County finishes South 277^th Street rebuild a month early
Project will also relieve chronic flooding at busy intersection

King County is a month ahead of schedule on finishing the large-scale project to widen and improve South 277th Street near the interchange with State Route 167 on the Kent-Auburn border.

In addition to widening South 277th Street, the county also raised the intersection with West Valley Highway by 2.5 feet to elevate it above the 100-year floodplain. This was an area that radio traffic reporters frequently referred to as “Lake Smith Brothers,” since the Smith Brothers Dairy is located on one corner of the intersection. In the past, water over the roadway at the intersection during the winter was a serious safety concern and often caused traffic delays.

“This was a complex project involving King County, the Washington State Department of Transportation, and the cities of Auburn and Kent,” said Linda Dougherty, director of the King County Road Services Division. “Yet, the county was able to finish this final stage early by employing efficiencies in planning, scheduling and construction.”

South 277th Street is a busy east-west corridor across the Green River Valley. It connects Des Moines, Federal Way, and Interstate 5 with Kent and Auburn. It intersects with major north-south routes such as: State Route 99, Interstate 5, Military Road South, West Valley Highway, SR 167, Auburn Way/Central Way, and State Route 516.

King County, Auburn and Kent have done the work on South 277th Street in three phases. King County’s portion was the final stage, starting in February 2004. It involved widening the stretch of roadway from West Valley Highway to 72nd Avenue South. This portion of the corridor carries up to 12,900 vehicles per day. The upgrades increase capacity, so that 277th can safely carry the 24,000-plus vehicles expected to use it daily by 2020.

The $18 million project also included:

Although the project was lengthy and complicated, the county managed to avoid complete road closures during construction. One lane of 277^th in each direction was kept open at all times, but there were a few times that nighttime traffic was diverted off SR167 when the overpass was being rebuilt.

“It was one of our big goals to never completely close 277th, which was pretty amazing considering the amount of traffic on the road,” said Dougherty.

The construction was scheduled to last through October of this year, but the work was complete by Sept. 1. There is still some landscaping to complete, and crews are waiting for cooler weather to do the planting.

For more details about the project, visit the project website.

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