State Route 16 East



SR 302 Spur branches south from a wye interchange (Exit 18) with SR 16 along Purdy Drive into the unincorporated community of Purdy.
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Measuring 1.28 miles in length, SR 302 Spur (Purdy Drive) connects SR 16 eastbound with SR 302 west to Key Center.
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Shifting east to bypass Purdy, SR 16 eastbound enters Pierce County just beyond the gore point for Exit 18.
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The toll plaza for cash transactions for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is Exit 8. Exit 8 from SR 16 westbound serves 24th Street NW.
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Heading south along SR 16 east from Gig Harbor toward the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The left lane is restricted to HOV-2 motorists.
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Exit 9 provides the last departure point before tolls are collected for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The RIRO (right in right out) ramps connect the freeway with 36th Street SW west to Point Fosdick Drive NW north of Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW).
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All passenger vehicles were charged $4.00 for cash and $2.75 for Good to Go! account holders in 2010. A planned toll hike to $5 and $3.25 respectively, was to take effect on July 1, 2010, but later postponed (The Seattle Times, 2010).
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Towers of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge rise along the horizon ahead of the toll collection facility on SR 16. Three lanes are allocated for WSDOT Good to Go! account holders.
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24th Street NW spans SR 16, 1.25 miles ahead of Exit 4 for Jackson Avenue to 6th Avenue in Tacoma.
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Forthcoming Exit 4 constitutes a parclo interchange linking SR 16 with Jackson Avenue at N 10th Street.
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5,979 feet in length, the westbound bridge carried two-way traffic until 2007, when the eastbound span opened to traffic. Tolls were collected for the bridge opened in 1950 until 1965 ("Tacoma Narrows Bridge", 2010).
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Jackson Avenue travels north to Narrows Drive and south to become Bridgeport Way in the city of University Place.
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Continuing east, SR 16 passes under an arched pedestrian bridge connecting segments of Skyline Drive nearby.
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SR 163 (Pearl Street) commences northbound from SR 16 at Exit 3. SR 163 travels 3.37 miles to the WSDOT Ferry Point Defiance Terminal.
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SR 163 follows Pearl Street north to Ruston, Point Defiance Park, and the WSDOT Ferry terminal linking Tacoma and Ruston with Vashon Island.
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Exit 3 leaves SR 16 east for Pearl Street and SR 163 north. Pearl Street south continues to Alameda Avenue in the city of Fircrest.
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Heading south, SR 16 next enters a six-ramp parclo interchange (Exit 2) with S 19th Street at Orchard Street.
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Exit 2 A joins SR 16 east with S 19th Street west to Tacoma Community College and east to Cheney Stadium, home of the Tacoma Rainiers AAA Baseball team.
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Exit 2 B loops west to S Orchard Street. Orchard Street leads south to Fircrest and Manitou.
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A wye interchange adds traffic to SR 16 east from Center Street ahead of the diamond interchange (Exit 1 B) with Union Avenue.
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Union Avenue runs south from Oakland and SR 16 to an interchange with Tacoma Way (historic U.S. 99) and north from Exit 1 B to the University of Puget Sound.
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A diamond interchange at Exit 1 A replaced the directional ramps to Sprague Avenue as part of the West Nalley Valley interchange project. The design accommodated new westbound viaducts originating from Interstate 5.
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The original Nalley Valley Viaduct along SR 16 between Sprague Avenue and I-5 was constructed between 1969 and 1971. The I-5 - SR 16 Tacoma/Pierce County HOV Program added a new elevated roadway for SR 16 west and reconstructed the old viaduct for eastbound traffic by Summer 2011.
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References:
The Seattle Times. (2010, March 17). Toll rates on Tacoma Narrows Bridge won't rise this year. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/toll-rates-on-tacoma-narrows-bridge-wont-rise-this-year/
Tacoma Narrows Bridge. (2010, October 19) In hthttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge&oldid=391555460
Photo Credits:
- Alex Nitzman: 09/27/25
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Page Updated Sunday October 12, 2025.