List of Interstate Highways in Washington explained

List of Interstate Highways in Washington should not be confused with List of Interstate Highways in Washington, D.C..

Interstate Highways in Washington
Shields:  
Caption:Highway markers for Interstate 5, Interstate 90, and Interstate 182
Map:Interstate Highways in Washington.svg
Map Notes:Map of highways in Washington with the Interstates highlighted in red
Map Alt:A map of the state of Washington, with its seven Interstate highways highlighted in red.
Formed:June 29, 1956
Interstate:Interstate nn (I‑nn)
Label1:Business Loops:
Field1:Business Loop Interstate nn (BL I‑nn)
Label2:Business Spurs:
Field2:Business Spur Interstate nn (BS I‑nn)
Links:WA

The Interstate Highways in Washington are segments of the national Interstate Highway System that lie within the U.S. state of Washington. The system comprises 764miles on seven routes that are owned and maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT); the design standards and numbering across the national system are managed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

Washington has three primary Interstates and four auxiliary routes; the seven routes serve most of the state's major cities. The longest of these is Interstate 90 (I-90), which is 298miles long and connects the state's two largest cities, Seattle and Spokane. I-5 is the only Interstate to span the state from south to north, traveling from the Oregon state line to the Canadian border. The system also includes several business routes that are not maintained or managed by WSDOT, but rather by local governments.

The general plan and federal funding for the Interstate Highway System were approved by the U.S. Congress in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The federal plan incorporated elements of the Washington state government's plan for limited access highways, including an urban tollway that was later cancelled. The original allocation of two primary routes and two auxiliary routes was later expanded in the 1960s and 1970s with the addition of I-82 and two more auxiliary routes. The last segment of the Interstate Highway System in Washington, a section of I-90 between Seattle and Bellevue, was completed in 1993. An eighth route, popularly named I-605, has been proposed in several forms since the 1960s but was never submitted for formal approval.

Description

All seven Interstate Highways in Washington are legally defined as part of the state highway system, which is maintained and administered by WSDOT.[1] They are all freeways built to Interstate Highway standards, which require full grade separation and control of access via interchanges, design speeds of NaNmph, a minimum of two lanes per direction, and widths of at least 12feet for lanes and NaNfeet for the left and right shoulders, respectively.[2] The FHWA is responsible for overseeing these standards and can also approve exceptions.[3] The numbering scheme used to designate the Interstates was developed by AASHTO, an organization composed of the various state departments of transportation in the United States.[2] [4] A set of business routes, which use a modified green Interstate shield, are designated and maintained by local governments instead of WSDOT and do not require approval from the FHWA.[5]

The Interstate Highway System covers about 764miles in Washington and consists of three primary routes and four auxiliary routes.[6] They connect the major cities and metropolitan areas of the state, working in concert with the U.S. routes and state routes also maintained by WSDOT.[7] The longest route, I-90, is 298miles and connects the state's two largest cities, Seattle and Spokane; the shortest is I-705 at 1.5miles.[6] The widest section in the state is on I-5 in Downtown Seattle, which spans 13 lanes and includes a set of reversible express lanes that change direction depending on time of the day.[8] [9] Various sections of the Interstate Highways serving the Seattle and Portland–Vancouver metropolitan areas also have designated lanes for high-occupancy vehicles, buses, and tolled vehicles.[10] The Seattle–Tacoma area ranks third among U.S. metropolitan areas for the number of sections with high-occupancy vehicle lanes.[11] In 2019, Washington's Interstates carried an estimated 17.4 billion vehicle miles traveled, comprising 28 percent of all travel on roads in the state.[12]

History

Early proposals for a national system of "superhighways" with limited access and grade separation emerged in the 1930s at the behest of the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR; now the FHWA) under the Roosevelt administration. A 1939 BPR report evaluated national corridors for tolled superhighways, including a north–south route on the West Coast terminating at the Canadian border in Washington and an east–west route originating in Seattle to connect the Northern states.[13] [14] The first major expressway with limited access to be built in the state was the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Downtown Seattle, which was announced in 1947 and used federal grants authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944.[15] It opened in 1953 and replaced sections of U.S. Route 99 (US 99), part of the older United States Numbered Highway System.[16] [17]

