Three-week closure of Tacoma intersection starts May 4

East L Street at East 27th Street/East Wiley Street intersection closed for sidewalk and bridge work

TACOMA – Travelers headed to the Tacoma Dome or LeMay America’s Car Museum using East 27th Street and East Wiley Street will want to plan for extra travel time.

Guy F. Atkinson Construction, working for the Washington State Department of Transportation, will close the intersection of East 27th Street and East L Street at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, May 4, through 5 p.m. on Friday, May 27.

During the around-the-clock closure, crews will build sidewalks and curbs, install lighting and connect East 27th Street to align with the new East L Street bridge that spans Interstate 5.

A signed detour (PDF 1MB) will be in place using East Portland Avenue to Puyallup Avenue to East D Street and McKinley Way. Drivers can also use East N Street, East 26th Street and East L Street to Puyallup Avenue.

Crews will reopen the intersection for the Memorial Day weekend. Any additional closure time needed to finish the work will be announced in the coming weeks.

The new East L Street bridge is part of a project that widens I-5 and builds high occupancy vehicle lanes in Tacoma. Crews anticipate opening the new bridge to travelers this summer.

Real-time traffic information is available on the WSDOT statewide travel map, the WSDOT app and WSDOT regional Twitter account.

Slow down – lives are on the line. 

In 2023, speeding continued to be a top reason for work zone crashes.

Even one life lost is too many.

Fatal work zone crashes doubled in 2023 - Washington had 10 fatal work zone crashes on state roads.

It's in EVERYONE’S best interest.

95% of people hurt in work zones are drivers, their passengers or passing pedestrians, not just our road crews.