Future trail will connect Tacoma, Puyallup and Fife - many will have to learn the name
One day, you’ll be able to walk and bike from the Thea Foss Esplanade in Tacoma to the Interurban Trail in Fife on a 12-mile-long path. Some of the route, which includes the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail, is part of the SR 167 Completion Project.
For now, it’s just in the planning stages. The state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will build segments between Puyallup and Fife with plans to complete the project in 2029.
On Tuesday, the path got a name: the spuyaləpabš Trail. The name honors the Puyallup People. spuyaləpabš was chosen by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. The Lushootseed word is their name. It means, “people from the bend at the bottom of the river.”
The trail will feature Coastal Salish art along with stories and cultural representations of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
In a statement, the Puyallup Tribal Council said 13 tribes in the Pacific Northwest speak Lushootseed.
“To create an environment for the language to grow and survive, it must be visible in our communities,” the council said.
The Puyallups created a video to teach the correct pronunciation of spuyaləpabš. The word is not capitalized, even at the beginning of a sentence.
WSDOT’s role
WSDOT will build sections of the trail that pass through the Puyallup reservation as part of the SR 167 Completion Project. The cities of Fife and Tacoma will build the remainder in separate projects.
The SR 167 project is under way. Construction can be seen on Interstate 5 over Hylebos Creek and on the route from I-5 to state Route 509. When it’s finished, six miles of new tolled highway will run between the current end of SR 167 and the Port of Tacoma.
The toll road between SR 509 and I-5 should open in 2026. The entire project is planned for completion by 2029 — including the spuyaləpabš trail.
