 = Washington State Route 516 = 
 
 State Route 516 ( SR 516 ) is a 16 @.@ 49 @-@ mile @-@ long ( 26 @.@ 54 km ) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington , serving communities in southern King County . The highway travels east as the Kent @-@ Des Moines Road and the Kent @-@ Kangley Road from a concurrency with SR 509 in Des Moines through Kent and Covington to an intersection with SR 169 in Maple Valley . SR 516 , designated as part of the National Highway System within Kent , intersects three major freeways in the area : Interstate 5 ( I @-@ 5 ) in western Kent , SR 167 in downtown Kent , and SR 18 in Covington . The roadway , built in the 1890s , was codified in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 1K ( SSH 1K ) from Des Moines to Kent and SSH 5A from Kent to Maple Valley . The two highways were combined during the 1964 highway renumbering to form SR 516 on its current route . 
 
 = = Route description = = 
 
 SR 516 begins in Des Moines at Marine View Drive as SR 509 turns north towards Burien near the East Passage of Puget Sound . The two concurrent highways travel east on the Kent @-@ Des Moines Road past Highline Community College and Mount Rainier High School to an intersection with SR 99 in western Kent , where SR 509 turns south towards Tacoma . Shortly thereafter , SR 516 intersects I @-@ 5 at a partial cloverleaf interchange and continues east onto a four @-@ lane divided highway over the Green River and its pedestrian and bicycle trail into downtown Kent . The highway serves as the southern terminus of SR 181 before intersecting SR 167 in a diamond interchange at the western edge of downtown Kent . SR 516 shifts south onto Willis Street and crosses the Interurban Trail and a BNSF rail line before turning north onto Central Avenue and east onto Smith Street near Kent Station . The highway travels southeast along Mill Creek onto the Kent @-@ Kangley Road and serves as the southern terminus of SR 515 at Kent @-@ Meridian High School before leaving Kent for Covington . SR 516 passes Lake Meridian as 272nd Street and intersects SR 18 at a diamond interchange located in Covington . The highway continues east past Pipe Lake and into Maple Valley before crossing the Cedar to Green River Trail and ending at an intersection with SR 169 . 
 Every year , the Washington State Department of Transportation ( WSDOT ) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume . This is expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic ( AADT ) , which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year . In 2011 , WSDOT calculated that the busiest section of the highway was between SR 181 and the SR 167 interchange , serving 38 @,@ 000 vehicles , while the least busiest section was its western terminus at SR 509 , serving 8 @,@ 900 vehicles . SR 516 between I @-@ 5 and SR 167 within western Kent is designated as part of the National Highway System , which includes roadways important to the national economy , defense , and mobility . 
 
 = = History = = 
 
 The Kent @-@ Kangley Road was built as a wagon road by King County by the late 1890s and was upgraded to a paved highway after being codified as two highways during the creation of the primary and secondary state highways system in 1937 : SSH 1K and SSH 5A . SSH 1K traveled 12 @.@ 76 miles ( 20 @.@ 54 km ) south from U.S. Route 99 and Primary State Highway 1 ( PSH 1 ) through Burien and east through Des Moines to US 99 and PSH 1 in Midway . SSH 5A traveled 14 @.@ 50 miles ( 23 @.@ 34 km ) east from US 99 and PSH 1 in Midway across the Green River into Kent , intersecting SSH 5M , PSH 5 , and SSH 5C , before ending at the Enumclaw – Renton branch of PSH 5 in Maple Valley . The two highways were combined during the 1964 highway renumbering to form SR 516 and codified into law in 1970 . The highway traveled east from SR 509 in Des Moines through I @-@ 5 at Midway , SR 167 in Kent , and SR 18 in Covington to SR 169 in Maple Valley . SR 509 was re @-@ aligned in 1991 onto SR 516 and SR 99 , forming new concurrencies , until the completion of a new north – south freeway . 
 
 = = Major intersections = = 
 
 The entire highway is in King County . 
 
 