TACOMA, Wash. — DOT crews opened a new ramp from northbound I-5 onto State Route 167 in Tacoma early Monday.
DOT officials believe the new ramp, which provides a wider, straighter connection between I-5 and Route 167, will help ease traffic congestion in that area.
Workers closed the old ramp over the weekend so they would have room to complete paving and striping of the new ramp.
The work was supposed to be completed in February, but bad weather postponed it until now, Mitchell said.
The improvements are part of a larger project to rebuild I-5 through Tacoma to add HOV lanes and a new freeway surface.
More work in the vicinity of the I-5/Route 167 interchange is coming, said Cara Mitchell, a DOT spokeswoman.
“After the new ramp is open, the old ramp will be demolished to make room for a new HOV lane on northbound I-5,” she said. “A new connection from East 28th/East Bay Street to SR 167 and I-5 will also be built.”
That work will require the closure of the new ramp for at least two weekends. Those closures have not yet been scheduled.
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