Prepare for traffic changes near Federal Way Transit Center

By Alex Bruell • February 23, 2023 10:30 am
This map shows some of the changes coming to the transit center area. Part of 23rd Avenue S (highlighted in red) will become northbound only. South 317th Street (orange) will have its center turn lane eliminated. Pete von Reichbauer Way South (blue) will be restriped to expand road capacity. And a new roundabout (purple) will be installed at the 23rd Avenue South / S 317th Street intersection by the end of the year. Image visualized using Google My Maps, using information from Sound Transit. Alex Bruell / The Mirror.
This map shows some of the changes coming to the transit center area. Part of 23rd Avenue S (highlighted in red) will become northbound only. South 317th Street (orange) will have its center turn lane eliminated. Pete von Reichbauer Way South (blue) will be restriped to expand road capacity. And a new roundabout (purple) will be installed at the 23rd Avenue South / S 317th Street intersection by the end of the year. Image visualized using Google My Maps, using information from Sound Transit. Alex Bruell / The Mirror.

Major traffic changes are coming Feb. 23 near the Federal Way Transit Center as construction crews work on the Sound Transit Link light rail extension.

The biggest change will be to 23rd Avenue South between South 320th and 317th streets. Southbound traffic on that stretch of the road will close until November as crews perform utility work and concrete paving. That section of the street will be one-way, only serving northbound motorists, for that period of time.

Nearby, South 317th Street, which funnels motorists into the city from I-5, will remain two-way, but the center turn lane will be eliminated, according to Sound Transit. By the end of the year, a new roundabout will be installed at the intersection of 23rd Avenue South and South 317th Street.

To offset traffic impacts from that work, Pete von Reichbauer Way South will be restriped to increase capacity, according to Sound Transit.

The Federal Way Link will extend light rail service from the Angle Lake Station in SeaTac to the Federal Way Transit Center. The 7.8-mile extension will include three stations: Kent/Des Moines near Highline College, Star Lake and downtown Federal Way.