Highway Improvements
From 2002 to 2007, WSDOT built a second parallel Tacoma Narrows Bridge crossing, designed to resemble the existing suspension bridge. The old bridge carries westbound traffic without a toll, while its sister structure carries eastbound traffic and has a $4.00 toll for passenger cars. It also premiered a new RFID technology, christened the Good To Go! pass, which allows frequent users to bypass the toll booths by way of a prepaid transponder placed on the inside of the windshield. Using the pass also reduces the toll to $2.75.
At the eastern terminus, SR 16 crosses the Nalley Valley viaduct. The viaduct's unique tetrapod structure prevents widening, as well as the close proximity of the Interstate 5 and Sprague Avenue interchanges. The viaduct is being completely rebuilt in stages. Work began in early 2009 to replace the westbound viaduct, built parallel to the existing bridges. It was opened to two-way traffic in 2011, when the eastbound viaduct project started (Both bridges had to be demolished to start on the eastbound viaduct). The eastbound viaduct is scheduled to be completed in 2013. A separate project will add a direct HOV connection to I-5, scheduled to start in 2022.
SR 16 has also become the second state highway in Washington State to have exit numbers posted at interchanges. SR 14 in the Vancouver area has long had numbered exits. As of 2008, two interchanges on SR 3 near Bremerton and Silverdale have also been marked with exit numbers.
Several projects along SR 16 have been conducted as part of a revitalization of freeways in the Tacoma/Pierce County area. Completed projects include the twinning of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, widening between Gig Harbor and I-5 to include HOV lanes and auxiliary lanes and redesigning several interchanges to improve traffic flow. The last project to be completed on SR 16 is rebuilding the Nalley Valley viaduct for a new, expanded interchange with I-5.
Read more about this topic: Washington State Route 16
Famous quotes containing the words highway and/or improvements:
“Off Highway 106
At Cherrylog Road I entered
The ‘34 Ford without wheels,
Smothered in kudzu,
With a seat pulled out to run
Corn whiskey down from the hills,”
—James Dickey (b. 1923)
“A country whose buildings are of wood, can never increase in its improvements to any considerable degree.... Whereas when buildings are of durable materials, every new edifice is an actual and permanent acquisition to the state, adding to its value as well as to its ornament.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)