WA 161 and

WA 161 was pulled off of Meridian St. through Puyallup and routed onto existing freeways, resulting in this concurrency. Which order do you prefer, vertical or horizontal, and main route first or lowest number first?


Likely because of that reroute, Meridian St. still has old button copy NB and SB, respectively. It certainly predates the move because it doesn't indicate WA 161 is overhead. Click on each photo for a closeup using flash to bring out the reflectors.


To get to WA 512, WA 161 SB follows WA 167 NB for a short stretch. It's okay, they're heading due east to get around Puyallup. Before WA 161 was moved, this area was easy to keep track of, but now there's the 161/167 concurrency and a pointless 161/512 duplex. If WA 512 is just going to end here anyway, why not truncate it to where WA 161 gets on? I get it though, moreso than the logic of locating a JCT sign on the exit ramp after the guide sign for the exit already told you the route is here. Maybe a BEGIN sign?


Last licks for the 1925 Puyallup River bridge, carrying WA 167 SB traffic (former WA 161 NB) out of Puyallup while construction nears completion to dualize the newer southward span (WA 167 NB though). The old span was shifted east, actually still accepting traffic, while the new one was constructed in line with the road. The bridge was then moved in 2015 to the vacant land west of the end of the WA 167 freeway at Meridian Ave. (yes, it was St. before) and was offered for sale for a paltry $1,000,000. Surprisingly, no one wanted a cheap bridge that needed a lot of repairs, so in 2019 WSDOT closed the bids and just left the bridge there. WA 167 is now undergoing completion of the freeway west to I-5, planned for 2025, at which point they will reevaluate what to do with the span. As historic as it may be considered, if it's going to sit there for that many years, my guess is the answer is "recycle."

Onto WA 167 alone

Onto WA 512
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