Lakewood Sewer Repair Will Have Traffic Impacts

LAKEWOOD, WA — The sewer main under Steilacoom Boulevard continues to make problems for the City of Lakewood, and will be the cause of a major traffic detour later this month.

According to city management, starting sometime in mid-August crews will be rerouting traffic off Steilacoom Boulevard near the intersection with Lakewood Drive West. Exactly when that rerouting will begin is still to be determined, but organizers say it'll likely be a long-term closure.

It will also need to be followed by a second repair project some time in the future, the start date of which is also undetermined.

Both projects are necessary to fix the damage caused by a July 20 sewer main break underneath Steilacoom Boulevard. The main break had the city warning residents not to flush their toilets for the night, though investigators have since determined that there were no service disruptions due to the break, and no impact on nearby drinking water or toilets.

However, the break did cause wastewater to spill out onto the road. From there, some of the sewage seeped into nearby Flett Creek, which carried the waste out into Chambers Bay. As a result, beaches at Sunnyside Beach Park, Chambers Creek Regional Park, Kobayashi Park, Chamber Bay Park, and the public access points at Chambers Creek Canyon have been closed to the public.

The City of Lakewood says the upcoming traffic project aims to prevent similar spillages from happening again.