The Washington State Legislature approved their own plans for a system of limited-access highways in 1947, in response to rising collisions and hazardous conditions on existing state roadways. The legislation authorized planning for a tolled superhighway between Seattle and Tacoma that would later be extended south to Oregon and north to British Columbia as a replacement for US 99.[18] [19] A second bill in 1951 authorized the construction of expressways to replace rural sections of US 99 and US 10 (the east–west trunk), particularly by bypassing small cities, and the program was expanded to cover 2388miles by 1953.[20] [21] In addition to the inter-regional superhighways planned in the 1930s and 1940s, the BPR also surveyed potential urban routes and bypasses that would perform auxiliary functions.[13] [22] These included bypasses of Seattle and Portland, Oregon, the latter of which would also encompass Vancouver, Washington.[23]

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 29, 1956, formally authorized the creation of the Interstate Highway System and its design standards. It also established a federal commitment to fund 90 percent of construction costs for eligible Interstate projects.[13] In August 1957, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO; now AASHTO) designated the state's two primary routes as I-5 and I-90, replacing US 99 and US 10, respectively.[24] [25] A pair of auxiliary routes were also included in the original Washington allocation and numbered in 1958: I-205, bypassing Portland and Vancouver; and I-405, bypassing Seattle.[26] Washington's third primary route, connecting Ellensburg to Pendleton, Oregon, was authorized by the BPR in October 1957 as part of an addition to the Interstate Highway System.[27] It was numbered I-82 by AASHO in 1958, completing the initial allocation of 726miles for Washington.[28] [29] A rejected extension of I-82 across the Cascade Range to Tacoma and Aberdeen, totaling 167miles, was submitted by Washington in 1959.[30]

Among the first Interstate projects in Washington to be built with funding from the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 were bypasses of Fort Lewis and Olympia that had already been planned by the state government.[31] They were incorporated into I-5, and in early 1958 the Tacoma project became the first section in the state to use the Interstate shield.[32] I-5 was also the first Interstate to be fully completed in Washington, following the opening of a section between Everett and Marysville on May 14, 1969. The first auxiliary route to be fully completed was I-405, which was opened to traffic between Woodinville and Lynnwood in November 1969. The state government made improvements to the expanding Interstate system in the 1960s and 1970s, building rest areas and scenic overlooks on the primary routes and introducing mileage-based exit numbers in 1973.[33] [34]

The southern section of I-82 between Yakima and Oregon was originally routed away from the Tri-Cities region, where local leaders petitioned for access to the Interstate system. Following a dispute between the states of Washington and Oregon, the FHWA proposed to route I-82 towards the Tri-Cities, which would be directly served by a spur route.[35] The new connector, numbered I-182, was approved in 1969 and fully opened in 1986 alongside the last Washington section of I-82; the highways were delayed by disagreements with local governments and spending cuts during the early 1980s recession. The Washington section of I-205 was completed with the opening of the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge over the Columbia River in December 1982, a few months before the Oregon section was fully open to traffic.[36] The final Interstate to be added in Washington was I-705, a short spur into Downtown Tacoma,[37] which was approved by the FHWA and AASHTO in 1978 and opened in 1988.

The final section of the Interstate system in Washington, I-90 between Seattle and Bellevue, took over 30 years to plan and construct amid disagreements and litigation over its design and other mitigation. The 7miles section included construction of the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge to supplement the existing Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (both among the longest floating bridges in the world), expansion of the Mount Baker Tunnel, and a set of lids in Seattle and Mercer Island; its total cost was $1.56 billion (equivalent to $ in dollars), among the most expensive parts of the Interstate system.[38] The FHWA estimated the total cost to construct the Interstate Highway System in the state to be $4.558 billion in 1989 (equivalent to $ in dollars), placing Washington eighth among all states by total cost.[39]

