Aiming to reduce congestion on I-5 through Tacoma, Washington, the Westbound Nalley Valley I/C is the first of three phases of bridge construction in the historic Nalley Valley. The project will distribute traffic between I-5 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge toward the Olympic Peninsula. An array of new structures will replace seismically obsolete bridges and provide a much needed increase in traffic capacity.

The Temporary Eastbound (TEB) Bridge will allow traffic to bypass a portion of the Nalley Valley Interchange project until the final construction phase is completed.

Our Role

McNary Bergeron & Associates assisted the contractor in procuring the contract by redesigning two expensive steel bridges to more economical concrete structures.

The original TEB bridge design called for rolled steel girders with a composite deck. The redesigned bridge is currently estimated to save the Contractor and Owner over $1 million in material and labor costs. Additionally, the redesigned structure will have a 3' wider roadway surface.

Construction Method and Specifications

TEB Bridge
-driven steel pipe pile substructure columns
-cast-in-place concrete pier caps
-precast thin-flange deck bulb-tee girders
-5" CIP composite deck
-Unique longitudinal closures between girder flanges create fully composite deck with only 1 mat of deck reinforcing in CIP slab.
-Girder geometry was predetermined and optimized to minimize slab thickness

Owner

WSDOT

Contractor

Atkinson Construction

Designer

McNary Bergeron & Assoc.

Timeline

4Q 2008 (notice to proceed with CRIP) to 3Q 2009 (completion of construction)

Current Project List