Crews have been hammering away at Tacoma’s old Nalley Valley viaduct since Dec. 1, concentrating on sections away from live traffic.
Starting Tuesday, Mowat Construction, the state Department of Transportation’s contractor, will begin demolishing viaduct sections that span South Tacoma Way, meaning some street closures and delays to avoid damage from falling concrete.
Total closures will occur only at night, said Claudia Cornish, a Transportation Department spokeswoman. Daytime single-lane closures also are scheduled, Cornish said. All lanes will be open during morning and evening commute hours.
To protect the pavement on the streets, demolition crews will lay down a foot of sand, topped with heavy steel plates, said Neal Uhlmeyer, the state’s project engineer.
South Tacoma Way will be closed completely between South Pine and Wilkeson streets from 9 p.m.-4:30 a.m. Tuesday night through Saturday morning. Traffic will be diverted onto South Center Street during the closures.
Except for commute times (6-9 a.m. and 3-7 p.m.), one lane of South Tacoma Way in each direction will be closed during daytime hours. A similar pattern of closures will occur on South Center Street during the week of Jan. 9, Cornish said.
The old viaduct is being torn down to make room for construction of a higher, wider structure to carry eastbound state Route 16 traffic over the Nalley Valley and merge with southbound Interstate 5.
The viaduct demolition is the first phase of a $115 million construction project intended to streamline traffic connections between eastbound state Route 16 and I-5.
The westbound portion of the Nalley Valley project, a $184 million job that overhauled connections for I-5 traffic headed toward the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Gig Harbor, took 21/2 years and was completed last June.
Rob Carson: 253-597-8693
rob.carson@thenewstribune.com
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