Motorists traveling southbound Interstate 5 and eastbound State Route 16 in Tacoma can continue to expect overnight lane and ramp closures throughout the summer.

These lane and ramp closures are necessary while contractor crews for the Washington State Department of Transportation continue work on the I-5 48th Street to M Street Bridge Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation and the SR 16 Eastbound Nalley Valley viaduct projects.

The Tacoma traffic impacts for southbound I-5 and eastbound SR 16 will begin Fri., July 27 through Sun., Aug. 5.

On Fri., July 27, crews will reduce southbound I-5 to one lane and reroute all traffic onto the 38th Street collector/distributor lane. Work hours are 10 p.m. Fri., July 27 to 10 a.m. Sat., July 28. This is an extended closure and motorists are asked to avoid using this section of I-5 during work hours to minimize expected backups and delays.

On Sun., July 29, southbound I-5 will again be reduced to a single lane and diverted onto the 38th Street collector/distributor. The closures will begin at 9 p.m. Sun., July 29 and last until 5 a.m. Mon., July 30.

On Mon., July 30, crews will close the southbound I-5 exit to 38th Street and the two adjacent southbound lanes, reducing southbound I-5 to only two lanes of traffic. At 11 p.m., crews will close all lanes of eastbound SR 16 at Union Avenue, as well as the Union Avenue on-ramp to eastbound SR 16. All lanes and ramps on eastbound SR 16 will reopen by 4 a.m. on Tues., July 31 and ramp and lane closures on southbound I-5 will end by 5: 30 a.m.

On Tues., July 31 through Thurs., Aug. 2, southbound I-5 traffic will be reduced to a single lane and diverted onto the 38th Street collector/distributor lane, and all lanes of eastbound SR 16 at Union and the on-ramp from Union Avenue will close overnight. Work hours Tuesday through Thursday on both I-5 and SR 16 will begin at 9 p.m. and end at 5 a.m. the following morning.

Finally, on Sat., Aug. 4, all lanes of eastbound SR 16 at Union along with the Union Avenue on-ramp to eastbound SR 16 will close from 12:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. Crews will return Saturday night at 10 p.m. to repeat this closure, reopening the ramp and all lanes by 9 a.m. on Sun., Aug. 5. Because crews won’t be off the roadway until 9 a.m. Sunday, motorists are encouraged to avoid this section of SR 16 during work hours. Big backups and delays can be expected.

More information is online at tacomatraffic.com.