After four years of digging, building, and shifting lanes, the brand-new Veterans Drive tunnel in Kent will make its debut this Wednesday, July 16, 2025, giving drivers another option to drive through the busy I–5 and SR 516 interchange.
The tunnel – which opens at 5 a.m. this Wednesday – runs beneath I-5 just north of the SR 516 underpass, linking Veterans Drive to the southbound I-5 off-ramp and the northbound I-5 on-ramp.
It also links to Veterans Drive, which was extended across Military Road South.
This new tunnel creates a convenient alternative to Kent-Des Moines Road/SR 516 by allowing people to travel between the Kent Valley and I-5 with fewer turns.
The Veterans Drive tunnel is part of the SR 509 Completion Project.
Construction on the Veterans Drive tunnel kicked off in 2021, with crews excavating more than 100,000 cubic yards of soil to make room for the tunnel which has two lanes in each direction and is 187 feet long and 23.5 feet tall.
Drivers are encouraged to travel through the interchange with care as people adjust to the new interchange layout.
SR 509 Completion Project information
The SR 509 Completion Project builds three miles of new tolled highway between I-5 and South 188th Street near the south end of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The new highway will be completed in stages. The portion between I-5 and 24th Avenue South opened on June 28. The final stage builds the remaining 2 miles of the expressway between 24th Avenue South and South 188th Street. The entire project is planned for completion by 2029.
Puget Sound Gateway Program overview
The SR 509 Completion Project is part of WSDOT’s Puget Sound Gateway Program, which also includes the SR 167 Completion Project in Pierce County. Together, the two completion projects finish critical missing links in Washington’s highway and freight network.
