The Canyon Road Regional Connection Project will extend Canyon Road East from Pioneer Way East to 70th Avenue East in Fife – enabling an important connection between Frederickson and the Port of Tacoma.
Pierce County and our partners are moving forward with the next set of improvements between the Frederickson Industrial Area and the Port of Tacoma, offering big benefits for drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians and freight haulers in this growing area.
Pierce County is working closely with the City of Fife, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, BNSF Railway and Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to ensure the Canyon Road Regional Connection Project serves all the jurisdictions and communities along the corridor.
The River Crossing portion of the project is starting an environmental review process to evaluate how it may affect the built and natural environments. We hosted an online open house from July 7 to August 7 where participants learned about the project and environmental review. You can view our responses to questions we received here and read a summary of how we engaged the community in our scoping process here. We held a Virtual Town Hall on July 23 that you can watch a recording of here.
The Canyon Road Regional Connection Project will create a more direct north-south corridor from the Frederickson Industrial Area to the Port of Tacoma.
This project will support the local economy, provide new route options and cut travel times. In addition, Pierce County will invest $1.5 million in environmental mitigation by restoring wetlands and improving salmon habitat.
Extends Canyon Road East from south of Pioneer Way East to 52nd Street East and from 52nd Street to 70th Avenue East.
Builds a bridge over the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroad to separate vehicles on the road from train traffic.
Builds a new, more efficient bridge over the Puyallup River, including improved bicycle and pedestrian connections, and removes the existing Milroy Bridge.
Constructs stormwater treatment and storage facilities.
Installs new traffic signals, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.
Creates a wetland mitigation site and other environmental improvements.
Pierce County has already invested nearly $138 million in improvements to the Canyon Road corridor over the past several years. We added lanes, installed new lights and traffic signals, added medians and built new pedestrian facilities, among other improvements.
To make the final connection, construction on both the Railroad Crossing and River Crossing project stages is scheduled to start in 2025, pending funding.
* NEPA refers to the National Environmental Policy. SEPA refers to the State Environmental Policy Act.
Design and right of way are fully funded. Current funding sources include the Washington State Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board (FMSIB), BNSF Railroad, Pierce County and the Federal Highway Administration. We are pursuing funding opportunities, including federal grants, state legislative appropriations and bonding, to fill the remaining gap.
