:Washington State Route 161

{{Short description|State highway in Pierce and King counties, Washington, US}}

{{Infobox road

|state=WA

|type=SR

|route=161

|spur_type=SR

|spur_of=410

|section=310

|map=Washington State Route 161.svg

|map_notes=SR 161 is highlighted in red.

|length_mi=36.25

|length_round=2

|length_ref={{cite web |author=Staff |year=2012 |title=State Highway Log: Planning Report 2011, SR 2 to SR 971 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/roadway/pdf/HwyLog2011Statewide.pdf |pages=1097–1110 |access-date=January 22, 2013}}

|established=1964{{cite web |url=http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.17.310 |title=47.17.310: State route No. 161 |orig-year=1970 |year=1987 |work=Revised Code of Washington |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=January 22, 2013}}

|direction_a=South

|terminus_a={{jct|state=WA|SR|7}} near Eatonville

|junction={{jct|state=WA|SR|512}} in Puyallup
{{jct|state=WA|SR|167}} in Puyallup

|direction_b=North

|terminus_b={{jct|state=WA|SR|18}} in Federal Way

|counties=Pierce, King

|previous_type=SR

|previous_route=160

|next_type=SR

|next_route=162

}}

State Route 161 (SR 161) is a {{convert|36.25|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} state highway serving Pierce and King counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway begins at SR 7 southwest of Eatonville and travels north as Meridian Avenue to Puyallup, becoming concurrent with SR 512 and SR 167. SR 161 continues northwest as the Enchanted Parkway to end at an intersection with SR 18 in Federal Way, west of Interstate 5 (I-5). The highway serves the communities of Graham and South Hill before reaching Puyallup and the communities of Edgewood, Milton, and Lakeland South before reaching Federal Way.

SR 161 was established during the 1964 highway renumbering, replacing three Secondary State Highways (SSHs): Secondary State Highway 5D (SSH 5D) and SSH 5G, both established in 1937, and SSH 5N, established in 1955. SSH 5D served as a connector between Federal Way and Puyallup and SSH 5G served as a connector between Puyallup and South Hill. SSH 5N connected Eatonville to South Hill and was extended south towards La Grande in 1967. SR 161 was moved onto a bypass of Puyallup in the 1980s and formed concurrencies with SR 167 and SR 512 as a result. {{As of|2013}}, projects to expand the highway in Edgewood and Milton and adding new offramps at the I-5 and SR 18 interchange are in progress.

Route description

File:SR 167 southbound at SR 512 and SR 161 in Puyallup, WA.jpg in Puyallup]]

SR 161 begins southwest of Eatonville and north of La Grande in rural Pierce County at an intersection with SR 7. The highway travels northeast to pass the Charles Lathrop Pack Experimental and Demonstration Forest and cross the Little Mashel River into Eatonville. The roadway crosses the Mashel River into Downtown Eatonville, turning north onto Mashell Avenue and later Washington Avenue. SR 161 turns west onto Meridian Avenue north of Eatonville High School and leaves the city on a two-lane highway. Meridian Avenue, named for a meridian parallel to the Willamette Meridian,{{cite web |last=Vest |first=Carl |title=Meridian Ave, Willamette Meridian have something in common |url=http://southhillhistory.com/History/Willamette%20Meridian/Willamette_Meridian.html |publisher=South Hill Historical Society |access-date=November 28, 2018}} continues north through rural Pierce County, passing Clear Lake and Tanwax Lake, before entering the community of Graham and crossing a Tacoma Rail line near Graham-Kapowsin High School.{{cite map |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |title=2011 Washington State Rail System |date=January 2012 |url=http://wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/FDBE2AB4-E504-4AC5-9E30-6A2CC4FAAD34/0/2011Ownership.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=January 25, 2013}} SR 161 travels north and passes South Hill and Pierce County Airport (Thun Field) before entering Puyallup. The highway turns northwest at the South Hill Mall onto 31st Avenue and intersects the SR 512 freeway in a partial cloverleaf interchange,{{cite web |date=October 3, 2004 |title=SR 512: Junction SR 161/94th Ave E. |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR512/512X008.pdf |access-date=January 25, 2013}} beginning a {{convert|3.41|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} concurrency.{{google maps |title=State Route 161 |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=WA-161+N%2FEatonville+Lagrande+Rd&daddr=Enchanted+Pkwy+S%2FKits+Corner+Rd+S&hl=en&ll=47.068835,-122.290315&spn=0.507901,1.352692&sll=47.289593,-122.312867&sspn=0.001976,0.005284&geocode=FaXXygIdM561-A%3BFZuV0QId2KS1-A&mra=me&mrsp=1,0&sz=18&t=m&z=10 |access-date=January 22, 2013}}

