Weekend closure: Make alternate plans for Aug. 20-23 if you use northbound SR 167 between Sumner and Pacific

By Cara Mitchell

Have you heard about the time we closed almost four miles of northbound SR 167 over a weekend and didn't see major travel delays? Me neither. But we want this to become a true story! To make it happen, we need your help.

From 8:30 p.m. Friday, August 20, to 4 a.m. Monday morning, August 23, we are going to close all lanes of northbound SR 167 from the SR 410 interchange in Sumner to 8th Street East in Pacific for work to help build a high occupancy vehicle lane. During the closure, we'll use a mix of city and county streets as a detour. None of them were built to handle the volume of SR 167 and that's where you come in. We'll all have to work together during this closure.

Northbound SR 167 at the eastbound SR 410 exit in Sumner. This will be the start of the detour route over the weekend of Aug. 20 for anyone traveling north on SR 167.

Short-term pain for long-term gain
Anyone who drives northbound SR 167 from Puyallup to Auburn knows how congested it is. It's why we are building a northbound HOV lane.

There are no times when it's convenient to close northbound SR 167. We're closing the roadway over the weekend because crews need to work where people ordinarily would drive and there's less traffic on the weekend. During the weekend closure, construction crews will make changes to bridge drainage systems and add additional roadway surface to the existing bridge decks.

HOV lanes maximize the movement of people and improve trip reliability, especially for those who share the ride. Ultimately, when all the HOV work is completed, it will benefit everyone using the highway.

How many people use SR 167?  (Or why we need everyone to consider other options)
Approximately 50,000 vehicles a day use northbound SR 167 between Puyallup and Auburn.

With traffic volumes like that, we certainly don't take closing one direction of this highway lightly, and we need your help. We need about 25,000 vehicles or more to avoid heading north that weekend. To give you a sense of perspective, 25,000 is a little less than the combined population of Bonney Lake and Sumner (about 30,000 for both).

Our traffic models show that even with a 50 percent reduction of traffic heading north, we will still see 10-mile backups during the weekend closure. So, we're going to need those who can't avoid heading north to know what to expect and be patient.

One of the work zones in the Algona area where crews are widening northbound SR 167 to add an HOV lane.

Detour routes
We don't have another state highway nearby that can absorb an extra 50,000 vehicles without feeling it. Over the past six months, we worked closely with the cities of Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Pacific and Algona to create the detour routes. There are two of them – one for passenger vehicles, and one for semi-trucks. We can't stress enough that these are local streets. We truly need a lot of people to simply not go through this area during the weekend closure.

Here is the passenger vehicle detour route during the weekend closure:

Here is the truck detour route during the weekend closure:

As you can imagine, a closure like this will trigger tremendous backups on local roads. We are going to need your help so we all can get through this weekend closure.

How can you help?

• Delay your trip
• Only travel if it's necessary and avoid discretionary trips
• Travel earlier in the day or later in the evening when traffic volumes are lower.
• Use transit, carpool, vanpool or work from home or remote office locations if possible.
• Follow the speed limit on local roads, don't block driveways and watch for the detour signs.

For those who can't take advantage of these options, it will mean there's the potential for long delays. We encourage travelers to add at least 90 minutes of travel time if you must go through the detour route.

Congestion on nearby state highways
We've seen it happen during emergencies – when a major state highway shuts down, the other highways get very congested. Don't be surprised if you see more people using northbound I-5 through Tacoma and Fife that weekend. We anticipate that nearby state highways such as SR 161 and SR 169 and even SR 99 will have a few more people on them as well. Pack your patience and apply the same advice we listed above.

• Always check the state-wide Travel Alerts webpage for real time highway conditions.
• If you're traveling over Chinook Pass expecting to go north on SR 167, please use I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass instead.
• Coming up from Vancouver or Olympia to Seattle for a Seattle Seahawks pre-season game on Saturday, Aug. 21? Northbound I-5 through Tacoma and Fife will be slow going that weekend.
• Be aware of nearby construction projects such as the 90-day closure of SR 164 east of Auburn.

Could this work get delayed?
Yes, it could get rescheduled because of weather. It could also get delayed due to unforeseen product availability or staffing issues. We're working with the contractor to try to avoid these issues as best we can. If the schedule changes, we will share the latest information once it becomes available via our email updates and project web page.

Stay safe
Please watch your speed on the detour routes and in work zones. Always give construction crews the room they need to get this work done. Keeping your eyes on the road and slowing down helps keep you, our crews and other drivers safe.

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