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42-636: State Route 161 ( SR 161 ) is a 36.25-mile-long (58.34 km) 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

84-495: 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

126-616: A gap in the middle, and State Routes 35 , 168 , 230 , 276 , and most of SR 171 , 213 , and 704 , have not been constructed. Notable sections of state highways include the six crossings of the Cascade Range - the Columbia River Gorge ( SR 14 ), White Pass ( US 12 ), Chinook Pass ( SR 410 ), Snoqualmie Pass ( I-90 ), Stevens Pass ( US 2 ), and the North Cascades Highway ( SR 20 ). Of

168-653: A grid, with even-numbered routes running east–west and odd-numbered routes running north–south. Even two-digit routes increase from south to north in three "strips", with SR 4 , SR 6 , and SR 8 in the western part of the state, SR 14 , SR 16 , SR 18 , and SR 20 along the Interstate 5 corridor, and SR 22 , SR 24 , SR 26 , SR 28 , and former SR 30 in the east. Odd numbers similarly increase from west to east, with SR 3 , Interstate 5 , SR 7 , SR 9 , SR 11 , SR 17 , SR 21 , SR 23 , SR 25 , SR 27 , and SR 31 following this general progression. ( SR 19

210-650: A portion of Chuckanut Drive and a road around the west side of the Olympic Peninsula . Under a 1909 law, the State Highway Board surveyed a connected network of proposed state roads, The legislature added most of these routes to the state highway system in 1913, when they formed a two-tiered system of primary and secondary roads. Primary roads were completely controlled by the state, including maintenance, and received only names, while secondary roads kept their numbers and county maintenance. Unlike

252-499: A rich and complex habitat for fish and other animals. In addition, the river's mouth at Commencement Bay occupied an extensive tidal flat and wetland estuary delta. Urbanization and an extensive system of flood control structures such as dams, levees, and culverts, have radically altered much of the Puyallup River and its tributaries. The estuary delta at the mouth of the Puyallup River has been almost completely replaced with

294-476: Is a river in the U.S. state of Washington . About 45 miles (72 km) long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier . It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay , part of Puget Sound . The river and its tributaries drain an area of about 948 square miles (2,460 km ) in Pierce County and southern King County . The river's watershed is the youngest in

336-726: The Puget Sound region , having been formed from a series of lahars starting about 5,600 years ago. The valley's 150,000 residents are at risk from future lahars. For this reason, the United States Geological Survey has installed a lahar warning system. The Puyallup River begins in two forks, the North Puyallup River and the South Puyallup River. Both originate at glaciers on Mount Rainier. The North Puyallup River flows from

378-648: The South Hill Mall onto 31st Avenue and intersects the SR ;512 freeway in a partial cloverleaf interchange , beginning a 3.41-mile-long (5.49 km) concurrency . 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. After the intersection with Pioneer Avenue,

420-495: 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. SR 161

462-670: The Washington State Legislature and codified in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), namely Chapter 47.17 RCW. These routes are defined generally by termini and points along the route; WSDOT may otherwise choose the details, and may bypass the designated points as long as the road serves the general vicinity. WSDOT's duties include "locating, designing, constructing, improving, repairing, operating, and maintaining" these state highways, including bridges and other related structures. Within cities and towns,

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504-552: The Washington State Legislature created the State Highway Board in 1905 and appropriated funds to construct - but not maintain - twelve numbered "state roads" in sparsely settled areas of the state. (Main highways in more populated areas would continue to be entirely under county control, though sometimes built with 50% state aid .) Six of these highways were east–west crossings of the Cascades; others included

546-678: The 13 public road crossings of the Canada–US border in Washington, nine are on state highways. Major bridges include the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and three floating bridges : the Evergreen Point Bridge , Hood Canal Bridge , and Lake Washington Bridge . The Washington State Ferries , except the route to Sidney, British Columbia , were legally included in the state highway system in 1994; a new State Route 339

588-559: The 1905 numbering. The state legislature adopted new standards for designating state highways in 1990, following a three-year study from the Road Jurisdiction Committee. Among the changes were recommending highways serving state parks and ferry terminals be added to the system. A major restructure was passed by the legislature in 1991 and took effect on April 1, 1992. Puyallup River The Puyallup River ( / p juː ˈ æ l ə p / pyew- AL -əp )

