Washington State Route 167

State Route 167
Valley Freeway
Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 410
Defined by RCW 47.17.330
Maintained by WSDOT
Length:	28.60 mi[1] (46.03 km)
Existed:	1964 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-5 in Tacoma
	SR 161/SR 512 near Puyallup SR 18 in Auburn SR 516 in Kent I-405 in Renton
North end:	SR 900 in Renton
Highway system
State highways in Washington Interstate US State Scenic Former PSH 1964 renumbering Former ← SR 166 SR 168 →

State Route 167, commonly known as the Valley Freeway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It connects Interstate 5 in Tacoma with Interstate 405 in Renton, and is 28.60 miles (46.03 km) long.

Route description

SR 167 runs east as a four-lane divided (only by a left-turn lane) highway from Interstate 5 in Tacoma along the Puyallup River's south bank into Puyallup. SR 167 crosses the Puyallup River. Just north of the river, SR 167 turns east onto a freeway at a partial interchange. SR 167 begins a brief concurrency with SR 161 at this interchange. The freeway continues east towards Sumner. SR 161 leaves SR 167 at an interchange with State Route 512, which goes south. SR 167 continues east and meets State Route 410 at an interchange.^[2] The highway then turns north, and has a large interchange with State Route 18 in Auburn near the Outlet Collection mall.^[3] North of Auburn, the freeway has high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. These HOV lanes were converted to high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on May 3, 2008 as a pilot project.^[4]

State Route 167 then continues north passing through the city of Kent before reaching Interstate 405 in Renton.^[5] An overloaded interchange with I-405 results in routine backups on I-405 as far as Tukwila to the west and the Kennydale Hill to the north. A flyover ramp completed in 2003 has improved the situation,^[6] but a more comprehensive solution is being planned as part of I-405 widening.^[7] SR 167 ends just north of Interstate 405, at State Route 900 in Renton.^[8]

History

Portions of State Route 167 were added to Washington's state highway system as early as 1913 as part of the Pacific Highway, although most of this was then deleted in 1923.^[9][10] The only portion kept was that between Auburn and Renton, which became part of State Road 5. The rest of the route (between Auburn and Tacoma) was added back to the state highway system two years later in 1925, also as a part of State Road 5.^[11] This route was extended north along Rainier Avenue into Seattle in 1937.^[12]

When Washington's current numbering system was developed with the 1964 renumbering, State Route 167 followed what is now State Route 164 from Enumclaw to Auburn before turning north towards Renton and Seattle. What is now SR 167 between Tacoma and Auburn was numbered U.S. Route 410 (later SR 410) between Tacoma and Sumner, and State Route 163 between Sumner and Auburn.^[13] These highways were renumbered to their current designations in 1973.^[14] The highway between Renton and Seattle was removed from the state highway system in 1991, although the law did not take effect until April 1, 1992.^[15]

Future

WSDOT plans to convert the entire route in Pierce County to a freeway.^[16] WSDOT is performing advance design and engineering work. The proposed highway would bypass the snarled traffic at Meridian Way in Puyallup and continue across Interstate 5 to SR 509 in the city of Fife. The project would construct a new six mile (10 km) freeway north of the Puyallup River and complete the partial interchange at Meridian Way (SR 161). The new freeway would be four lanes with adequate space for future HOV lanes. The interchange with I-5 would have direct access HOV ramps. The upgraded SR 167 would save time traveling from Tacoma to Puyallup, as the original highway is just a four-lane road with at-grade intersections and a speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h). It would also, in theory, complete the gap of a bypass to I-5 between Renton and Tacoma. SR 512 currently provides a freeway bypass of I-5 between Puyallup and Lakewood (south of Tacoma).

Exit list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Pierce	Tacoma	0.00	0.00	Tacoma	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		0.00	0.00	I‑5 – Seattle, Olympia, Portland	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Puyallup	6.54	10.53	SR 161 north – Milton	South end of SR 161 overlap
		South end of freeway
	​	7.26	11.68	SR 161 south / SR 512 west – Puyallup, Olympia, Mount Rainier	North end of SR 161 overlap
	​	8.09	13.02	SR 410 east – Sumner, Yakima	Former US 410
	Sumner	10.92	17.57	24th Street East, West Valley Highway
	Pacific	11.94	19.22	8th Street East - Pacific, Milton
King	Algona	13.54	21.79	Ellingson Road - Algona, Pacific
	Auburn	15.13	24.35	To SR 18 west / 15th Street Southwest, Outlet Collection Way
		15.61	25.12	SR 18 east – Auburn, North Bend
		15.61	25.12	SR 18 west to I‑5 – Tacoma	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		17.09	27.50	15th Street Northwest, West Valley Highway
	Kent	19.25	30.98	South 277th Street
		20.92	33.67	SR 516 (Willis Street) – Des Moines
		22.63	36.42	84th Street South, North Central Avenue
		23.72	38.17	South 212th Street
	Kent–Renton city line	25.74	41.42	South 180th Street, Southwest 43rd Street, East Valley Road, Southwest 41st Street
	Renton	27.60	44.42	I‑405 – Bellevue, Everett, Burien, Seattle
		North end of freeway
		27.80	44.74	South Grady Way
		28.60	46.03	SR 900 (South 3rd Street, Sunset Boulevard)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map: Bing / Google

State highways in Washington related to SR 16 and SR 410
	SR 16 Spur SR 160 SR 161 SR 162 SR 163 SR 164 SR 165 SR 166 SR 167 SR 169
	Former or proposed: SR 168