the new limit. What can WSDOT do?
I-5 construction
Several drivers were confused about construction near I-5 the morning of Nov. 5. A sign said that US 12 to Tenino was closed, but didn’t mention that the Grand Mound overpass and northbound I-5 on-ramp were also closed. Can WSDOT do a better job of getting that information out to drivers?
Answers
Q: Why has WSDOT not addressed the Union Ave. merge in Tacoma?
The congestion you see is the result of two interchanges being located close together and the resultant merging that happens. Many years ago when the Union Avenue interchange was built, it was meant to replace the Sprague interchange. However, by the time the Union interchange was built, people were used to using the Sprague interchange and various folks (city officials, politicians, etc.) were not keen on permanently closing the Sprague ramps. Thus the decision was made to keep both the Sprague and Union interchanges operational.
One feature coming in the future that may help will be the completion of the entire Nalley Valley interchange. The first stage rebuilt the westbound portion, and we are now starting work to replace the eastbound portion. Both those facilities are general purpose, meaning they are open to all traffic. In 2020 we'll start the third and final phase, which is building an HOV bridge and direct-access HOV ramps joining I-5 HOV lanes to/from SR 16 HOV lanes. Even though the merge at Union will still be there, at least the HOV traffic will be on its own facility and out of the way.
Q: Why did the speed limit change on US 101?
WSDOT, in conjunction with the Washington State Patrol, reduced the speed limit from US 101 to northbound I-5 to decrease the potential for collisions.
WSP Troopers found this area to be the site of many incidents, mostly due to high speeds. The Washington State Patrol is actively monitoring the area and enforcing the lowered speed limit of 45 mph.
If you have more questions regarding the enforcement, please contact Trooper Guy Gill (guy.gill@wsp.wa.gov).
Q: Why was signage near I-5 confusing on Nov. 5? A sign said that US 12 to Tenino was closed, but didn’t mention that the Grand Mound overpass and northbound I-5 on-ramp were also closed. Can WSDOT do a better job of getting that information out to drivers?
We apologize to drivers who were confused by the signs and construction work near Grand Mound. Our intent in having signs saying “US 12 to Tenino closed” was to let drivers know that they could not get across the bridge during this closure. The northbound on ramp to I-5 was not closed, however drivers trying to access the ramp from the west side had to detour south through Harrison road.
Crews posted signs about the closure at the bridge several days in advance of the closure. We sent out a media advisory to all of the local media outlets including the Olympian and local radio stations. We also passed out flyers about the closure to the businesses around the interchange and many of them displayed the flyer in their windows. We also have information about weekly road and maintenance closures on our construction webpage: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Regions/Olympic/Construction/
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