Work on next major milestone in project now set to begin in 2025
PIERCE COUNTY – The future 6-mile State Route 167 Expressway in north Pierce County is one step closer to completion with the Washington State Department of Transportation awarding the third of four contracts to build the tolled express way.
The contract was awarded to Guy F. Atkinson, Inc., on Aug. 29, 2024 for $177.7 million, which was $8.7 million below the WSDOT engineering estimate. This is the third SR 167 project contract awarded to Atkinson.
“Atkinson has been a great partner for us on previous stages of construction,” said Puget Sound Gateway Program Administrator John White. “We look forward to continuing to work together to build the new expressway and multi-modal improvements that will provide all travelers with more options.”
In the third phase, Atkinson crews will widen SR 167 from SR 161/North Meridian Avenue in Puyallup to SR 410 near Sumner. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 and finish in 2027. Work includes:
- A new diverging diamond interchange at SR 161/North Meridian Avenue.
- A new bridge over SR 161/North Meridian Avenue.
- A new bridge over Milwaukee Avenue East.
- Construction of a portion of the 12-mile spuyaləpabš Trail.
- Demolishing the old Puyallup River steel truss bridge and preserving a portion of it as a heritage marker along the spuyaləpabš Trail.
- New ramp meters at the East Pioneer on-ramps to SR 512.
Work also includes building a portion of the embankment for the last section of the expressway that will be built in the fourth and final stage.
Still to come: The fourth and final stage
The fourth stage will build the remaining 2.6 miles of the expressway from I-5 in Fife to SR 161/North Meridian Avenue. Besides widening, this stage also completes several multi-modal components, including trail connections. It also reconfigures local roads and intersections, builds eight new bridges and restores approximately 90 acres of wetlands.
WSDOT plans to award the last construction contract for the SR 167 Completion Project in summer 2025. This stage is scheduled to wrap up in 2029.
A 3D video highlighting the expressway, multimodal features and other improvements is available on WSDOT’s YouTube site with translations in five languages.
Work completed and under construction
The first stage of construction built the Wapato Way East bridge over I-5 at the Fife curve. The bridge opened to traffic in 2021.
The second major stage began construction in 2022. Crews are now building a 3-mile section of the expressway between I-5 and SR 509 near the Port of Tacoma. This stage includes 20 new bridges, new on-and off-ramps that will connect I-5 and SR 167 and a significant wetland and creek restoration program. This stage should be complete in 2026.
Photos of construction are available on WSDOT’s Flickr site.
Puget Sound Gateway Program overview
The SR 167 Completion Project is part of WSDOT’s Puget Sound Gateway Program, which also includes the SR 509 Completion Project in south King County. Combined, the two completion projects finish critical missing links in Washington’s highway and freight network.