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Upgrades that include three ramp meters and seven traffic cameras were budgeted for completion in October, but crews ran into construction problems, said Dennis Engel, project engineer for the state Department of Transportation. Crews had to relocate fiber-optic lines because of existing conduit, including moving boring activity underneath Interstate 5 by several hundred feet. Another roadblock emerged when crews had to relocate wires on 41st Division Drive near the main gate of Lewis-McChord.
The ramp and camera systems both need to be ready before either can be used effectively, Engel said.
“You want the cameras so you can monitor the traffic flow so you can do the timing of the meters,” Engel said. “There’s some fine-tuning that has to go on out on the field, dealing with connections of fiber optics.”
Crews installed meters on the ramps at Nisqually, Mounts and Marvin roads and seven traffic cameras between Marvin Road and Lewis-McChord. The meters have a tentative turn-on date of Jan. 9, with the cameras going live the same month, Engle said.
State traffic engineers say the updates will help control traffic entering the freeway during peak hours and uncover a six-mile blind spot so the Department of Transportation and commuters can react better to congestion and crashes.
A $15 million federal grant is expected to be announced soon to help improve traffic flow on I-5 near Lewis-McChord, including additional ramp meters, more bypass lanes and congestion-monitoring and rebuilding connections with the base. But that is just the beginning in terms of cost. A study released last year identified solutions such as upgrading four aging interchanges, widening I-5 and building a cross-base highway. The estimated cost for that work is $960 million to $1.1 billion.
Nate Hulings: 360-754-5476
nhulings@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/outsideoly
