Expect weekend delays on key route that serves Parkland, Mount Rainier National Park
If you usually take State Route 7 for business in Parkland or on your way to Mount Rainier, expect traffic delays in late July and early August.
Route 7 at 129th Street South will be partially closed starting at 11 p.m. July 28 until 4 a.m. July 31 and during the same times Aug. 4-7 due to ongoing work on a major sewer line, according to a Pierce County news release.
Northbound Route 7 traffic will be fully closed both weekends at that location, according to the release.
From July 28-31, crews will work on a section along the west side of the highway, and southbound traffic will be diverted to the northbound lanes. The following weekend, Aug. 4-7, crews will work on the east side of the highway, and southbound traffic will not need to be diverted.
A signed detour route will be in place during the closures.
The sewer work on the Parkland/Brookdale Interceptor is in the third phase of a project designed to increase capacity to handle population growth beyond 2024, according to the news release. Part of the work is replacing aging infrastructure with corrosion-resistant materials that will last longer. The authorized budget for the project is $8.6 million, with revenue coming from connection charges and monthly sewer rates.
The project began in July 2022, but work was suspended for seven months due to high groundwater levels. It should be completed in October, according to Pierce County.
Per the news release, the Parkland/Brookdale Interceptor is one of Pierce County’s largest sanitary sewer pipelines that convey wastewater from unincorporated Pierce County to the Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.
