Big transportation projects affecting Pierce County are scheduled to come online in ’22
More trolleys, more HOV lanes and more commuter parking are coming to the South Sound as big transportation initiatives open to the public in 2022.
Other projects will begin in 2022, most notably the long-awaited state Route 167 connector between Interstate 5 and the Port of Tacoma.
Other multi-year projects continue their long slog through planning, design, construction and testing.
We take a look at five big projects which are finishing, continuing or starting up in the South Sound this year.
I-5/SR 16 HOV lane project
What: The last stretch of a 20-year-long project to build HOV lanes through the heart of Tacoma.
Where: Interstate 5 from Port of Tacoma Road to Portland Avenue.
Users: High occupancy vehicles on I-5 and state Route 16 through most of Tacoma.
Cost: $1.4 billion overall; $235 million for final segment.
Opens: Summer 2022.
See now: East L Street overpass construction.
Sounder train station parking garage
What: A new 5-level parking garage and associated lot at the Puyallup Sounder train station. A pedestrian bridge will cross 5th Street Northwest from the garage to the station area.
Where: Fifth Street and Second Avenue Northwest, Puyallup.
Users: The garage and lot will add 610 stalls for a total of 1,260 commuter vehicles.
Cost: $79 million.
When: Opens in late summer/early fall 2022.
See now: Art by Puyallup tribal artist Shaun Peterson.
Hilltop Link trolley line extension
What: A 2.4-mile extension of the existing Tacoma Link trolley line. When complete, the line will run four miles from the Tacoma Dome station to Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South 19th Street with service every 12 minutes.
Where: The extension runs from the current line’s terminus on Commerce Street through the Stadium and Hilltop districts.
Opens: Fall 2022.
Users: Residents, workers, students and other pedestrians.
Cost: $252 million.
See now: Work on seven new (including one relocation) stations on the line.
Federal Way Link light rail extension
What: A 7.8-mile extension of Seattle Link light rail to Federal Way.
Where: From Angle Lake Station to a new Federal Way transit center at South 320th Street. The route parallels I-5 for most of its length.
Users: A projected 29,000-34,000 riders per day by 2026.
Cost: $2.54 billion.
When: The project will go from being 44 percent complete at the beginning of 2022 to approximately 70 percent complete at the end of the year. Opening is tentatively scheduled for December 2024.
See now: Elevated guideway work along southbound I-5 between Federal Way and SeaTac.
SR 167 Completion Project
What: A new 2-mile toll road linking the Port of Tacoma with I-5.
Where: Between state Route 509 near Alexander Avenue and I-5 in Fife where the to-be-demolished 70th Avenue East overpass is located.
Users: Trucks traveling between the port and warehouses in the Kent Valley.
Cost: $367 million.
When: Construction begins summer 2022 (Opening 2026).
See now: New Wapato Way East overpass over I-5 that replaces the old 70th Avenue East overpass.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
