PAVING THE WAY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH IN EAST PIERCE COUNTY

On Thursday, July 6th, our Chamber joined with community partners to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new major road for East Pierce County. The New Rhodes Lake Road East will connect Orting, Puyallup, and Sumner to Bonney Lake and Buckley by providing an arterial connection between the Bonney Lake Plateau and the Orting Valley. This project will result in new critical infrastructure for the transportation of Pierce County residents, materials, and services, as well as opening up new opportunities for recreation. This in turn will lay the foundation for increased economic growth in East Pierce County. 

Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President/CEO Andrea Reay attended the groundbreaking ceremony in the Tehaleh community near Bonney Lake alongside community leaders from Pierce County, Brookfield Properties, and other partners. Elected officials in attendance included Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier and Pierce County Council members Dave Morrell and Paul Herrera.

Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier stated at the event “New Rhodes Lake Road East will be a significant transportation improvement for East Pierce County. The corridor provides infrastructure needed to improve quality of life, create business opportunities and enhance community safety.”

"New Rhodes Lake Road is the last critical piece of infrastructure needed to efficiently move goods, services and employees between East Pierce County, the Port of Tacoma and the I-5 corridor,” said Dave Morrell, Pierce County Councilmember for District 1.

According to Scott Jones, senior vice president at Brookfield Properties,  the construction of this new road is already generating interest from businesses looking to relocate near Telahleh. 

The plan for this $150 million project was established in 2008 by Pierce County Ordinance 2008-28s and the funding for the new road’s construction comes from Tehaleh traffic mitigation funds. The road is anticipated to be completed and open for traffic by the spring of 2027.

View photos from the groundbreaking event below! ​