630-645: The 1990s and would create a new interchange with SR 161 north of the Puyallup River , but as of 2013 the freeway has not been built. 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. 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. The interchange between I-5 and SR 18

672-825: The I-5 and SR 18 interchange are in progress. 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

714-407: The Puyallup River. These rights were ignored for decades until Bob Satiacum was arrested in 1954 for fishing illegally on the river. His legal case continued for years and resulted in the 1974 Boldt Decision , which granted half of all fishing rights in Washington state to native tribes. The Puyallup tribe continues to maintain several buildings and properties on reservation lands near the mouth of

756-482: The Puyallup from the east. Below the Mowich confluence, the Puyallup River flows through a rugged region of mountains and foothills. The river is dammed at Electron Diversion Dam shortly below the Mowich confluence. The dam diverts a portion of the Puyallup River into a long flume , which runs for several miles to Electron, where the water is passed through turbines in a hydroelectric powerhouse before being returned to

798-566: The RCW are "state route number 20 north" (signed as State Route 20 Spur ) and "state route number 97-alternate" (signed as U.S. Route 97 Alternate ). Some other spurs, such as State Route 503 Spur , are defined as part of the main routes, as is U.S. Route 101 Alternate . WSDOT has also defined some spurs that mainly serve to provide full access between intersecting routes. Although most state highways as defined by law are open to traffic, State Route 109 dead-ends at Taholah , State Route 501 has

840-626: The White River, have been subjected to major modifications during the 20th century. The Puyallup River between Sumner and its mouth at Tacoma was straightened . A diversion dam was built at Game Farm Park in 1914 to prevent the White River from flowing on its natural course into the Green River at Auburn; since then it has flowed into the Puyallup River instead of the Green River. Flood protection structures were built along many rivers in

882-507: The basin, including extensive levees . A flood storage reservoir, Mud Mountain Lake, was created on the White River with the construction of Mud Mountain Dam . As part of the flood control efforts, river channels and embankments have been generally kept clear of debris such as gravel bars, large trees, logjams, and other woody debris. These modifications have radically altered the natural character of

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924-587: The city on a two-lane highway. Meridian Avenue, named for a meridian parallel to the Willamette Meridian , 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 . SR 161 travels north and passes South Hill and Pierce County Airport (Thun Field) before entering Puyallup . The highway turns northwest at

966-431: 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

1008-577: The concurrency with US 410, was signed into law in 1970 as a highway extending from SR 7 near Eatonville to US 99 . 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. SR 161 was moved east onto a bypass of Puyallup, creating concurrences with SR 512 and SR 167, in

1050-597: The earlier state roads, these primary roads mostly followed existing passable county roads. A 1923 restructuring of the system reassigned numbers to almost all the primary state highways, which were soon marked on signs. In 1937, the old primary/secondary split was abolished, and a new system of primary and secondary state highways was created, all to be maintained by the state in the same manner. The old state roads all kept their numbers as new primary state highways, and secondary state highways were created as alphanumeric branches of those primary highways (for instance SSH 8D

1092-646: The eastern end of SSH 5G in Downtown Puyallup and the southern end of SSH 5D. SSH 5D and SSH 5G were established during the creation of the Primary and secondary state highways in 1937, 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. The state government completed paving of the Graham–Puyallup section of Meridian in 1960. SR 161, including

1134-498: The facilities of the Port of Tacoma, with less than 5% of the original estuarine habitat remaining. A fall run of chinook salmon occurs on the river. coho , chum , and pink salmon are also found in the river, along with steelhead , sea-run coastal cutthroat trout , and a threatened species, bull trout . Sockeye salmon are considered indigenous to the basin, but are rarely seen today. The Puyallup River and its main tributary,

1176-465: The freeway travels over a BNSF rail line that serves Puyallup station and crosses the Puyallup River before a trumpet interchange with SR 167 . At the interchange, SR 512 ends and SR 161 northbound turns west on a 1.83-mile-long (2.95 km) 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, and

1218-544: 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 . 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,

1260-753: The late 1980s, and designated, within King County , as the Enchanted Parkway in 1987 as the last major revision to the highway. 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 . An extension of the Valley Freeway between Tacoma and Puyallup has been proposed since

