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NB SR 167 reopens in Kent, Auburn | Update

Published 1:23 pm Friday, December 19, 2025

By Steve Hunter

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WSDOT reopened all lanes of State Route 167 on Friday afternoon, Dec. 19. Northbound lanes had been closed since the night of Dec. 13. This is looking west toward SR 167 with Willis Street to the right and flooding to the top along West Valley Highway and beyond. COURTESY PHOTO, City of Kent

Northbound State Route 167 has reopened between 15th Street Northwest (milepost 16) in Auburn and South 212th Street (milepost 22) in Kent following an extended closure due to floodwater from the Green River.

On-ramps to northbound SR 167 also have reopened along this 6-mile corridor, according to a Dec. 19 update from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Southbound SR 167 travel lanes and on-ramps reopened in this area Dec. 17.

WSDOT worked closely with local partners in recent days to pump floodwater off the right of way along northbound SR 167. As floodwater receded on Friday, Dec. 19, crews removed more than 400 oversized sandbags and inspected travel lanes for damage before reopening the highway.

“Working closely with the city of Kent, we have pumped water off right of way so that it stops flowing onto the travel lanes,” according to a WSDOT Dec. 19 news release. “Friday morning, we removed the more than 400 supersacks, or giant sandbags, that we placed along the shoulder to help keep this water away.

Crews closed both directions of SR 167 on the night of Dec. 13 due to water over roadway after back-to-back atmospheric rivers, which brought historic and in many places unprecedented flooding. The heavy rain caused the Green River to flood parts of Kent and Auburn.

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