TACOMA, Wash. — A stretch of Interstate 5 south of Tacoma has become a headache for drivers in recent months. Early Tuesday a semi-truck jack-knifed in the work zone, blocking the freeway for hours. It was the eighth crash involving a semi-truck in the area since last September.
Despite the wrecks, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) maintains the freeway is safe.
"It's frustrating because we were going on a stretch where we didn't have anything, and hoping the messages were getting out to folks,” said WSDOT spokeswoman Cara Mitchell.
Lanes on the mile and a half section of southbound I-5 have been temporarily narrowed and the shoulder reduced while the state adds an HOV lane to the freeway.
WSDOT said the number of crashes in the work zone has not increased since it was established in May, but semi crashes have created high-profile backups.
Mitchell said speed is to blame for the crashes, not the configuration of the work zone.
"It is absolutely safe. Over 200,000 people drive on this section of I-5 every single day and they make it through this section successfully, without issue, without incident,” said Mitchell.
WSDOT has the contractor add additional reflective striping and lane marking to the area in December. They also set up a sign recommending drivers to slow down from 60 to 50 miles per hour.
Since it’s only an advisory, the Washington State Patrol cannot cite drivers going between 50-60 mph, the actual speed limit through the work zone. Changing the speed limit would require federal approval, something Mitchell said would have taken longer than the project would take.
Construction in the temporary work zone is expected to wrap up in May.