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S 277th Bridge No. 3126 Replacement Project
Project completed
King County completed major construction on the 277th Street Bridge Replacement Project on Friday, November 19, 2021. All lanes of traffic are now open.
Status update
Monday, November 22, 2021
Major construction on this project is now complete, and all lanes of S 277th Street are open. The few remaining items of work include restoring plants and bushes alongside the road. The planting work may require daytime single lane restrictions through the end of the month.
En Español
Esta pagina web - 28 de mayo de 2020 Download PDF document (1MB)Determinación de no Impacto Adverso Significativo al Medio Ambiente (DNS por sus siglas en Inglés) - Fecha de emisión, 28 de mayo de 2020 Download PDF document (198KB)
Project overview
This project replaces the 70-year-old S 277th Street Bridge No. 3126 over Mullen Slough with a four-sided concrete box culvert. The 16-foot-long bridge is located on a four-lane principal arterial road that connects Interstate 5 to State Route 167 in Kent and Federal Way.
Why King County is replacing this bridge
This existing S 277th Street Bridge is load-restricted and unable to support certain types of large trucks including some types of fire engines used by adjacent fire districts, full-size garbage trucks, dump trucks, and concrete mixers. The replacement culvert will provide unrestricted access for all vehicles. It will also provide environmental enhancements by improving fish passage and removing creosote timber pilings from Mullen Slough.S 277th Street at this location has a traffic volume of about 23,000 vehicles per day, of which 2,600 vehicles are trucks carrying an estimated 4 to 10 million tons of freight per year. This road is a designated county snow/ice route, lifeline route, and Green River Valley flood evacuation route.
S 277th Street Bridge No. 3126 prior to construction.
Construction timeline
- Utility relocation: June 2021
- Equipment on site: July 2021
- Construction begins: July 2021
- Construction complete: November 2021
Getting through the construction zone
Due to high average daily traffic on S 277th, and unfavorable detour routes, the existing bridge will remain open with travel lane reductions through the construction zone.
Project documents
- Notice of Action Taken (NAT) - Date of Action Taken, July 27, 2020 Download PDF document (207KB)
- Environmental Checklist (ECL) - Issued, May 26, 2020 Download PDF document (6MB) (includes site plan and project plan sheets)
- Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) - Issued, May 28, 2020 Download PDF document (195KB)
Project flyer
June 2021 flyer Download PDF document (1MB)
Frequently asked questions
Weight Limit for Single Unit Vehicles:
4 Axles - 24 T
5 Axles - 27 T
6 Axles - 31 T
7 Axles - 34 T
S 277th Street is wide enough to reduce the traffic pattern to one lane of traffic in each direction and shift all traffic to one half of the bridge while the other half of the bridge is demolished and replaced.
- Stage 1
One half of the existing bridge will be demolished and replaced during Stage 1 construction while the traffic is shifted to the other half of the bridge. - Stage 2
Stage 2 of construction moves traffic to the newly constructed half of the new structure, demolish the remaining half of the existing bridge, and finish constructing the remaining half of the new structure.
- S 277th Street both directions (eastbound and westbound)
Warning/advisory signs inform drivers of reduced lanes and reduced speed limit ahead. - Nearby roadways
Signs notify drivers of upcoming and current project construction and construction impacts. - Check King County's My Commute Map
All lane reductions are listed in advance on the King County My Commute map.
Photos
The second half of the new concrete box replacement culvert is installed on Sept. 16, 2021.
The second half of the new concrete box replacement culvert, in place on Sept. 16, 2021.
The first half of the new concrete box replacement culvert is installed on Sept. 1, 2021. Next, crews will bury this half, rebuild the road on top of it, and move both lanes of traffic over so that we can start work on the second half of this project.
The first section of the new culvert is lowered into place on September 1, 2021.
August 11, 2021 - Steel plates are used to cover the area under S 277th Street that has been excavated. The plates also cover a de-watering system that diverts Mullen Slough away from the construction zone.