The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Interstate 205 in Salmon Creek will be closed Wednesday and Thursday of this week as crews install girders for a new exit ramp from southbound I-205.

Southbound I-205 will be closed at the Interstate 5 junction from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday, July 31, and Thursday, Aug. 1.

Local traffic and drivers heading to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center should exit I-5 at Northeast 179th Street (Exit 9) and follow a signed detour, while through traffic will be diverted onto I-5.

“We’re thankful that drivers have been so patient about changing their routes,” said WSDOT Area Engineer Leon Winger. “We know closures are inconvenient, but when you have nearly 150 feet of concrete moving across the freeway, it’s absolutely necessary for the safety of drivers and our construction workers.”

During the closure, contractor crews working with the Washington State Department of Transportation will install five concrete girders over the southbound lanes of I-205 for a new exit ramp that will eventually take drivers onto the new Northeast 139th Street interchange.

This work concludes the girder installations over southbound I-205, but there is still more work to be done. This fall, crews will perform similar closures to install more girders and demolish the existing on-ramp from Northeast 134th Street to northbound I-205.

Construction of the interchange is the fourth and final stage of a $133 million partnership project between WSDOT and Clark County Public Works. Drivers can sign up online to receive project email updates or follow WSDOT on Twitter to stay in the loop as the project moves through construction.