Fish passage work at creeks, paving coming for State Route 7

Construction will take place on more than five miles of State Route 7 between Eatonville and Spanaway beginning Monday and into fall 2023. The project will remove two barriers to fish passage and repair miles of the highway surface. Combining projects will reduce the construction timeline and cut costs.

Travelers will see a work zone between SR 702 and 267th Street East. Preliminary work will replace worn asphalt. To create a fresh driving surface and preserve the highway, contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will remove the top layer of the roadway before repaving. Travelers can expect day or night one-way alternating traffic during work hours.

Crews will also begin construction of two temporary bypass roads. One will be at 320th Street East and the other at 332nd Street East. After the temporary roads open, travelers will see a single lane of alternating traffic. The speed limit will be lowered to 25 mph.

The bypass roads keep people moving while crews remove culverts that are barriers to fish passage under state highways. Workers will build new structures that will improve access for fish at two unnamed tributaries to South Creek.

WSDOT encourages drivers to avoid distractions and reminds people traffic fines double in work zones.

Pierce County travelers are encouraged to sign up for email updates. Real-time traffic information is available on the WSDOT app and real-time map.