Project news

• Weekend closure of northbound SR 167 from Sumner to Pacific is scheduled for Aug. 20-23. During the closure, drivers will follow two signed detour routes that are specific to passenger vehicles and trucks. Backups may exceed 10 miles. Drivers are encouraged to only travel if necessary and avoid discretionary trips, use transit, carpool, vanpool or work from home or remote office locations, or travel earlier in the day or later in the evening when traffic volumes are lower. If drivers do need to use the detour routes that weekend, travelers will want to add at least 90 minutes of travel time. Work is weather sensitive and could be rescheduled.
• Travelers will see daytime shoulder closures and overnight lane and ramp closures on northbound SR 167 starting May 24. 
• A temporary speed limit reduction on SR 167 from 60 mph to 45 mph during nighttime lane closures will be in place from milepost 5.27 to milepost 14.33.
• This section of SR 167 was identified in the Tacoma/Pierce County HOV Program which inclues a series of projects that build high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-5, SR 16 and SR 167 in Pierce County.
• View updates for roadwork on state highways in Pierce County. 
• Sign up for GovDelivery email alerts that include news releases, traffic alerts, information for freight haulers, construction updates and timely reports of mountain pass conditions.

Needs & benefits

Travelers on northbound State Route 167 between Puyallup and Auburn experience regular congestion, especially during morning peak commute hours. To help reduce congestion, WSDOT is adding an additional northbound high occupancy vehicle lane on SR 167. The additional HOV lane will begin near State Route 410 in Pierce County, and continue north seven miles and tie into the existing SR 167 HOT Lane near Auburn in King County. The new northbound HOV lane will be built within the existing pavement width. This means the inside and outside shoulder widths will be reduced.

Once built, the additional lane will open as a HOV lane and transition to an Express Toll Lane (ETL) at a future date.

New ITS devices such as traffic cameras and ramp meters would be added to the corridor. Ramp meters will help manage the flow of vehicles that merge on to the highway.

What to expect during construction

• The reduced shoulder widths means the previous bicycle route on northbound SR 167 from SR 410 in Sumner to SR 18 in Auburn will be changed, both during construction and permanently once construction is complete. Details are available on the Detour map page.
• During construction, travelers will see narrowed shoulders, shifted lanes and overnight lane and ramp closures.
• The project also makes bridge deck modifications on two northbound SR 167 overpasses. This work will require a weekend closure of northbound SR 167 from the SR 410 interchange in Sumner to 8th Street East in Pacific. The weekend closure is scheduled for Aug. 20-23. Detour routes will be in place, however, traffic engineers anticipate significant backups will occur. The bridge deck work is weather sensitive and may be rescheduled from one weekend to the next.

Overnight lane and ramp closures:

One lane of northbound SR 167 and the northbound SR 167 ramps at 24th Street, 8th Street, Ellingson Street and 15th Street can close during the following overnight hours:

• Monday - Thursday - each night from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. 
• Friday - 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday
• Saturday - 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday
• Sunday -  9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Monday

One lane of southbound SR 167 can close during the following overnight hours:

• Monday - Wednesday - each night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• Thursday - 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday
• Friday - 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday
• Saturday - 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday
• Sunday - 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday

SR 512 - eastbound

• Monday - Thursday - each night from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
• Friday - Saturday - each night 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday
• Sunday - 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday

SR 512 - westbound

• Monday - Thursday - each night from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
• Friday - Saturday - each night from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
• Sunday - 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday

SR 410 - both directions

• Monday - Thursday - each night from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
• Friday - Saturday - each night from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
• Sunday - 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday

Timeline

• Ad date is late December 2020
• Contract was awarded to Graham Contracting, LTD on April 2, 2021
• Construction begins May 17, 2021
• Project completion spring 2022

Funding

Engineering and construction costs for this project are estimated at $33.5 million.