An increasingly-popular route for afternoon commuters won’t be eliminated after all.

It was announced in late January by the King County Roads Division that drivers would no longer be allowed to make right turns onto busy state Route 410. The narrow road has been used by motorists heading from Enumclaw to Buckley and points beyond.

The afternoon traffic snarl often sees a long line of cars and trucks, all making their way to the White River Bridge. Some use 244th as an alternate and others jump off 244th and access the highway via 241st.

Citing safety concerns, King County earlier announced it was banning right-hand turns onto SR 410 between 4 and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The restriction was to take effect Monday, Feb. 4. County crews spent time and effort putting up several signs and even hauled an electronic sign onto 244th, alerting drivers to the coming road restriction.

The effort was soon abandoned.

Rumors that the decision was being reversed started circulating when the signs were removed. Information about the right-turn restriction was deleted from a county website Jan. 31 and, by the following day, new information was posted. “After further internal review by (Washington State Department of Transportation) management, concerns about traffic safety were raised and WSDOT reversed its approval of the restriction,” the county website said.

So, for drivers making their way from Enumclaw to Pierce County on most any weekday afternoon, life goes on, unchanged.