I-5 - Widen I-5 Each Direction From Salmon Creek to I-205
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February 2006 |
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• This project is currently under construction.
• During a full weekend closure of the interstate on October 7-10, both directions of I-5 between NE 99th Street and NE 134th Street were shifted onto the newly widened northbound lanes and new northbound bridge over Salmon Creek. This marks the halfway point for construction of the project.
• Crews will now replace the old southound bridge over Salmon Creek, and widen the southbound side of the interstate. Traffic will then be shifted again into its final alignment.
Please visit the Southwest Region's Weekly Travel Advisory Web page for details on this week's traffic impacts.
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Overview
This project will increase capacity and relieve congestion on I-5 between NE 99th Street and NE 134th Street by widening the interstate to three lanes, plus an auxiliary lane. In addition, the NE 129th Street overpass and the Salmon Creek/NE 117th Street bridges will be replaced with ones that meet current design, safety and seismic standards.
Why is WSDOT
widening I-5?
Widening this segment of I-5 is the third of four projects aimed at improving traffic flow in the I-5 corridor between the Main Street interchange in Vancouver and the I-205 junction. The first project built the NE 99th Street interchange in 1996, which included widening that section of highway. The second project widened a 2.3-mile section of I-5 from 39th Street in Vancouver north to NE 99th Street. That project was completed in early November 2002.
The End Result
Widening this section of I-5 will increase capacity and allow motorists to move more safely and efficiently through the I-5 corridor.
In addition to widening 2 miles of I-5 from approximately the NE 99th Street interchange (Salmon Creek) to the I-205 junction, the project will:
• Replace the northbound and southbound bridges that cross over Salmon Creek (near Salmon Creek Park)
• Build a new bridge at NE 129th Street
• Add an additional lane and a second left-turn lane at the northbound I-5 off ramp to NE 134th Street
• Revise the signal at NE 134th Street to accommodate the second left turn lane
Project Benefits
New bridges meeting current design and seismic standards will replace existing bridges. The project also will increase capacity and allow motorists to move more safely and efficiently through the I-5 corridor.
Congestion Relief: Traffic flow in the I-5 corridor between the Main Street interchange in Vancouver and the I-205 junction will be improved. Through computer modeling, it is estimated that if this project wasn't built, afternoon travel speeds in 2010 and 2020 would be 42 and 26 mph respectively. Once completed, average travel speeds in 2010 and 2020 are projected to increase to 60 and 51 mph respectively.
What is the project timeline?
Hamilton Construction Inc. of Springfield, Oregon was awarded the project contract in early July. Construction began on August 20, 2003, and the project is expected to be finished by spring 2007.
Public Involvement
Public involvement efforts for this project began over 15 years ago, and a variety of public meetings and open houses have been held during that time.WSDOT has hosted the following public open houses about this project:
November 17, 2004: Information about a variety of projects, including the I-5 widening project, was presented at a Salmon Creek Area Open House at the Salmon Creek Elementary School.
January 2004: An open house was held to inform the public about the traffic impacts related to the five-month closure of the NE 129th Street bridge over I-5 while it was replaced. WSDOT staff also made a presentation on the noise wall evaluation process and provided a Frequently Asked Questions handout (pdf, 70 kb) to help the public understand the state and federal process for determining where noise walls are built on highway projects.
August 2003: An open house was held just prior to construction starting, which allowed the public to review construction staging and traffic impacts information.
May 2003: Before the project was advertised for bid, WSDOT hosted an open house to inform residents and property owners about the project's anticipated construction schedule, associated traffic impacts and other state and local transportation projects in this area. Comments and concerns from residents and businesses about traffic impacts and detours were solicited.
January 2002: A design phase open house was held to discuss the benefits and impacts of this project with the local community. At that meeting, public comment confirmed the desire to completely close the NE 129th Street bridge over I-5 for the construction of a new wider structure. This closure would minimize the duration of construction impacts on the surrounding neighborhood and Salmon Creek Elementary School. Using a total closure approach, WSDOT bridge engineers were able to modify the design of the bridge structure and reduce the closure to a five-month period.
During project construction, WSDOT will continue to update the public about upcoming significant traffic impacts using press releases and this project Web page.
For more public involvement information in the SW Region, visit the SW Region's Public Involvement page.
Environmental Protection
WSDOT makes every effort to assess and minimize environmental impact from our projects. WSDOT will construct a stormwater treatment facility and retaining walls to avoid impacting nearby wetlands. To avoid impacting Tenney Creek, WSDOT will build a specially designed cantilevered retaining wall so the stream won’t have to be relocated.
For environmental information specific to this project, please contact Becky Michaliszyn at (360) 905-2174, or e-mail her at: michalb@wsdot.wa.gov.
Please visit the WSDOT Environmental
Services Web site for more information.
Increasing safety is one of our priorities
This project will reduce congestion and help keep traffic moving on I-5. The new auxiliary lanes provide more room for traffic to enter and exit the main travel lanes more safely. This reduces potential conflicts, decreases congestion and helps traffic maintain appropriate travel speeds.
Will this project impact tribal resources?
At WSDOT we seek to address the concerns of the tribal nations using the process outlined in Section 106 of The National Historic Preservation Act and the WSDOT Tribal Consultation Policy adopted in 2003 by the Transportation Commission as part of the WSDOT Centennial Accord Plan.
This process is not applicable because the project does not impact tribal lands.
For more information visit our WSDOT Tribal Liaison website.
Financial Information
- Transportation 2003 Account
(Nickel Funding) - $34 Million
Other Agency Funds - $1.4 Million -These funds were provided by the Legislature to construct a noise wall not included in the original design.
Total Funding Available from all sources - $35.4 Million
How can I get more information?
Contact:
Casey Liles, Area Engineer
WSDOT Vancouver Area Office
PO Box 1709
Vancouver, WA 98668-1709
Phone: 360-905-1500
E-mail: swI-5widening@wsdot.wa.gov
Sylvia Ross
Communications Manager
PO Box 1709
Vancouver, WA 98668-1709
Phone: 360-905-2058
E-mail: RossSy@wsdot.wa.gov
Or you can use our information request form.
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