Drivers around downtown Puyallup are running into nightly lane closures this week as construction crews push forward on a 100-foot American flagpole that has been both delayed and debated since its approval last spring. The closures affect State Route 512, State Route 167 and North Meridian Avenue through Friday, part of drilling, electrical and flagpole work tied to the larger SR 167 Completion Project.
The Washington State Department of Transportation announced the closures late last week, according to KIRO 7, which reported that crews need to complete drilling, electrical and flagpole work on SR 512, SR 167 and North Meridian Avenue. One lane in each direction of North Meridian Avenue between River Road and Levee Road is closing overnight to support installation of the new flagpole, according to the Tacoma News Tribune, which reported the closures run from Monday through early Oct. 22, nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., with one lane kept open in each direction.
WSDOT contractor crews are handling the work, per the same report, which includes drilling and placing the flagpole's foundation along with electrical work for its future lighting. The News Tribune reported that WSDOT spokesperson Kris Olsen said the city of Puyallup requested installation of the flagpole and provided the funding for it.
A Years-Long Push for a 100-Foot Flag
The flagpole itself stands 100 feet tall and was approved by the Puyallup City Council in May, at a cost of nearly $150,000, according to the News Tribune's reporting. The project was originally expected to be completed by the Fourth of July, intended to celebrate the United States' 250th anniversary, but it has slipped well past that target.
The idea wasn't universally popular. The flagpole plan drew pushback from some council members and members of the public, the News Tribune reported, and one member of the public went so far as to call the project “performative patriotism.” As of earlier this month, flagpole construction still had not started, even though WSDOT had approved the project design by mid-September.
The City Council's initial approval came by a four-to-three vote for $149,775.40 to cover installation, the flag and the pole itself, according to the Tacoma News Tribune's earlier Puyallup Herald coverage. That reporting placed the flag's planned location on North Meridian between Fred Meyer and the KING Family Fun Center, with funding drawn from the city's Tier 3 funds — described as excess revenue set aside for one-time capital projects. The project was coordinated with the state-level America 250 nonprofit rather than the national America250 organization, the outlet noted.
Fundraising Fell Short, Timeline Slipped
By the time a later Puyallup Herald report checked in, the flagpole's installation had already been pushed back because fabrication and installation were taking longer than expected, with officials saying it would go up later in summer. That same report put public, business and organizational donations at about $56,929 raised toward the project at the time.
Fundraising still hasn't closed the gap. A city official told the News Tribune on Oct. 7 that public donations covered less than half of the estimated project cost, with the outlet reporting the city's latest cost estimate at $146,775.40. When the News Tribune sought comment on Monday, the city's spokesperson and public works director did not immediately respond to questions about project details and costs, and Olsen referred the outlet to the city of Puyallup for WSDOT's payment amount covering foundation and lighting work.
Per the News Tribune, the city has said that once the foundation and electrical work are complete, the flagpole will be attached to the foundation. The outlet reported the foundation is expected to go in during the last week of October, with lighting expected to follow in early November. Existing environmental documentation and permits allowed the flagpole's installation, and the work required a change to WSDOT's existing construction contract for the interchange rebuild — a contract also known as Stage 2 of the SR 167 Completion Project.
Beyond the Flagpole: A Bigger Highway Overhaul
The flagpole work is piggybacking on a much larger construction effort. The interchange rebuild contract is valued at roughly $177 million and includes a new interchange at North Meridian, a new bridge over Milwaukee Avenue, a portion of new SR 167 alignment from the Puyallup Recreation Center east to SR 410, and a stretch of the Tacoma to Puyallup Regional Trail, according to the News Tribune's reporting.
That stage includes four new miles of expressway between I-5 and SR 410 near Puyallup, part of a project KIRO 7 reports builds six miles of new tolled highway between Puyallup and the Port of Tacoma. The first section of the new SR 167 expressway, between I-5 and SR 509, opened to traffic in September, per the same KIRO 7 report, while the Puyallup-area segment between I-5 and SR 410 remains scheduled to open in June 2029.
The flagpole-related closures are only part of this week's disruptions. SR 512 will have one eastbound lane closed nightly from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Saturday between East Pioneer Avenue and SR 167, and northbound SR 167 will have one lane closed nightly from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Friday between North Meridian Avenue and SR 410 — both closures retaining one open lane on each road, according to KIRO 7's reporting.
Those SR 512 and SR 167 closures support electrical work including conduit installation and wire pulling, with that work taking place across the existing SR 512 bridge between Pioneer Way East and over the Puyallup River, the outlet reported. The broader Puget Sound Gateway Project, which encompasses this corridor work in Pierce and King counties, is expected to cost $2.83 billion and is planned for completion by 2030, according to earlier News Tribune reporting on the program.