SR 161 and SR 512 travel north on a freeway in Puyallup, intersecting Meridian Street at the Puyallup Fairgrounds and Pioneer Avenue at a partial cloverleaf interchange.{{cite web |date=October 3, 2004 |title=SR 512: Junction Meridian St |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR512/512X010.pdf |access-date=January 25, 2013}}{{cite web |date=October 3, 2004 |title=SR 512: Junction Pioneer Ave |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR512/512X011.pdf |access-date=January 25, 2013}} After the intersection with Pioneer Avenue, the freeway travels over a BNSF rail line that serves Puyallup station and crosses the Puyallup River before a trumpet interchange with SR 167.{{cite map |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |title=Passenger Rail System - Washington State |date=January 2012 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/55697D20-A6E8-4544-A680-AE8889934FFB/0/PassengerRailSystemStations.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=January 25, 2013}} At the interchange,{{cite web |date=April 28, 2010 |title=SR 167: Junction SR 512 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR167/167X006.pdf |access-date=January 25, 2013}} SR 512 ends and SR 161 northbound turns west on a {{convert|1.83|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} wrong-way concurrency with SR 167, designated as traveling southbound. SR 161 turns north onto Meridian Avenue at Fort Malone as SR 167 travels south into Downtown Puyallup,{{cite web |date=April 20, 2011 |title=SR 167: Junction SR 161 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR167/167X005.pdf |access-date=January 25, 2013}} and the highway continues north and crosses a Union Pacific rail line. Meridian Avenue continues north to form the boundary between Edgewood and Milton, where the highway intersects Milton Way, the former route of SR 514.{{cite web |date=October 2, 1996 |title=SR 161: Junction 8th St E./Jovita Blvd E |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR161/161X032.pdf |access-date=January 25, 2013}} SR 161 turns northwest into King County as the Enchanted Parkway, passing through Lakeland South and Wild Waves Theme Park before crossing over I-5. The Enchanted Parkway turns north into Federal Way and ends at an intersection with SR 18, located between SR 99 and I-5.

Every year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. This is expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. In 2011, WSDOT calculated that between 340 and 99,000 vehicles per day used the highway, mostly in the Puyallup area.{{cite web |author=Staff |year=2011 |title=2011 Annual Traffic Report |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/Annual_Traffic_Report_2011.pdf |pages=146–147, 149–150, 192–193 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |archive-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613043942/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/Annual_Traffic_Report_2011.pdf |url-status=dead }}

