TACOMA, Wash. — Five out of the six southbound Interstate 5 lanes on the reconstructed Puyallup River bridge in Tacoma opened Friday as a 20-year construction program nears completion.
The program included replacing the northbound and southbound I-5 Puyallup River bridge, which was originally constructed in 1965, bringing it up to current seismic standards, among other improvements, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The southbound high-occupancy-vehicle lane will remain closed until summer as crews use it as a work zone to finish the new East L Street bridge over I-5.
During construction, both directions shared the northbound bridge and I-5 was reduced to three southbound lanes. The northbound bridge opened to drivers in late 2018 after four years of construction.
“Drivers are going to immediately notice they are no longer sharing a bridge with the northbound traffic,” said Fife Project Engineer Tom Slimak. “We are excited to be opening lanes and providing some relief for commuters.”
With the southbound I-5 lanes moving off the northbound bridge, Washington State Department of Transportation crews will remove the temporary barriers and restripe the northbound lanes into their final positions. The Washington State Department of Transportation said drivers should expect to see overnight lane and ramp closures as this work takes place in the coming weeks.
The Puyallup River bridge reconstruction was a part of a two-decade program that began in 2000. The program was a series of projects to build HOV lanes on I-5, SR 16 and SR 167 in Pierce County.