1302-408: The local governments are responsible for certain aspects of the streets maintained as parts of a state highway, including their grade and the portion not used for highway purposes. All routes, even Interstate and U.S. Highways, are defined as "state route number" plus the number; for instance, Interstate 5 is "state route number 5" and U.S. Route 395 is "state route number 395". Also included in

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1344-676: The river is joined by the White River , another glacier-fed river. At the White River confluence, the Puyallup River turns northwest, flowing by the cities of Puyallup and Fife , and through the Puyallup Indian Reservation , before emptying into Commencement Bay at the Port of Tacoma , part of the city of Tacoma . The Puyallup River and its main tributaries originate in the glaciers of Mount Rainier. These glaciers continually provide sediment such as silt and gravel to

1386-600: The river. The Puyallup River passes through a steep and narrow gorge between Electron Dam and the powerhouse. After Electron the river turns north and flows by the city of Orting , where it is joined by the Carbon River from the east. Like the Mowich, the Carbon River also originates at a glacier on Mount Rainier (the Carbon Glacier ). The Puyallup continues its northernly course after Orting. At Sumner ,

1428-534: The river. They are stakeholders in many issues about the river, such as the amount of water diverted at Electron Diversion Dam. The first known European to explore the Puyallup River valley was William Fraser Tolmie , who in August 1833 made a journey to the Mount Rainier area via the Puyallup and Mowich river valleys. Two Native American guides accompanied Tolmie, Lachalet, a Nisqually Indian, and Nuckalkat,

1470-573: The rivers, creating sand and gravel bars. The thick sediment deposits in the stream beds lower water capacity, which causes the river to meander and flood during periods of high streamflow. It also causes the rivers to become braided and meandering . During the summer glacial meltwater dominates the streamflow, turning the Puyallup River turbid . In addition, the glaciers delay the onset of spring-summer runoff , compared to unglaciated river basins. Historically, these factors resulted in frequent flooding and extensive floodplain wetlands , and provided

1512-633: The rivers. River widths have been generally reduced. Water now fills nearly all of the land between river banks, instead of the historic pattern of braided meanders and wetlands. The river is named for the Puyallup tribe , who lived throughout the river basin. After the Treaty of Medicine Creek and the Puget Sound War the Puyallup were granted a reservation on the lower Puyallup River. The Treaty of Medicine Creek recognized native fishing rights on

1554-406: The toe of Puyallup Glacier , while the South Puyallup River flows from Tahoma Glacier . The two streams flow through the western part of Mount Rainier National Park , joining just outside the park boundary and forming the Puyallup River proper. The main Puyallup River flows north and northwest from Mount Rainier. The tributary Mowich River , which also flows from glaciers on Mount Rainier, joins

1596-483: Was a branch of PSH 8 ). The final renumbering was authorized by law in 1963 and posted in January 1964, when new "sign route" numbers were assigned that matched the inter-state systems and otherwise formed the present grid. Until 1970, these numbers coexisted with the older primary and secondary state highways, when the legislature adopted the sign route numbers as "state routes", finally eliminating all vestiges of

1638-520: Was added in 1991, and lies west of SR 3; SR 35 and SR 41 are extensions of highways in adjacent states.) Three-digit routes (and SR 92 and SR 96 ) are usually numbered by taking the first one or two digits of a route it connects to and adding another digit or two. In some cases, instead of using the two-digit route's actual number, a number that would fit the grid is used instead. Three-digit routes have been numbered as follows: After passing several early laws designating state roads starting in 1893,

1680-583: Was created at that time for the passenger-only Seattle-Vashon Ferry . According to the Washington State Department of Licensing , ocean beaches are legally state highways with a general speed limit of 25 mph (40 km/h), many only open to vehicles between the day after Labor Day and April 14, but state law places the beaches under the control of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and only designates them as " public highways ". Most state routes are numbered in

1722-407: 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 . The highway was also concurrent with US 410, signed in 1926, between

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1764-537: Was reconstructed with a new flyover ramp from westbound SR 18 to SR 161 that was completed in July 2012. 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. The ramp had been proposed since the 1990s. State highways in Washington All state highways are designated by

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