Yes, you are seeing candy-cane stripes on I-5 in Fife. Here’s what DOT says they’re for

Orange and white striping have long been the hallmark of safety on barriers, signs and those ubiquitous construction barrels. As of Thursday, they’re now part of lane striping on one small section of Interstate 5 in Fife.

The pilot program of alternating white and orange lane markings are meant to guide and slow traffic through a work zone over Hylebos Creek. Contractors working for the state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) are building a new bridge over the creek as part of the rechanneling and restoration of riparian wetlands.

The 20-foot-long stripes (half orange, half white) run for a 3/4-mile-long stretch in the northbound and southbound lanes of I-5 between the Wapato Way East and Porter Way overpasses. Traffic lanes curve there to give crews space to work on the inner parts of the bridge. The speed limit has been reduced to 50 miles per hour through the work zone.

Pilot program

The stripes are the first of their kind on Washington’s roads, according to WSDOT engineer Tom Slimak. The agency hopes they will be a low-cost aid to making safer work zones.

WSDOT will collect data on traffic speeds and collisions in the work zone and use that to determine if the new striping is successful, Slimak said.

“It’s all geared towards everybody going home safely at the end of the day, including the traveling public,” he said.

Data from work zones all over the state show that during 2021 and 2022 overall accidents decreased, but serious and fatal crashes increased by 20 percent, Slimak said.

The three top reasons for crashes are speed, distracted driving and following too closely, he said.

Included in the pilot program will be a survey of the public to ascertain if the striping helps increase safety awareness.

Stripes

The new stripes separate the four general purpose lanes of I-5. The HOV lanes are still separated by solid white lines.

The striping paint has a built-in reflectivity to aid drivers at night, Slimak said.

When the inner portion of the new bridges is complete, traffic will be routed over them, and crews will work on the outer parts of the bridge. Even though the work zone will still be effect, WSDOT plans to remove the orange stripes at that point.

WSDOT expects to start using the inner portion of the bridge by the end of this year, Slimak said.

Toll Road

The new Hylebos bridge is part of the 167 Completion Project. A segment of the project is a 2-mile-long tolled expressway that will connect the Port of Tacoma with state Route 167 in 2026. Construction on the $376 million project began in July. On Thursday, crews began building a bridge over 12th Street East for the new expressway.

Eventually, that 2-mile section will connect with four miles of new expressway between I-5 and state Route 167 in Puyallup where it now ends at North Meridian Avenue. That section begins construction in 2024 and opens in 2028.