Date:  Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Contact:
Mary Lou Nebergall, WSDOT Project Engineer, 360-570-6752
Karri Workman, WSDOT Communications, 360-704-3270

OLYMPIA – Steady progress on the I-5 Grand Mound to Maytown widening project has crews poised to push past the halfway point.

This $61.5 million construction project adds a third lane in each direction on an eight-mile stretch of I-5. The project broke ground in May 2008 and is scheduled for completion summer 2010.

Major work items this week and next include girder-setting for a new bridge at the Maytown interchange and a southbound traffic shift onto a new I-5 bridge at Scatter Creek.

Overnight tonight and tomorrow, Wednesday, June 10 and Thursday, June 11, crews close the southbound left lane near exit 95 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. A crane in the median will pick nine girders from tractor-trailers staged in the closed lane and set them on piers recently built between the existing I-5 northbound and southbound bridges. The operation will likely cause a visual distraction and delays in both directions of the freeway. Drivers using SR 121 at the Maytown interchange can expects delays of up to 20 minutes during girder-setting.

Later next week, southbound I-5 traffic shifts onto a recently-completed bridge over Scatter Creek near milepost 90. New striping will gradually guide motorists to the left, across the new bridge and then back to the regular lanes. The shift stays in place until late fall, when the southbound section of the bridge is complete. Restriping and paving work for the shift is weather-dependent.

The speed limit remains at 60 mph through the work zone.

To keep traffic moving, the new Scatter Creek and Maytown bridges are being built in stages. First, the center portion of each bridge is constructed, then the southbound side, and finally the northbound side. At each location, the end result is one structure spanning all lanes.

Since the project began in May 2008, overnight single-lane and ramp closures have been the norm. Earlier this spring, crews began daytime rolling slowdowns to allow movement of equipment and materials in and out of the median. Motorists should expect the closures and slowdowns to continue through the summer construction season. Drivers are advised to plan ahead for delays, consider alternate routes and drive safely in the work zone.

Project information online:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/GrandMoundtoMaytown/

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