Washington State Route 302 Explained

State:WA
Type:SR
Route:302
Spur Type:SR
Spur Of:3
Section:545
Map:Washington State Route 302.svg
Map Notes:SR 302 is highlighted in red.
Length Mi:16.87
Length Round:2
Length Ref:[1]
Established:1964[2]
Direction A:West
Terminus A: in Allyn
Direction B:East
Terminus B: near Purdy
Counties:Mason, Pierce
Previous Type:SR
Previous Route:300
Next Type:SR
Next Route:303

State Route 302 (SR 302) is a 16.87adj=midNaNadj=mid state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, connecting the communities of Allyn and Purdy on the Kitsap Peninsula, located in Mason and Pierce counties. The highway travels southeast from SR 3 in Allyn-Grapeview along North Bay and turns east along Henderson Bay to Purdy. SR 302 intersects its spur route and turns south, ending at an interchange with SR 16 at the north end of Gig Harbor. The highway was created during the 1964 highway renumbering to replace Secondary State Highway 14A (SSH 14A) between Allyn and Purdy.

Route description

SR 302 begins as the Victor Cutoff Road at an intersection with SR 3 south of North Mason High School, located in the community of Allyn in Mason County. The highway travels south along the North Bay of Case Inlet into Pierce County and east across the Key Peninsula toward Henderson Bay. SR 302 continues east through Wauna and across a sandspit on the 550adj=midNaNadj=mid Purdy Bridge into the community of Purdy;[3] the two-lane hollow box girder bridge crosses Burley Lagoon and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4] In Purdy, the highway turns south onto Purdy Drive at an intersection with its spur route and ends at a semi-directional T interchange with SR 16.[5]

Every year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (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 the busiest section of the highway was Purdy Drive between the Purdy Bridge and SR 16, serving 26,000 vehicles, while the least busiest section of the highway was in the Allyn area, serving 1,500 vehicles.[6]

History

The Purdy Bridge, serving the community of Purdy on the Burley Lagoon, was constructed as a wooden swing bridge in 1892 by Pierce County. The wooden bridge was replaced in 1905 after the timber pilings collapsed and rebuilt in 1920 to include a steel swing span.[7] The current two-lane hollow box girder span was opened on September 29, 1937 at a cost of $62,000 and became part of SSH 14A during the creation of the primary and secondary state highways.[3] [8] [9] SSH 14A was extended west from Allyn to Belfair in 1955,[10] extending along a 19.45adj=midNaNadj=mid route to connect Belfair and Allyn to Purdy.[11] SSH 14A was replaced by SR 3 from Belfair to Allyn and SR 302 from Allyn to SR 16 in Purdy during the 1964 highway renumbering as part of the creation of a new state highway system.[12] SR 16 was moved to a freeway bypass of Purdy in November 1978 and the old alignment on Purdy Drive was split between SR 302, heading south, and a new spur route, heading north.[2] [13] [14] The highway was realigned in 1991 onto the Victor Cut-Off Road, which was transferred from the county to the state.[15]

During the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, a 6.2 earthquake that occurred on February 28, 2001, a section of SR 302 between Allyn and the Key Peninsula was damaged and closed.[16] The highway was repaired with federal emergency relief funds and state funding at a cost of $1 million, opening to traffic in 2003 after being replaced by a temporary gravel road.[17] WSDOT is,, planning to widen SR 302 between the Key Peninsula and Purdy and SR 302 Spur within Purdy as part of safety and congestion improvements scheduled to begin construction in spring 2014.[18] A corridor study was conducted by WSDOT between 2008 and 2012 and proposed that a new highway north of Henderson Bay to bypass Purdy and have a more direct connection with SR 16 be constructed.[19] [20]

Spur route

State:WA
Type:SR-Spur
Route:302
Location:Purdy, Washington
Length Mi:1.28
Length Round:2
Formed:1987

SR 302 Spur, known locally as Purdy Drive, begins its short, 1.28adj=midNaNadj=mid route through Purdy at the east end of the Purdy Bridge, which carries SR 302 from Wauna.[1] The highway travels north along Burley Lagoon from Peninsula High School before ending at a semi-directional T interchange with SR 16.[21] WSDOT conducted a series of surveys to measure traffic volume in terms of AADT and calculated that between 1,900 and 11,000 vehicles per day used the spur route in 2011.[6]

