I-5 Portland Ave to Port of Tacoma Rd - Northbound HOV
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Hamilton was the prime contractor on this Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) project. The project is located in Tacoma’s heavily urbanized landscape, exceeding 200,000 vehicles per day, high volumes of rail and pedestrian traffic, and sensitive waterway. To combat ever-increasing traffic counts, this project widened I-5 to provide room for one HOV lane and four general-purpose lanes in each direction. It included constructing a new bridge structure over the Puyallup River and significant infrastructure upgrades to the existing lanes, reconfigured interchanges, new on- and off-ramp alignments, and an extensive ITS system that sets the stage for future interstate tolling.
The new northbound I-5 structure over the Puyallup River is a nine-span, 1,600-foot-long bridge. The new bridge spans surface streets and mainlines for Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), BNSF, and Tacoma Rail. In addition, the project included an 800-foot-long five-span horizontally curved steel girder ramp bridge. The work zone encompassed one of the busier locations on the entire I-5 corridor. This project required extensive MOT and multiple staging requirements on the interstate, interstate ramps, and arterial city streets. Close coordination between Hamilton, BNSF Railway, subcontractors, and WSDOT resulted in successfully accomplishing work involving three separate railroad mainlines with three separate rail schedules without delay to the project. Through careful coordination and a concerted public outreach effort, Hamilton awarded $11.8 million to 20 separate DBE firms after contract award and reduced the critical path by 20 working days. In addition, with project limits within the Puyallup Indian reservation, working with the Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO) of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to meet their needs was very important. Every known hiring opportunity, including new opportunities resulting from innovation or change of scope, translated to hiring every TERO candidate that met the employment criteria. “Hamilton has been an excellent company to work with during the Northbound Bridge Expansion Project. Their cooperation, dedication, and quality of work has been very beneficial to the Tribal Community.” – TERO Acting Director |
Major Project Elements
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