Re: “Tacoma drivers rejoice over revamped SR 16 interchange” (TNT, 6-27).
Of course on a Sunday afternoon the project seemed a success. I say: “Not so fast with the rejoicing.”
We have all seen the worst traffic days, watched for years as this project has continued. When the second Narrows bridge was completed, it was like pouring rice into a funnel; eventually the choke point moved down to the state Route 16 intersection with Interstate 5.
Now with the completion of the westbound viaduct, the choke point is going to move to the southbound I-5/I-705 interchange just past the Tacoma Dome. Why?
Because during the afternoon rush hour you have a lot of travelers from I-705 weaving into the southbound lanes of I-5 while the southbound I-5 traffic tries to merge into the SR 16 exit.
The proper design would have been to have the SR 16 exit just before the I-705 merge; that way there would not be a weave.
Surely somebody should have seen this coming?