Extending part of SR 167 that ends at Puyallup is a priority

When construction of the state Route 167 freeway from Renton ground to a halt at Meridian Avenue in Puyallup more than three decades ago, no one predicted that 2011 would find the freeway still ending in a T-shaped point just north of the Puyallup River.

Over the last 30 years, filling the last freeway gap between Puyallup and the Port of Tacoma has always been on the state’s list of projects, but never made it to the top.

Now with economic development the political buzz word of the moment, backers of the project say it’s 167’s turn to become a priority.

“I think that projects that will create jobs, that will smooth the flow of commerce, that will create economic opportunities will be our first priority,” said State Sen. Jim Kastama of Puyallup.

Indeed, the Port of Tacoma, which is drawing up a new strategic plan, expects that completion of the freeway connection to the warehouses of the Sumner, Auburn and Kent areas and the agricultural assets of the Eastern Washington will emerge as an urgent need in its new game plan.

If local political backing were the only necessity to get the freeway done, the port would be counting the day, until the connection was completed.

Republican State Rep. Bruce Dammeier said the Pierce County delegation, Republicans and Democrats alike, is united behind the extension.

“It’s our number one project,” said Dammeier. “I think the whole delegation agrees.”

The project enjoys the support of several chambers of commerce, of the City of Tacoma, Pierce County and Fife, said Sean Eagan, the port’s state governmental affairs director.

But local backing means nothing if there is no money. Completing the freeway has become hugely expensive over the years as construction costs rose and environmental requirements became more stringent. The state projects that building and designing the road will cost about $2 billion.

“I wasn’t here when the original freeway construction was stopped at Puyallup,” said Steve Fuchs, the DOT’s Route 167 extension manager, but I’m guessing the job could have been done for about $200 million then.”

The state didn’t have the $200 million to finish the freeway 30 years ago, and the proposed route crossed lands whose ownership was in dispute between the Puyallup Tribe and other land owners. That title dispute was settled in the late ’80s with the Puyallup Land Claims settlement that cleared up conflicting claims over ownership of that river valley land.

The environmental issues were complicated because the original plan was to route the freeway parallel to the Puyallup River and connect it to Interstate 5 and the port at Port of Tacoma Road, said Fuchs. But later environmental reviews said such an alignment was too close to the river, and the state changed its plan to route the freeway farther north.

The present plan calls for the road to connect with I-5 on the north side of Fife and to hook into state Route 509 near 54th Avenue East.

The state has already spent more than $130 million acquiring properties where the freeway will be routed. With the exception of a few scattered properties, the state owns all of the right-of-way it needs east of the I-5 corridor. West of I-5, the state still has property to buy.

Fuchs says the complex interchange with I-5 and the multiple road, rail and stream crossings make the extension a pricey project. “We’re looking at building some 60 or 70 bridges,” he said.

Most of the highway will have to be elevated on a wide and tall berm to clear those intersecting roads and streams. That means that huge quantities of soil and fill will have to be imported to raise the roadway above the crossings. That raised roadway also will protect the highway if the Puyallup River ever jumps its banks.

Even if the project had funding now, design and construction could take up to seven years, said Fuchs.

The state has studied building the road in several phases to cut the immediate requirements for capital. The DOT, for instance, could build a freeway with just two lanes each way. That would cut down on paving and bridge-building costs. The full build-out plan calls for two lanes plus a carpool lane each way. The carpool lanes would have separate access bridges connecting them directly to the carpool lanes on I-5.

The Port of Tacoma said it would consider a freeway with fewer lanes to begin with as long as it provided a seamless connection to the port and Route 509.

“It doesn’t make much sense to connect 167 just with I-5,” said Eagan. “You only get the full economic benefit if you make it accessible to the port.”

The SR 167 extension is expected to relieve many of the backups that now occur at I-5’s Port of Tacoma Road and East 54th Street exits. The gap-filling freeway is also expected to reduce the traffic load on River Road and Valley Avenue, the routes trucks now take from the stub end of Route 167 to the port. The state has restricted truck traffic on Levy Road, a shortcut that some truckers were taking to miss the congestion on River Road and Valley Avenue. That road wasn’t designed for the heavy weights and high traffic it was enduring.

The state likewise has imposed truck restrictions on the older of two Meridian Avenue bridges crossing the Puyallup River just south of Route 167’s present end. The older bridge, built in 1925, is rusting and corroding. The DOT is allowing trucks over 10,000 pounds, to use only the right lane on that bridge.

The Pierce County area has lived with the incomplete road for three decades; why can’t it continue to do so especially if the new extension will cost in excess of $2 billion?

“The Port of Tacoma is competing with other ports who’ve improved their infrastructure and who’ve made it easy to access their terminals,” said Eagan. “In a business that’s so competitive, customers are sensitive to such differences.”

The state is midway through the second stage of a tolling study of the route. That study is considering multiple alternatives: tolling heavy trucks only, charging just for use of the extension or extending the tolled section beyond the new section just to name a few.

Set the tolls too high, and the traffic will take alternate routes. Set it too low, and the state won’t get the maximum amount of funds to help pay for the new road. That tolling study is due for finalization next year. In even the most optimistic case, tolls won’t pay the whole cost of the project, said Fuchs.

Port of Tacoma commissioner Don Meyer said that if SR 167 is a priority for the port, it should consider making a long-term significant contribution to the cost. In any case, those who are backing the project expect its costs will be drawn from many sources. The federal government could be asked to contribute, though federal funds also are tight. The state is also looking at a cafeteria of other money-raising ideas from charging higher fees to imposing more costs on big shippers. “The key to our remaining an international load center or a load center for Alaska is good access,” he said. “We have to get good connections with the rest of the country and with all those warehouses or the competition will pass us by.”

The port’s Eagan said the Legislature is preoccupied now with meeting the state’s operating costs in a time of diminished income, but the state is due either later in the regular session or next year to propose a major road improvement package.

Completing SR 167 should be part of it, he said.

Besides the land acquisition head start the state has on the project, the state has already completed most of the environmental studies needed before the project is built. And so far the project hasn’t attracted significant citizen opposition, he said.

“It’s a project that makes sense. It helps complete our regional road network,” he said. “It should help us create and keep jobs. And that’s what’s most important these days.”

John Gillie: 253-597-8663
john.gillie@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/business