Beginning tonight, contractors will use a giant pincer-like excavator to demolish the now-obsolete two-lane freeway overpass at Pioneer Street in Ridgefield.
The demolition is among the last tasks in the $23 million project to rebuild the interchange of Interstate 5 and state Highway 501, also known as Pioneer Street. The demolition work is scheduled to occur overnight throughout the week.
Contractors will close I-5 in shifts, diverting overnight freeway traffic across new on- and offramps.
The original freeway overpass, constructed in the mid-1960s, was officially replaced when contractors shifted Pioneer Street to the new four-lane overpass on Aug. 17. The old one will come down beginning tonight.
Scheduled closures follow:
Interstate 5
• Tonight through Thursday: Up to two lanes closed in both directions between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
• Tonight and Tuesday: All northbound lanes will be closed from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
• Wednesday and Thursday: All southbound lanes will be closed from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Pioneer Street
• Tonight through Thursday: All lanes will be closed at Interstate 5 while freeway traffic detours over the on- and offramps, from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. each night. Drivers will be able to make right turns on and off the ramps.
Abbi Russell, spokeswoman for the Washington Department of Transportation, said the project is slightly ahead of schedule and will be finished this fall. Contractors have to complete landscaping and stormwater retention ponds related to the project.
The second phase of the project will begin next spring, she said.
That portion of the project, estimated to cost $6 million, will realign 65th Avenue and add roundabout intersections on Pioneer Street east and west of the freeway.
