Sumner-Tapps Highway Guardrail Work

The guardrail upgrade project will begin on February 7th and last about 6 weeks. During this time, crews will be clearing vegetation, removing old guardrail, and installing new guardrail where warranted. Motorists should expect lane shifts during the work period and some stopped traffic during off-peak hours for one-lane two-way construction operations.

PSE has placed new poles and finished the significant overhead power line relocations. The remaining telecommunications companies will be completing their relocations in next 90 days. Once all utilities are relocated, PSE will return and remove the old poles to complete this effort. Expect lane shifts and occasional closures to continue intermittently.

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Will be shutting down northbound SR 167 for an entire weekend due to bridge work, with detour routes through Sumner. This work is planned for the weekend of August 20-23 (weather permitting) and would start late Friday evening ending Sunday overnight.

The detour route includes Sumner-Tapps Highway. Up to 10 miles of backup is expected on NB 167, and all lanes of NB 167 will be routed on marked detours through Sumner on either Traffic Avenue or Sumner-Tapps Highway. Please consider your travel plans, as significant backups on north-south roadways are expected.

See WSDOT's project page for updates: https://wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr167/sr410-sr18/home

Starting July 20, 2021 Puget Sound Energy (PSE) crews will begin installing new poles along Sumner-Tapps Highway. The poles will be relocated to less hazardous locations within the right-of-way. Pole installation is expected to take approximately 1 month, followed by utility companies transferring their wires to the new poles. Finally, PSE will remove the old poles after all transfers are complete.

Expect to experience slow and/or stopped traffic while PSE crews complete this work. Thank you in advance for your patience.

The contractor will be completing punchlist items for the next two weeks. Additionally, there will be lane closures with flaggers on Wednesday, 6/23 in the evening hours. Hopefully this work will be completed in one evening, weather permitting.

The latest timeline for the detour weekend is mid- to late-August. The work is weather dependent, so the dates are subject to change. We will continue to keep this web site up to date with the latest information we receive from WSDOT.

The resurfacing project has wrapped up other than a few punch list items. Roadway impacts from the resurfacing project will be intermittent and will be fully complete in the next couple of weeks.

The next project is the utility pole relocations by Puget Sound Energy. Tree trimming for that project is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks.

With grinding and pavement repairs complete, the project will be paving Thursday and Friday nights. Expect significant construction activity, lane shifts, 1-lane operations with flaggers and pilot car, and reduced speeds being enforced. All work is planned to be overnight; no active daytime work.

Major work will finish next week during the day hours and will wrap up around May 21st. After that, only striping and rumble strip installation will remain, which is scheduled for mid-June.

Major paving operations begin tonight with grinding the existing asphalt to get it ready for resurfacing. This work is planned for Monday-Tuesday, with Pavement Repairs and full repaving by the end of the week. Expect lane shifts, 1-lane operations with flaggers and pilot car, and reduced speeds being enforced. All work is planned to be overnight, no active daytime work.

There is a significant pavement replacement at the 60th St intersection, and this will involve closing the intersection during the overnight hours on Wednesday and Thursday. A detour route will be provided, but it will be best to avoid the area overnight when possible.

Major work will finish next week during the day hours and will wrap up around May 21st. After that, only striping and rumble strip installation will remain, which is scheduled for mid-June.

The resurfacing contractor is starting this week (April 26-30), and will be lowering utilities and removing median curbing. Work will be completed during the day, primarily between 9am and 2pm. This week, expect minor delays and some lane shifts during daytime hours.

The week of May 3rd, work shifts to nights with pavement repair work getting started. Next week, expect lane and some 1-lane operation with flaggers and a pilot car possible during the overnight hours. Plan your overnight travel accordingly, and consider alternate routes to avoid delays.