An outer beltway for the Seattle metropolitan area, bypassing I-405 and several Eastside suburbs, has been proposed under the unofficial moniker of "I-605" several times since the 1960s.[40] The state government has never formally applied for its addition to the Interstate Highway System, but it was tentatively designated as State Route 605 (SR 605) by the legislature.[41] [42] Proposals to build a north–south freeway near Lake Sammamish were defeated in 1968, but the idea was revived in 1998 as an extension of SR 18 through the Snoqualmie Valley.[43] A 2004 study commissioned by the state legislature determined that an outer beltway would not be feasible to construct due to its high costs as well as opposition from local residents and environmental groups.[44]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Chapter 47.17 RCW: State Highway Routes . . . November 26, 2021 . September 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210907050726/https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.17 . live .
  2. Web site: Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways . . November 26, 2021 . October 14, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211014175432/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/interstate.cfm . live .
  3. WSDOT Environmental and Engineering Programs, Design Office . November 2007 . Design Manual, M2201.03 . Chapter 330: Design Documentation, Approval, and Process Review . 3309, 33012 . https://wsdot.wa.gov/publications/manuals/fulltext/M22-01/M22-01.03Complete.pdf . Washington State Department of Transportation . November 26, 2021 . November 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211123081132/https://wsdot.wa.gov/publications/manuals/fulltext/M22-01/M22-01.03Complete.pdf . live .
  4. Web site: Interstate Frequently Asked Questions: Who numbered the Interstates? . Federal Highway Administration . November 26, 2021 . February 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210220154101/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.cfm#question19 . live .
  5. WSDOT Engineering and Regional Operations, Traffic Operations . May 2021 . Traffic Manual M5102.10 . Chapter 2: Signs . 252 . https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/publications/manuals/fulltext/M51-02/Chapter2.pdf . Washington State Department of Transportation . November 26, 2021 . November 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211123155214/https://wsdot.wa.gov/publications/manuals/fulltext/M51-02/Chapter2.pdf . live .
  6. Web site: Table 3: Interstate Routes in Each of the 50 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico . Route Log and Finder List . Federal Highway Administration . November 26, 2021 . July 11, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180711030748/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table03.cfm . live .
  7. 2014 . November 26, 2021.
  8. Web site: July 27, 2010 . Urban Highways with the Most Lanes . Federal Highway Administration . November 28, 2021 . January 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220106214052/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/tables/01.pdf . live .
  9. News: Giordano . Lizz . July 22, 2019 . A driver can dream: Can I-5 express lanes be more nimble? . . November 28, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128103107/https://www.heraldnet.com/news/a-driver-can-dream-can-i-5-express-lanes-be-more-nimble/ . live .
  10. Web site: HOV system map . Washington State Department of Transportation . November 28, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128103442/https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/roads-bridges/hov-lanes/hov-system-map . live .
  11. Web site: Booz Allen Hamilton . . December 2008 . A Compendium of Existing HOV Lane Facilities in the United States . 5 . Federal Highway Administration . December 15, 2021 . January 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220106213650/https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop09030/fhwahop09030.pdf . live .
  12. Web site: 2020 . Annual Mileage and Travel Information . Washington State Department of Transportation . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20201017173638/https://wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/hpms/annualmileage.htm. October 17, 2020 . November 26, 2021.
  13. Web site: Weingroff . Richard F. . 2006 . Designating the Urban Interstates . Federal Highway Administration . November 27, 2021 . December 30, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171230231552/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/fairbank.cfm . live .
  14. News: Miller . James N. . July 23, 1939 . 14,000 Mile Super Highway To Speed Transportation . 3 . The Seattle Times.
  15. News: Cooper . Carl L. . June 3, 1947 . Double-Deck Viaduct for Alaskan Way; Devin Reveals Double-Deck Viaduct Plans . 1 . Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  16. Web site: Ott . Jennifer . October 27, 2011 . Alaskan Way Viaduct, Part 2: Planning and Design . . November 27, 2021 . November 27, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211127083339/https://historylink.org/File/9951 . live .
  17. News: April 5, 1953 . Alaskan Way Viaduct Opened To Traffic . 1 . The Seattle Times.
  18. News: Cunningham . Ross . February 25, 1947 . New Seattle-to-Tacoma Superhighway Proposed . 1 . The Seattle Times.
  19. Web site: Tate . Cassandra . November 8, 2004 . Washington Legislature authorizes construction of limited access highways in 1947. . HistoryLink . November 27, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128060535/https://www.historylink.org/File/7125 . live .
  20. News: Cunningham . Ross . February 3, 1952 . Knotty Financial, Traffic Problems Face Building Freeway Through Seattle . 12 . The Seattle Times.
  21. News: Tegner . Bob . January 25, 1959 . Freeways, highways web the Empire . 74 . . . November 27, 2021 . November 27, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211127040821/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88660744/freeways-highways-web-the-empire/ . live .
