Rough stretch of Highway 167 finally getting fresh asphalt

You can say goodbye to the ruts and potholes on a mile stretch of Highway 167 in Kent. A major paving project got underway Monday night that should smooth your ride.

Workers started stripping the old pavement down on northbound 167 between 277th and the Green River Bridge.

Related: Tell us about a chokepoint

“That section of 167 hasn’t been repaved in 23 years,” said Kris Olsen with the Washington State Department of Transportation.

“We like to re-pave every 15 or 20 years, so we’ve been holding it together with a lot of patches and emergency work and pothole filling,” she said. “It’s just kind of time we need to do something beyond maintenance.”

But why only a mile stretch?

Olsen said a pavement quality detector went over the entire stretch of the highway and found this section needed the most work done.

“This was an area that was identified as it has now reached the point where it needs repairing, whereas the areas north and south of it, for whatever reason, haven’t deteriorated as fast,” Olsen said.

To complete the project, WSDOT will have to close lanes of 167 northbound for six nights a week. These closures will last from now until the end of the summer.

“They’ve got to grind off the top two inches of the pavement, and then if there are any problems underneath, they might have to repair that road bed,” Olsen said.

Workers will then have to wait 21 days after the asphalt is laid down before they can stripe the lanes.

Olsen said drivers will be forced into the HOT lanes to get around the lane closures at times.

“Those closures are not going to start until after the HOT lane is deactivated and that lane is open to all drivers,” she said. “Nobody is going to get charged for using that HOT lane when they’re forced over there.”

Even if crews take longer than expected and construction is still going on after the HOT lanes are activated, Olsen said traffic managers will override the system to prevent toll charges.

If, for some reason, drivers are hit with a toll, WSDOT will wipe them before sending out a bill or charging anyone.