 In the late 1980s, WSDOT straightened and widened a section of SR 169 after completing a land swap deal with the Burlington Northern Railroad, contingent on a new track built in exchange for the abandonment of a section along the highway.Since the 1990s, residential development in Maple Valley has led to traffic congestion and an increase in collisions on sections of SR 169.Despite calls for highway expansion, the state government has prioritized other corridors instead of SR 169, with no plans for future construction.