  22. Book: Swift, Earl . 2011 . The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways . 188 . . 978-0-618-81241-7 . 1159862340.
  23. Book: 1955 . General Location of ⁠National System of Interstate Highways . 71, 98 . . Washington, DC . Government Printing Office . 4165975 . . November 27, 2021 . October 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211009060116/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/General_Location_of_National_System_of_Interstate_Highways . live .
  24. American Association of State Highway Officials . August 14, 1957 . Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways . . Wikimedia Commons . November 27, 2021 . May 3, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210503214401/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Interstate_Highway_plan_August_14,_1957.jpg . live .
  25. News: Hittle . Leroy . October 9, 1957 . State's Two Major Highways To Be Renumbered In Defense System . 1 . . . Newspapers.com . November 27, 2021 . June 21, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180621115852/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21044010/interstate_renumbering/ . live .
  26. News: Faber . Jim . July 1, 1956 . Half-Billion Plus To Smooth Bumps In State's Roads . 1 . Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  27. News: Mooney . Richard E. . October 19, 1957 . 1,102 Miles Added To U.S. Roads Plan . 1 . . . November 27, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128062808/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/10/19/archives/1102-miles-added-to-us-roads-plan-1102-miles-added-to-us-road-plan.html . live .
  28. National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, As of June, 1958 . American Automobile Association . . November 27, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128062802/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3701p.ct003465/?r=-0.143,0.018,1.111,0.872,0 . live .
  29. News: Dugovich . William . May 1967 . Seattle's Superfreeway . 2–5 . Washington Highways . Washington State Department of Highways . 14 . 2 . 29654162 . WSDOT Library Digital Collections . November 27, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128060534/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/5246 . live .
  30. News: March 1959 . Commission Requests Aberdeen-Yakima Route For Interstate System . 7 . Washington Highway News . 8 . 5 . Washington State Department of Highways . 29654162 . WSDOT Library Digital Collections . November 27, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128062804/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/3285 . live .
  31. News: Nelson . Stub . April 19, 1957 . Your City And State: About Your Highway 99 . 14 . Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  32. News: March 10, 1958 . Highway Sign Makes Debut . 7 . Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  33. News: Barr . Robert A. . May 25, 1972 . Rest stops: 122 along state highways; 240 is goal . F5 . The Seattle Times.
  34. News: June 3, 1973 . State has new map showing mileages to freeway points . A23 . The Seattle Times.
  35. News: Woehler . Bob . November 25, 1984 . I-82 saga was 25-year freeway tug-of-war . C4 . . Newspapers.com . February 18, 2023 . February 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230218102718/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118950691/i-82-saga-was-25-year-freeway-tug-of-war/ . live .
  36. News: Ryll . Thomas . December 15, 1982 . It's open! The long wait ends as cars roll over I-205 bridge . A1 . . Newspapers.com . February 18, 2023 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510024941/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101568182/its-open-the-long-wait-ends-as-cars/ . live .
  37. News: Nelson . Robert T. . March 29, 1998 . In the 6th district, Dicks keeps delivering . B1 . The Seattle Times . January 8, 2011 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128100447/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19980329&slug=2742290 . live .
  38. News: Pryne . Eric . September 13, 1993 . Bridge of sighs: I-90 span is over at last . B1 . The Seattle Times.
  39. Web site: Weingroff . Richard . 1998 . The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways, Part III – Cost . Federal Highway Administration . November 28, 2021 . October 30, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211030072750/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/page03.cfm . live .
  40. News: Gilmore . Susan . August 24, 2003 . Some freeway plans never went anywhere . B1 . The Seattle Times . November 28, 2021 . August 30, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210830173055/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20030824&slug=bumper24m0 . live .
  41. Web site: February 1970 . Auburn–Bothell Highway Study Phase 1 – Study Design . II1 . Washington State Legislature Joint Committee on Highways . WSDOT Library Digital Collections . November 28, 2021 . October 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008005920/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll20/id/3290/rec/5 . live .
  42. Web site: Andrews . G. H. . January 8, 1971 . A Legislative Study: Kenmore to Swamp Creek . 2 . Washington State Legislature Joint Committee on Highways . WSDOT Library Digital Collections . November 28, 2021 . October 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211007193129/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll20/id/3235/rec/3 . live .
  43. News: Singer . Natalie . July 15, 2004 . State study revives idea of new Western Washington highway . B4 . The Seattle Times . November 28, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128105905/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20040715&slug=corridor15e . live .
  44. News: October 28, 2004 . Valley will not see proposed foothills highway . . November 28, 2021 . November 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128105921/https://www.valleyrecord.com/news/valley-will-not-see-proposed-foothills-highway/ . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of Interstate Highways in Washington".

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