Date:  Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Contact: Lisa Copeland, Region Communication Manager, 360-357-2789

TACOMA – If dry weather holds out and permanent striping is completed, a new two-mile-long carpool lane will open on southbound I-5 Friday, Nov. 5, one year early. The new lane extends the high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) system from the King County line to 54th Avenue East in Fife.

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) contractor, Tri-State Construction Inc. pursued an aggressive schedule, which included innovative construction techniques, and completed these new lanes a year ahead of schedule.

Along with better efficiency, WSDOT credits HOV lanes with improved public transit reliability by allowing buses to maintain their schedules. Also, people who use carpool lanes find that HOV traffic generally moves faster, sharing the ride improves their commute and they save money on fuel and vehicle maintenance.

“Expanding our I-5 HOV system into Pierce County is a major step toward improving mobility through south Puget Sound and giving people transportation choices,” Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said. “If you choose to take public transportation or share a ride, you will have two more miles of southbound carpool lane from King County. These new lanes will help give you a more reliable commute.”

Along with the drivers who endured the construction delays, Hammond also thanked Pierce County officials who supported the project.

WSDOT opened a northbound HOV lane on the same segment of I-5 on Oct. 2. Vehicles with two or more people are allowed in the HOV lanes.

In Seattle, where the HOV lanes has been in place on I-5 for some time, the lanes move 33 percent of the people in 18 percent of the vehicles.

The $56.7 million project was funded in large part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and supported an estimated 130 jobs.

The project completes one piece of a larger transportation plan that ultimately extends the HOV system on I-5 to existing carpool lanes on SR 16, creating a complete system from Everett to Gig Harbor, Hammond said.

Currently the SR 16 Westbound Nalley Valley is under construction, as well as the “I-5 - Portland Avenue to Port of Tacoma Road - Northbound HOV Stage 1” project. Information about these projects and the Tacoma/Pierce County HOV Program can be found at www.tacomatraffic.com.

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