From staff reports:

The exit ramp from westbound State Route 18 to northbound Interstate 5 in Federal Way will re-open between 9 p.m. and midnight today, Aug. 26, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The ramp had been closed for 19 days and was originally scheduled to re-open Sept. 1.Later this fall, crews will install large steel bridge girders to support the new flyover ramps above I-5. That work will require occasional overnight closures of one direction of the freeway.

The new flyover ramps will open in mid-2012 and the project is expected to be complete in late 2012, according to WSDOT.

The closures are part of the ongoing $112.5 million Triangle Project, which refers to the interchange in Federal Way where Highway 161 (Enchanted Parkway), Highway 18 and I-5 all meet.

The project is in the first of two phases. The opening phase will eliminate the current cloverleaf loop ramps and replace them with flyover ramps for westbound Highway 18 to southbound I-5 and eastbound Highway 18 to northbound I-5. Direct access will be provided to Highway 161 from southbound I-5 and westbound Highway 18 through the construction of new exit ramps at South 356th Street and South 359th Street in Federal Way.

The project will modify the I-5/Highway 18 interchange to eliminate weaving vehicle movements. The project is expected to improve existing and future traffic flow; reduce the number and severity of accidents in the vicinity of I-5, Highway 161 and Highway 18; and avoid or reduce the effects on the environment.