I-5 through the Fife curve now comes with a swerve and lower speed limit. Here’s why
UPDATE: WSDOT said on Feb. 27 that lane shifts and reduced speed for southbound drivers will occur Wednesday, March 1, weather permitting. Lane shifts and reduced speed limit have been in effect for northbound drivers since Feb. 15.
Original story:
Pierce County drivers headed to King County on Interstate 5 noticed their commute north took a new turn last week. Well, more of a swerve. It’s a temporary move as major construction begins in the freeway’s median.
Just north of the Fife curve, northbound I-5’s lanes are now bulging outward as they make their way around a 1.6-mile-long work zone.
For the last several months, crews have been widening two existing I-5 bridges over Hylebos Creek. Last week, northbound lanes were moved off the existing bridges and on to the widened section. Next week, southbound lanes will get the same treatment.
That allows state Department of Transportation contractors to begin building two new bridges just south of the existing pair that carry I-5 over the creek.
The new bridges will accommodate a rerouted Hylebos Creek. It’s part of a much larger riparian restoration in store for the watershed.
When those bridges are built, traffic will use them and the existing bridges, according to WSDOT spokesperson Amy Danberg.
Schedule
On Monday night, Feb. 27, weather permitting, the same swerve will be added to southbound lanes, Danberg said.
The slight detours will be in place through this summer, she said.
Currently, the work zone runs between milepost 137.5 near 54th Avenue East and milepost 139 at Porter Way.
Lower speeds
The swerves come with a speed reduction — to 50 mph. Currently, that’s only in the northbound lanes. When the detour is opened in the southbound lanes on Monday, that section will also be reduced to 50 mph.
Washington State Patrol spokesman Trooper Robert Reyer said Wednesday that the new speed limit is being enforced in the northbound lanes.
“We urge people to reduce their speed,” Reyer said. “We want to protect the construction workers in that area.”
Lower speeds are also needed to negotiate the swerve, Reyer said. Troopers are patrolling the area as workloads allow, he said.
Toll road
The new Hylebos bridges are part of the 167 Completion Project. A segment of the project is a 2-mile-long tolled expressway that will connect the Port of Tacoma with state Route 167 in 2026. Construction on the $376 million project began in July.
Eventually, that 2-mile section will connect with four miles of new expressway between I-5 and state Route 167 in Puyallup where it now ends at North Meridian Avenue. That section begins construction in 2024 and opens in 2028.
The 167 Completion Project is one of two parts of the state Department of Transportation’s $2.38 billion Puget Sound Gateway Program. The other segment is the extension of state Route 509 from 24th Avenue South in SeaTac to I-5. Construction on that segment is also underway along I-5.
This story was originally published February 23, 2023 at 10:09 AM.
