ROAD ALERT from WSDOT:
Travelers who use the Interstate 5/Thorne Lane interchange in Lakewood will want to plan extra time into their trips or reschedule discretionary travel over the next two weekends.
Friday, Oct. 30 to Monday, Nov. 2
Design-build contractor Atkinson Construction will permanently close the old 1950s-era Thorne Lane overpass. Crews will also temporarily close the Thorne Lane on-ramp to northbound I-5 around-the-clock from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2. This closure will allow crews to finish building ramp connections to the new Thorne Lane “low” bridge. This is the second of two new bridges to open in this project.
Additional overnight weekend ramp closures will be in place:
- Friday, Oct. 30 from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 – southbound I-5 exit to Thorne Lane will close.
- Sunday, Nov. 1 from 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2 – southbound I-5 exit to Thorne Lane will close.
On Monday, Nov. 2 when all ramps re-open, the following temporary configuration will be in place until late spring 2021:
- Access Thorne Lane access to southbound I-5 will only be available from the Tillicum neighborhood via Thorne Lane. Travelers coming from Murray Road, JBLM Logistics Gate or the Woodbrook neighborhood will detour via northbound I-5,to Gravelly Lake Drive and southbound I-5.
- Southbound I-5 travelers exiting to Thorne Lane will turn left and cross the new “low” bridge to reach the Murray Road roundabout. There, they can choose to either cross the new “high” bridge to the Tillicum neighborhood or go to Woodbrook neighborhood.
Bridge demolition scheduled Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7
Starting at 10:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6 and again on Saturday, Nov. 7, both directions of I-5 will be reduced to a single lane. That single lane will detour up and over the Thorne Lane off- and on-ramps, which now include a roundabout in the northbound direction. In the southbound direction, travelers will cross over a temporary work zone during overnight hours. Travelers are encouraged to plan additional time and expect heavy congestion. Traffic engineers with the Washington State Department of Transportation anticipate up to three-mile backups on both northbound and southbound I-5 approaching the overpass during the overnight work.
The overnight lane closures will be in place until 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 and 6:30 a.m., Nov. 8 respectively.
Why is this work happening?
The lane closures allow crews to demolish the old overpass at night when traffic volumes are at their lowest. For safety reasons, this work cannot take place over live traffic.
An updated construction schedule that lists overnight ramp closures for this project is available on Tacomatraffic.com. Before heading out the door, travelers can find the latest road conditions on the WSDOT app and by following the WSDOT regional Twitter feed.
Hyperlink within the release:
- Second of two new bridges: wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/new-thorne-lane-bridge-open.html
- Widen: https://wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/steilacoomdupontrdtothornelnimprove/default.htm
- Tacomatraffic.com: wsdot.wa.gov/travel/construction-updates/pierce-thurston-travel-planner
- WSDOT app: www.wsdot.wa.gov/travel/know-before-you-go/mobile-app
- WSDOT on Twitter: twitter.com/wsdot_tacoma
To learn more about what WSDOT is doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at wsdot.com/traffic or by dialing 511.