Washington State Route 538 Explained

State:WA
Type:SR
Route:538
Alternate Name:College Way
Section:780
Map:Washington State Route 538.svg
Map Alt:A map of western Skagit County that shows the current route SR 538 highlighted in red.
Map Notes:SR 538 highlighted in red
Length Mi:3.62
Length Round:2
Length Ref:[1]
Established:1964[2]
Direction A:West
Terminus A: in Mount Vernon
Direction B:East
Terminus B: near Mount Vernon
Spur Type:I
Spur Of:5
Previous Type:SR
Previous Route:536
Next Type:SR
Next Route:539

State Route 538 (SR 538, alternatively named College Way) is a 3.622NaN2 long state highway located within the northern area of Mount Vernon city limits and the urban growth boundary, located in Skagit County, a subdivision of the U.S. state of Washington. The highway, which has existed as a county road since 1911, travels from (I-5) in the west, passing former (US 99), now Riverside Drive, and Skagit Valley College's main Mount Vernon campus before terminating at a roundabout with .

Before being designated Secondary State Highway 1G (SSH 1G) in 1937, the current roadway that is now SR 538 was a county road through farmland for 26 years. SSH 1G traveled between (PSH 1), also known as US 99, and until 1964, when the current designation of SR 538 was created. US 99 was bypassed by I-5 after 1966 and became Riverside Drive. The roundabout at SR 9 was constructed in 2007 while the Riverside Drive intersection was widened in 2009.

Route description

State Route 538 (SR 538) begins at the (I-5) interchange in northern Mount Vernon located south of the Skagit River.[3] The roadway, which handled a daily average of 27,000 motorists at the interchange in 2008,[4] is named College Way and travels east through a commercial zone, passing Riverside Drive, the former route of (US 99),[5] and crossing a set of rail tracks used by BNSF Railway.[6] Transitioning from a commercial to residential area, the Mount Vernon campus of the Skagit Valley College, located on the north side of the highway, is passed and eventually SR 538 leaves Mount Vernon city limits.[1] [7] [8] The road turns southeast and ends at a roundabout with within Mount Vernon's urban growth boundary.[9]

History

Originating as a county road by 1911,[10] SR 538 was designated Secondary State Highway 1G (SSH 1G) in 1937. SSH 1G ran from (PSH 1), co-signed as (US 99), to .[11] During the 1964 highway renumbering, SR 538 was created to replace SSH 1G, PSH 1 and US 99 were replaced with (I-5) and replaced SSH 1A.[12] I-5 was not built until after 1966 and the western terminus of SR 538 was still US 99.[13] Between early June and late July 2007,[14] [15] the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) constructed a roundabout at the SR 9 and Schopf Lane intersection,[16] [17] the first in Skagit County.[14] The new roundabout reduced the length of SR 538 by 0.052NaN2.[1]

In early 2009, between I-5 and 18th Street, WSDOT repaved the highway and expanded the Riverside Drive intersection.[18] [19] A city-led project to widen the section of College Way that passes under I-5 at the western terminus of SR 538 began construction in December 2018 and was completed in 2020. The street was expanded to six lanes, including dedicated left turn lanes and two through lanes that are separated from the rest of traffic by the columns of the underpass.[20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: State Highway Log: Planning Report, SR 2 to SR 971 . Washington State Department of Transportation . Washington State Department of Transportation . 2008 . October 3, 2009.
  2. Web site: RCW 41.17.780: State route No. 538 . 1970 . Washington State Legislature . Washington State Legislature . October 3, 2009.
  3. Web site: Washington State Department of Transportation . SR 5– Exit 227; Junction SR 538/College Way . June 25, 2009 . October 3, 2009 . October 8, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061008161849/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/interchange/pdfs/SR005/005X227.pdf . dead .
  4. Web site: 2008 Annual Traffic Report . Washington State Department of Transportation . 2008 . October 3, 2009 . June 16, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100616135704/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/Annual_Traffic_Report_2008.pdf . dead .
  5. Web site: Old 99 (Riverside Drive) Improvements – Cities of Mount Vernon & Burlington . TranTech Engineering, LLC . 2008 . October 3, 2009 .
  6. Washington State Department of Transportation . Washington State Railroad System . 2008 . October 3, 2009 . January 5, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110105154044/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/1DFCBFA0-1A9D-4838-A74F-7841BF22E9C3/0/Railmap_update_Sept2008.pdf . dead .
  7. Web site: Locations . Skagit Valley College . Skagit Valley College . 2009 . October 3, 2009 . September 18, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090918111757/http://www.skagit.edu/news3.asp_Q_pagenumber_E_2328 . dead .
  8. Skagit Valley College . Mount Vernon Campus . March 2009 . October 3, 2009 . October 9, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091009200421/http://www.skagit.edu/images/color_mvCampus.pdf . dead .
  9. . City of Mount Vernon 2007 . 2007 . 1" = 1000' . October 3, 2009 .
  10. . Mount Vernon (1911) . . 1:125,000 . Washington 1;125,000 topographic quadrangles . 1911 . October 3, 2009 . August 29, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060829053752/http://content.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cgi-bin/pview.exe?CISOROOT=%2Fmaps&CISOPTR=447&CISORESTMP=%2Fqbuild%2Fbuildplate11.html&CISOVIEWTMP=%2Fqbuild%2Fbuildplate12.html&CISOROWS=2&CISOCOLS=5&CISOCLICK=title%3Asubjec%3Acreato%3Adate%3Atype . dead .
  11. Book: Washington State Legislature . Session Laws of the State of Washington . October 3, 2009 . 1937 . March 18, 1937 . Washington State Legislature . Olympia, Washington . 935 . Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways . (g) Secondary State Highway No. 1G; beginning at Mt. Vernon on Primary State Highway No. 1, thence in an easterly direction by the most feasible route to a junction with Secondary State Highway No. 1A..
  12. Web site: Identification of State Highways . C. G. Prahl . . December 1, 1965 . October 3, 2009 . October 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201030155114/https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/Identification-of-state-highways.pdf . dead .
  13. . Victoria, 1966 . United States Geological Survey . 1966 . 1:250,000 . October 3, 2009.
  14. Roundabout Construction Begins near Mount Vernon . June 1, 2007 . Washington State Department of Transportation . October 3, 2009.
  15. New Roundabout Open to Traffic East of Mount Vernon . July 27, 2007 . Washington State Department of Transportation . October 3, 2009.
  16. Web site: SR 9 – SR 538 Intersection Improvements – Complete August 2007 . 2007 . Washington State Department of Transportation . October 3, 2009 . September 29, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090929033119/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr9/sr538intersectionimprovements/ . dead .
  17. SR 9 – SR 538 Intersection Improvements . 2005 . Tele Atlas . Washington State Department of Transportation . October 3, 2009 . October 12, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081012041956/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR9/SR538IntersectionImprovements/Map.htm . dead .
  18. Web site: SR 536/SR 538 – Paving . 2009 . Washington State Department of Transportation . October 3, 2009 . October 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121007172148/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR536/SR538Paving/default.htm . dead .
  19. News: Construction to begin in spring on College Way/Riverside intersection . Staff writer . . January 24, 2009 . October 3, 2009 . February 7, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090207234657/http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/construction_to_begin_in_spring_on_college_way_riverside_intersection/ . dead .
  20. News: Stone . Brandon . December 14, 2018 . Work begins on College Way widening project . Skagit Valley Herald . November 25, 2019.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Washington State Route 538".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.