I-5 — Lakeland North to Lakeland South

Between Lakeland North and Lakeland South, Interstate 5 skirts the east side of Federal Way. Both Lakeland communities are census-designated places that first appeared in the 1980 census. Lakeland South touches the freeway only at its northwest edge, while I-5 runs along the whole west edge of Lakeland North, from Exit 143 at South 320th Street to Exit 147 at South 272nd. After entering King County, the freeway goes beneath SR 161 at Kitts Corner, close to the Wild Waves Theme Park, then meets SR 18, the freeway to Auburn and Maple Valley. That interchange began as a cloverleaf for the Auburn cutoff, part of the Tacoma to Midway section that opened in 1962. In central Federal Way, the carpool lanes get their own off-ramp that drops straight into the Federal Way Transit Center. [1]