Crews installed steel girders over southbound I-5  the nights of Feb. 10-11, 2012. The girders  support new flyover ramps at the I-5/SR 18 interchange.

by guest blogger Erica Taylor

What do Olympic trials, a multinational sporting event and the world’s largest private softwood timberland owner have in common? Believe it or not, they’re all based in Federal Way. This not-so-sleepy town of Federal Way hosted the 2012 Olympic Dive Trials, the 1990 Goodwill Games and is home to Weyerhaeuser, the world’s largest private owner of softwood timberland.

Even if you’re not an elite athlete, and don’t need timber, you may take I-5 or SR 18 through Federal Way and wonder how long you’ll have to sit in traffic trying to get to Wild Waves. Wonder no more. Thanks to a partnership with local, state and federal officials, WSDOT is ready turn over a new leaf at this interchange. Actually, WSDOT is taking out the old cloverleaf ramps and replacing them with new flyover ramps. The flyover ramp is a newer design that can efficiently handle the amount of traffic at this interchange and will turn the former white-knuckle weave into an easy merge.


The I-5/SR 18 interchange is more than a stop on the Olympic road to London; it’s also a major transportation corridor for commerce and for local commuters. With 10,000 to 20,000 vehicles using each ramp daily, the previously state-of-the-art cloverleaf ramp design from the 1960s was becoming a traffic headache. Add to that a consistently growing population – Federal Way has grown from 67,304 residents in 1990 to 89,306 residents in 2010 – and WSDOT and local officials agreed that something needed to be done to revamp the ramps. After much consideration, the new flyover ramp emerged as the best option.

Construction on the first phase of improvements to the I-5/SR 18/SR 161 “triangle” interchange began in summer 2010, and crews plan to wrap up work ahead of schedule later this year. New ramps between I-5 and SR 18 will open July 16 and July 23, with other ramp improvements scheduled to open this fall. WSDOT even has plans for a next phase of construction in the area. Though that work doesn’t have a start date yet, local officials have clear ideas of what they would like to see improved.

Whether you’re transporting goods from Washington to Oregon, headed to work, or maybe just considering a trip to Wild Waves (on that one day a year that it’s warm enough to go) the new flyover ramps will make the SR 18/I-5 interchange safer and more efficient for everyone.

Looking toward eastbound traffic  at the top of the new SR 522 flyover ramp

When it comes to construction projects, sometimes we’re a little biased: We like ‘em all. Once you shepherd a project through the design process and watch it come to life on the highway, you get a little attached. And we’re not ashamed to say that we’re darn proud of our work.

The real icing on the cake for us, though, is hearing positive feedback from drivers after we wrap up a construction project.

Take the new flyover ramp from eastbound SR 522 to eastbound US 2, for example. Regular commuters and residents had waited years for a faster, more direct connection to US 2 and points east, and the two year construction period probably seemed to last forever.

Just before Christmas last year, we opened the new ramp to traffic early on a Saturday morning. We knew the ramp would make a big difference to daily drivers and holiday travelers alike – and we got almost instant positive feedback:

It’s great! It has made it so much easier in the evening commute. If I have to go east, I’m not stuck at the light anymore and when I need to go west toward home, I’m not stuck behind a huge line of cars turning east and I can usually zip right through.

I have driven the new ramp three times since it opened. Much to my surprise it was easy to use and there was no traffic back up as I had feared. The landscaping is lovely.

I love the new ramp at SR522 and US2. I use it regularly and really appreciate not having to wait at the light. I can’t wait until all the rest of the work can be completed to open up the new WB lanes on US2 as well – that should help with the backups in the area. Thanks for everything you do… I recognize WSDOT has very limited resources, and I appreciate the work you do.

I think it’s great! It sure does streamline traffic flow, making eastbound access to Highway 2 seamless.

Great job on the new flyover ramp; it has definitely made our commute home quicker and easier.

We love it! When we wanted to go through Monroe it was heavenly and when we wanted to go to Fred Meyer it made that transition easier by having fewer cars in the mix!

Gotta say, really enjoy this new ramp and extra lane on EB hwy 2 in Monroe. Makes for a much more pleasant commute home from work every day.

I like it because I commute regularly through Monroe not needing to stop and this makes it a little easier.

Getting so much positive feedback really makes our day. If you’re out on the highways this spring and summer – perhaps headed to the pass for some late-season skiing or over the mountains for some time in the sun – try out the new ramp and see what you think.