$6 million project in downtown Puyallup will transform this busy street
Upgrades are coming soon to a street in northwest Puyallup.
According to Puyallup’s online city newsletter, Fifth Avenue Northwest – between Fourth Street Northwest and Seventh Street Northwest – will undergo a complete restoration, which includes “new sidewalks, a wider roadway, ADA improvements, improved street lighting and other upgrades.”
The project is going to cost about $6.12 million, the newsletter said, with $2.42 million of that funding coming from a grant from the State Department of Ecology. Construction is expected to start in May or June and last about eight months.
“Currently, the street is not up to our current standard, with a narrow street, old sidewalk that is buckling from tree roots, and a failing roadway among other issues,” Jessica Wilson, city project manager, said in the newsletter. “This is an older neighborhood that was originally built to an older standard, so when we go to replace the stormwater main, we’ll upgrade all of this infrastructure.”
In the newsletter, the city said these upgrades will happen along Fifth Avenue Northwest, Sixth Street Northwest and Fifth Street Northwest. These upgrades include replacing old asphalt with fresh pavement, installing a new stormwater system, replacing sidewalks, installing ADA-compliant curb ramps and improving street lighting.
The city also plans to widen Fifth Street Northwest to “meet current City standards” and widen Fifth Avenue Northwest to make room for a bike boulevard and on-street parking.
“I think what we heard from residents is that they appreciate the improvements but would like to see more traffic calming implemented in the design,” Hans Hunger, city engineer, said in the newsletter. “We heard from residents about cars using Fifth Avenue as a bypass if there is too much traffic on Fourth Street Northwest. So they had a lot of concerns about cars speeding down Fifth Avenue, and want to see us implement ways to slow them down.”
In the newsletter, Hunger said the city is going to implement curb extensions that are designed to force drivers to slow down.
For more information about the project, residents can visit cityofpuyallup.org.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 5:15 AM.
