You’ll see crews working on ‘notorious’ Pierce County interchange this week
Traffic will be slowed on the ramp from Wollochet Drive to westbound state Route 16 on Wednesday, Aug. 6, while workers examine the soil next to the ramp in preparation for future construction, according to the city of Gig Harbor.
Crews will be onsite between 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. exploring the soil adjacent to the on-ramp, authorized by a permit the city received from the Washington State Department of Transportation, the city posted on Facebook. Vehicles will see narrower lanes and slower speeds on the onramp, and temporary signs and traffic control devices will guide them through the area. No lanes will be closed, Gig Harbor Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm wrote via email.
“Please use caution in the area and watch for crews,” the city’s post said.
The city’s consultant is completing the work as part of broader traffic improvements to the Wollochet Drive interchange with state Route 16. The city has budgeted $1.45 million in their 2025-2026 budget to add a right turn lane along eastbound Wollochet Drive to the state Route 16 westbound on-ramp, with $840,000 of that funding from the state.
Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2026, along with a second project to add a right turn lane on the state Route 16 eastbound off-ramp to Wollochet Drive, the city’s capital improvement projects website says.
The News Tribune quoted a city news release in 2023 saying that the city of Gig Harbor had been requesting traffic improvements to Wollochet Drive for “at least the last 10 years,” as the site “has been notorious for serious accidents and lengthy traffic back-ups.”
Its completion is expected to provide traffic relief to state Route 16, which has been studied for congestion issues, The News Tribune reported.