History

File:Puyallup, WA - east side of 100 block of S. Meridian 01.jpg

SR 161 was formed during the 1964 highway renumbering as the successor to SSH 5N from Primary State Highway 5 (PSH 5) north of La Grande to South Hill, SSH 5G from South Hill to U.S. Route 410 (US 410) in Puyallup, and SSH 5D from US 410 north of Puyallup to US 99 Federal Way.{{cite web |last=Prahl |first=C. G. |title=Identification of State Highways |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/Identification-of-state-highways.pdf |publisher=Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways |date=December 1, 1965 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217112902/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6836215D-E301-43F3-895A-472BD2FDE86A/0/Identification.pdf |url-status=dead }} The highway was also concurrent with US 410, signed in 1926,{{cite map |author1= Bureau of Public Roads |author2= American Association of State Highway Officials |date= November 11, 1926 |title= United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials |url= https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_System_of_Highways_Adopted_for_Uniform_Marking_by_the_American_Association_of_State_Highway_Officials.jpg |scale= 1:7,000,000 |location= Washington, DC |publisher= United States Geological Survey |oclc= 32889555 |access-date= November 7, 2013 |via= Wikimedia Commons |name-list-style= amp}} between the eastern end of SSH 5G in Downtown Puyallup and the southern end of SSH 5D.{{cite map |publisher=Rand McNally |title=Northwest, 1946 |year=1946 |url=http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/NorthAmerica/UnitedStates/Northwest/randmcnally_ra_1946_016.html |access-date=January 25, 2013 |archive-date=February 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207094145/http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/NorthAmerica/UnitedStates/Northwest/randmcnally_ra_1946_016.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Seattle, 1958 |year=1958 |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-seattle-1958.jpg |scale=1:250,000 |format=JPG |access-date=January 25, 2013}} SSH 5D and SSH 5G were established during the creation of the Primary and secondary state highways in 1937,{{cite book |author=Washington State Legislature |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington |edition=1937 |date=March 18, 2013 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcQ4AAAAIAAJ |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |chapter=Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways |page=1003}} and SSH 5N was established in 1955 to Eatonville and extended south to PSH 5 near La Grande in 1967 after SR 161 was created.{{cite book |author=Washington State Legislature |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington |edition=1955 |year=1955 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |chapter=Chapter 383}}{{cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Hoquiam, 1958 |year=1958 |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-hoquiam-1958.jpg |scale=1:250,000 |format=JPG |access-date=January 25, 2013}}{{cite book |author=Washington State Legislature |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington |edition=1967 |year=1967 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |chapter=Extended Session 145}} The state government completed paving of the Graham–Puyallup section of Meridian in 1960.{{cite news |last=Hannula |first=Don |date=June 25, 1960 |title=Glass-Breaking Road Made Paved Highway |page=3 |work=The News Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98615113/glass-breaking-road-made-paved-highway/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=March 28, 2022}}

SR 161, including the concurrency with US 410, was signed into law in 1970 as a highway extending from SR 7 near Eatonville to US 99.{{cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Seattle, 1965 |year=1965 |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-seattle-1965.jpg |scale=1:250,000 |format=JPG |access-date=January 25, 2013}}{{cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Hoquiam, 1968 |year=1968 |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-hoquiam-1968.jpg |scale=1:250,000 |format=JPG |access-date=January 25, 2013}} US 410 was replaced with an extension of SR 167 in the Tacoma area and US 12 east of the Cascade Mountains in 1967 and the highway was shortened from US 99 to SR 18 in 1971.{{cite web |last=Weingroff |first=Richard |date=April 7, 2011 |title=U.S. 12: Michigan to Washington |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us12.cfm |access-date=January 25, 2013}} SR 161 was moved east onto a bypass of Puyallup, creating concurrences with SR 512 and SR 167, in the late 1980s,{{cite web |last=Fuchs |first=Steve |title=SR 167 - Tacoma to Edgewood - History |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR167/TacomaToEdgewood/history.htm |access-date=January 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023174241/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR167/TacomaToEdgewood/history.htm |archive-date=October 23, 2014}} and designated, within King County, as the Enchanted Parkway in 1987 as the last major revision to the highway.{{cite book |author=Washington State Legislature |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington |edition=1987 |date=February 6, 1987 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |chapter=Senate Bill No. 5666}}{{cite map |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |title=Washington State Highways, 2011–2012 |year=2011 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/14A6187A-B266-4340-A351-D668F89AC231/0/TouristMapFront_withHillshade.pdf |format=PDF |scale=1:842,000 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |archive-date=July 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726042334/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/14A6187A-B266-4340-A351-D668F89AC231/0/TouristMapFront_withHillshade.pdf |url-status=dead }} The Pierce County government and City of Eatonville proposed moving SR 161 to the Alder Cutoff Road south of the city, but it was not forwarded to the state legislature by the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board.{{cite web |date=October 22, 1993 |title=Final Finding for Alder Cutoff Road Transfer Request |pages=2–3 |publisher=Washington State Transportation Improvement Board |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll10/id/7691/rec/9 |via=WSDOT Library Digital Collections |access-date=October 4, 2021}}

