Date:  Friday, October 23, 2009

Contact:
Rumina Suafoa, WSDOT Project Engineer, 253-534-3100
Karri Workman, WSDOT Communications, 360-704-3270

TACOMA – Tacoma, Fife and Federal Way drivers should expect delays and increased congestion on State Route 509 near the Port of Tacoma as an eight-month project to repair damage from a December 2002 rail-car fire gets under way.

The blaze damaged two bridge columns and 15 girders. Work to replace the 140-foot-long girders begins next week and continues through June 2010. Column repairs were completed earlier this month.

“SR 509 is a Pierce County economic lifeline and keeping traffic moving during construction is very important,” said WSDOT Olympic Region Administrator Kevin Dayton. “Drivers need to plan for delays and anticipate increased congestion, especially during morning and afternoon commute times.”

WSDOT recommends using an alternate route during construction if possible.

Nearly 32,000 drivers use SR 509 each day. To keep traffic moving, crews will repair one half of the damaged bridge span at a time, reducing a segment of the four-lane bridge to two lanes with one lane of traffic in each direction. The speed limit through the construction zone drops from 60 mph to 35 mph.

Reconfiguring the roadway requires a full closure of SR 509 between I-705 in downtown Tacoma and Port of Tacoma Road from 11 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31 to 4 a.m., Monday, Nov. 2. During the closure, a signed detour will reroute motorists to I-705, I-5 and Port of Tacoma Road. (Closure information updated Oct. 29, 2009.)

Additional weekend closures of SR 509 between I-705 and Port of Tacoma Road will be necessary as the project progresses. To reduce the traffic impacts for commuters and commercial traffic, the closures will be scheduled on weekends. The closures allow contractor crews to safely reconfigure the roadway, perform demolition work, remove existing girders and set new bridge girders.

WSDOT awarded the $2.9 million repair contract to Granite Construction Company of Everett, Wash., in June 2009. Funding comes from a settlement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe and federal bridge replacement funds.

Fire video and project photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157622523495091/  

Project information:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr509/puyallupriverbridge/  

Weekly construction and maintenance updates:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Regions/Olympic/Construction/  

Tacoma traffic conditions on the Web:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/tacoma/  

Click on “E-mail Updates” to subscribe to Pierce County Traffic News:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/tacoma/  

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