The spur route was originally part of a Primary State Highway 14 (PSH 14) branch connecting Port Orchard to Tacoma that later became SR 16 during the 1964 highway renumbering.[12] SR 16 was moved to a freeway bypass of Purdy in 1978 and the former route was split between SR 302 and the newly created SR 302 Spur.[2] [13] [14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Staff . 2012 . State Highway Log: Planning Report 2011, SR 2 to SR 971 . . 1345–1349 . February 12, 2013.
  2. Web site: 47.17.545: State route No. 302 . 1970. 1987 . . . February 12, 2013.
  3. Web site: Long . Priscilla . November 14, 2004 . Purdy (Spit) Bridge is completed in Pierce County on September 29, 1937. . . February 12, 2013.
  4. Web site: March 1, 1983 . National Register of Historic Places; Annual Listing of Historic Properties . . 45 . February 12, 2013.
  5. Web site: January 27, 2009 . SR 16: Junction SR 302/SR 302 SP Purdy . Washington State Department of Transportation . February 12, 2013.
  6. Web site: Staff . 2011 . 2011 Annual Traffic Report . Washington State Department of Transportation . 170–171 . February 12, 2013.
  7. Web site: Lawrence . Michael . August 1993 . Purdy Bridge (Purdy Spit Bridge) - HAER No. WA-101 . . February 13, 2013.
  8. Book: Holstine . Craig . Hobbs . Richard . 2005 . Spanning Washington: Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State . . 0-87422-281-8.
  9. Book: Washington State Legislature . Session Laws of the State of Washington . 1937 . March 18, 1937 . February 13, 2013 . Washington State Legislature . . Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways . 1010 . (b) Secondary State Highway No. 14B; beginning at a junction with Primary State Highway No. 14 in the vicinity east of Purdy, thence in a westerly direction by the most feasible route to a junction with Secondary State Highway No. 14A in the vicinity north of Allyn..
  10. Book: Washington State Legislature . Session Laws of the State of Washington . 1955 . 1955 . Washington State Legislature . Olympia, Washington . Chapter 383.
  11. Web site: Staff . 1960 . Annual Traffic Report, 1960 . . 212–213 . February 13, 2013 . March 13, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110313165044/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/1960_ATR.pdf . dead .
  12. Web site: Prahl . C. G. . Identification of State Highways . Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways . December 1, 1965 . February 13, 2013.
  13. News: December 1978 . Purdy Bypass Gives Relief To Motorists . 6 . Transpo News . 29 . 6 . Washington State Department of Transportation . WSDOT Library Digital Collections . November 4, 2021.
  14. Book: Washington State Legislature . Session Laws of the State of Washington . 1987 . April 13, 1987 . Washington State Legislature . Olympia, Washington . Chapter 199: Senate Bill No. 5413.
  15. Web site: March 31, 1992 . Mason County Resolution 40-92 . Mason County Board of County Commissioners . July 30, 2018.
  16. Web site: Nisqually Earthquake, Washington February 28, 2001 . United States Geological Survey . February 5, 2013 . February 20, 2013.
  17. Web site: Anniversary of the Nisqually Earthquake: Transportation Damage Summary . Washington State Department of Transportation . February 20, 2013.
  18. Web site: Fuchs . Steve . SR 302 - Key Peninsula Highway to Purdy Vicinity - Safety & Congestion . Washington State Department of Transportation . February 13, 2013.
  19. Web site: Donahue . John P. . SR 302 - Elgin Clifton Rd to SR 16 - Corridor Study . February 13, 2013 . Washington State Department of Transportation.
  20. Web site: January 12, 2009 . SR 302 Corridor Study - Elgin Clifton Rd to SR 16: Reasonable Range of Alternatives . February 13, 2013 . Washington State Department of Transportation.
  21. Web site: December 27, 2009 . SR 16: Junction SR 302 SP Purdy . Washington State Department of Transportation . February 12, 2013.