An extension of the Valley Freeway between Tacoma and Puyallup has been proposed since the 1990s and would create a new interchange with SR 161 north of the Puyallup River,{{cite news |title=Fife Candidates Grapple With Growth |date=October 20, 1993 |work=The News Tribune |publication-place=Tacoma, Washington}}{{cite news |title=Valley Freeway extension to I-5 still alive - barely, Puyallup-to-Tacoma link hit hard by Initiative 695 |date=January 26, 2000 |work=The News Tribune |publication-place=Tacoma, Washington}} but {{as of|2013|lc=y}} the freeway has not been built.{{cite web |last=Fuchs |first=Steve |date=January 2013 |title=SR 167 - Tacoma to Edgewood New Freeway Construction |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr167/tacomatoedgewood/ |access-date=January 25, 2013}} The eastbound ramps at end of the concurrency between SR 161 and SR 167 was realigned in late 2008 to reduce congestion and started recent improvements to the highway.{{cite web |last=Deffenbacher |first=Jon |date=November 2008 |title=SR 161 - SR 167 Eastbound Ramp - Complete November 2008 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr161/sr167_eramp/ |access-date=January 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203122105/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr161/sr167_eramp/ |archive-date=February 3, 2013 }} WSDOT is widening the Enchanted Parkway through the Edgewood and Milton area from 2 lanes to 4 lanes with wider shoulders and sidewalks to be completed by 2027.{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Jeff |date=January 2013 |title=SR 161 - 36th to Jovita - Additional Lanes |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr161/36th_jovita/ |access-date=January 25, 2013}} The interchange between I-5 and SR 18 was reconstructed with a new flyover ramp from westbound SR 18 to SR 161 that was completed in July 2012.{{cite news |date=July 8, 2012 |title=Triangle Project: I-5 flyover ramps open early in Federal Way |url=https://www.federalwaymirror.com/news/triangle-project-i-5-flyover-ramps-open-early-in-federal-way/ |work=Federal Way Mirror |access-date=July 11, 2020}} Another ramp, from southbound I-5 to SR 161, was opened months later and is planned to be replaced with a ramp to South 356th Street that feeds into a roundabout with SR 161.{{cite web |last=Borschowa |first=Aleta |date=January 2013 |title=I-5 - SR 161/SR 18 Triangle Improvements |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/sr18sr161ic/ |access-date=January 25, 2013}} The ramp had been proposed since the 1990s.{{cite news |last=Larson |first=Gary |date=February 1, 1993 |title=Locations vie for new I-5 interchange |page=B1 |work=The News Tribune}}

Major intersections

{{WAint

|county=Pierce

|cspan=9

|location=none

|mile=0.00

|road={{jct|state=WA|SR|7|location1=Mt. Rainier|city2=Tacoma}}

|notes=Southern terminus

}}

{{WAint

|location=Puyallup

|lspan=7

|mile=25.74

|mile2=25.83

|type=concur

|road={{jct|state=WA|SR|512|dir1=west|city1=Tacoma}}

|notes=Interchange; south end of SR 512 overlap

}}

{{WAint

|mile=26.31

|mile2=27.01

|road=Meridian Street South – Puyallup

}}

{{WAint

|mile=27.16

|mile2=27.70

|road=Pioneer Avenue East

}}

{{WAint

|mile=28.04

|mile2=29.15

|type=concur

|road={{jct|state=WA|SR|167|dir1=north|to2=to|SR|410|dir2=east|city1=Seattle|city2=Yakima}}

|notes=North end of SR 512 overlap; southern terminus of SR 512
South end of SR 167 overlap

}}

{{WAint

|mile=29.87

|type=concur

|road={{jct|state=WA|SR|167|dir1=south|city1=Puyallup|city2=Tacoma}}

|notes=North end of SR 167 overlap

}}

{{WAint

|location=Edgewood

|mile=33.31

|road=Milton Way

|notes=Former SR 514

}}

{{WAint

|county=King

|location=Federal Way

|mile=36.25

|road={{jct|state=WA|SR|18|to2=to|I|5|city1=Auburn|city2=North Bend|city3=Seattle}}

|notes=Northern terminus

}}

References

External links

{{commons category-inline|Washington State Route 161}}
[https://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/sr161.html Highways of Washington State]

161

Category:Transportation in Pierce County, Washington

Category:Transportation in King County, Washington