New fix looks to eliminate daily backups on Renton interchange
Feb 19, 2019, 6:22 AM
(WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
The 405/167 interchange in Renton is one of the most congested areas of traffic in Washington state. The backups are miles long almost every day, and a fix from the state is finally starting to take shape.
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The flyover ramp connecting I-405 and SR 167 should open in a few days. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and others will be on the ramp Tuesday for a ceremonial ribbon cutting.
This ramp connects the HOT lanes on SR 167 with the HOV lanes on I-405, which should eliminate some of those daily backups.
“There won’t be any needing to weave across multiple lanes of traffic,” said Kim Henry, the Washington Department of Transportation program administrator.
This is all part of the expansion of toll lanes between Lynnwood and I-5 at the Port of Tacoma, along the 405/167 corridor. Henry said it doesn’t make sense that the HOT lanes just end.
“This new flyover ramp will provide a seamless connection for that lane that’s ending,” he said.
If you are new to the area or have just forgotten, this flyover ramp is just part of huge face-lift of the corridor. It started with the widening of I-405 between Bellevue and Lynnwood, which opened to traffic in 2015.
Once this flyover ramp connecting 405 and 167 opens, construction will begin to widen I-405 between Renton and Bellevue. That new lane will be combined with the current HOV lane along that stretch of I-405 to create a two-lane express toll lane facility, basically a mirror image of the current lanes between Bellevue and Bothell.
When that widening project is complete, in about five years, Henry said congestion you see today in Renton should disappear.
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“We are really seeing a difference at the day of opening that’s like night and day,” Henry said. “It is going to be essentially free-flow within the express toll lanes and almost free-flow within the general purpose lanes.”
And while all of that is happening, the Gateway Project will be getting underway. This project will finally finish 167 from Puyallup to I-5 in Tacoma, which will be a toll road.
The project also expands SR 509 to the Port of Tacoma, which will also be tolled. The Gateway Project also extends SR 509 from Sea-Tac Airport to I-5, providing a direct access to the airport from the south, which doesn’t exist today. And you guessed it; that road will also be tolled.
