| State: | WA |
| Type: | SR |
| Route: | 272 |
| Spur Type: | SR |
| Spur Of: | 27 |
| Section: | 495 |
| Map: | Washington State Route 272.svg |
| Map Notes: | SR 272 is highlighted in red. |
| Length Mi: | 19.22 |
| Length Round: | 2 |
| Established: | 1964[1] |
| Direction A: | West |
| Terminus A: | in Colfax |
| Junction: | in Palouse |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus B: | at Idaho state line near Palouse |
| Tourist: | Palouse Scenic Byway |
| Counties: | Whitman |
| Previous Type: | SR |
| Previous Route: | 271 |
| Next Type: | SR |
| Next Route: | 274 |
State Route 272 (SR 272) is a 19.222NaN2 long state highway serving Whitman County in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels from U.S. Route 195 (US 195) in Colfax to a short concurrency with parent route SR 27 in Palouse before ending at the Idaho state line and becoming Idaho State Highway 6 (SH-6). Prior to 1964, the highway was split between Secondary State Highway 3F (SSH 3F) from Colfax to Palouse and a branch of Primary State Highway 3 (PSH 3) from Palouse to the Idaho state line.
SR 272 begins as Canyon Street in Colfax at an intersection with Main Street, signed as US 195. The highway passes Colfax Cemetery before leaving Colfax and traveling northeast along the Palouse River into farmland. SR 272 turns southeast into Palouse, crossing the Palouse River and becoming Church Street before an intersection with Division Street, signed as SR 27. The highway turns south and east onto Echanove Avenue concurrent with SR 27, crossing a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) rail lube before turning south onto Division Street and splitting off.[2] SR 272 continues east as Main Street and leaves Palouse, traveling northeast over the WSDOT rail line towards the Idaho state line, where the highway becomes SH-6. SH-6 continues east for 5.711miles along the Palouse River towards Potlatch, Idaho.[3]
Every year the 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 between 350 and 2,100 vehicles per day used the highway, mostly in Colfax and Palouse.[4]
A road connecting Colfax to Palouse and Potlatch, Idaho was first constructed in the early 20th century and appeared on a 1910 United States Geological Survey map of the Pullman area.[5] The road, following the course of the Palouse River, was later paved between Palouse and Idaho and designated as a branch of PSH 3,[6] while the gravel road between US 195 in Colfax and Palouse was signed as SSH 3F.[7] [8] SSH 3F was later paved in 1955,[9] [10] as the two highways merged to form SR 272 in the 1964 highway renumbering.[1] [11]
