Washington State Route 548 Explained

State:WA
Type:SR
Route:548
Spur Type:I
Spur Of:5
Section:807
Map Custom:yes
Map Notes:A map of northwestern Whatcom County with SR 548 highlighted in red
Length Mi:13.85
Length Round:2
Established:1991
Direction A:South
Terminus A: in Ferndale
Direction B:North
Terminus B: in Blaine
Counties:Whatcom
Previous Type:SR
Previous Route:547
Next Type:SR
Next Route:599

State Route 548 (SR 548) is a state highway in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It travels for 14miles between Ferndale and Blaine, terminating at interchanges with Interstate 5 (I-5) at both ends. SR 548 in Blaine, named Peace Portal Drive, follows the route of the Pacific Highway, later U.S. Route 99 (US 99) and Primary State Highway 1 (PSH 1). US 99 was decommissioned during the 1964 highway renumbering and the highway was maintained by Whatcom County until it was designated as SR 548 in 1991.

Route description

SR 548 begins north of Ferndale at a diamond interchange with I-5, signed as exit 266.[1] The highway travels west on Grandview Road, crossing over a railroad carrying the BNSF Railway's Bellingham Subdivision,[2] [3] and passes through a rural area while following Fingalson Creek. SR 548 passes north of Lake Terrell and part of the Whatcom Wildlife Area before crossing another set of railroad tracks and reaching the Cherry Point Refinery complex, the state's largest oil refinery.[4] [5] The highway turns north onto Blaine Road at a roundabout near the complex's main entrance,[6] located east of Birch Bay State Park.[7]

SR 548 continues north through the beach community of Birch Bay, overlooking a section of Boundary Bay. The highway then crosses over California Creek near the Loomis Trail Golf Club and Dakota Creek at the southern city limit of Blaine. The highway crosses over the BNSF Bellingham Subdivision and turns northwest onto Peace Portal Drive, traveling parallel to I-5 and the railroad through Blaine.[3] [8] The highway and the railroad move onto the shore of Drayton Harbor, part of Semiahmoo Bay, and travel north through downtown Blaine.[9] SR 548 reaches its terminus at a dogbone interchange with I-5, signed as exit 276, near the city's marina, approximately NaNmiles from the Peace Arch crossing of the Canadian border. The interchange also includes ramps to D Street, which continues east to SR 543,[9] and 2nd Street, which connects to a parking lot for Peace Arch State Park.[7] [10]

SR 548 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey of average traffic volume on state highways that is measured in terms of annual average daily traffic. Traffic volumes on SR 548 range from a minimum of 2,100 vehicles near the Cherry Point Refinery to a maximum of 12,000 vehicles near its Ferndale terminus.[11]

History

SR 548 between Birch Bay and Blaine follows the route of a wagon road built in the 1900s parallel to a Great Northern rail line.[12] The wagon road was codified in 1913 as the northernmost segment of the Pacific Highway,[13] which later became State Road 1 during a 1923 restructuring of the highway system.[14] The United States Numbered Highways were created in 1926 and US 99 was assigned to the Pacific Highway,[15] becoming concurrent with the entire highway,[16] which was replaced by PSH 1 in 1937.[17] PSH 1 and US 99 were replaced during the 1964 highway renumbering by I-5 and Peace Portal Drive was removed from the highway system.[18] [19]

SR 548 was created in 1991 from the county- and city-maintained Peace Portal Drive, Blaine Road, and Grandview Road between Ferndale and Blaine.[20] [21] In 2010, WSDOT improved the I-5 interchange in Blaine at a cost of $13.2 million by converting it to a dogbone interchange using two new roundabouts.[22] A roundabout was constructed at the Cherry Point Refinery in 2018.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: May 14, 2012 . SR 5 – Exit 266: Junction SR 548/Grandview Road . Washington State Department of Transportation . February 1, 2013.
  2. January 2016 . 2015 Washington State Rail System by Owner . Washington State Department of Transportation . December 14, 2018.
  3. January 10, 2013 . BNSF Railway Company Northwest Operating Division . . December 14, 2018.
  4. Web site: Whatcom Wildlife Area: Lake Terrell Unit . . December 14, 2018.
  5. News: Gallagher . Dave . September 14, 2017 . BP Cherry Point refinery to host open house . . December 14, 2018.
  6. News: July 13, 2018 . Roundabout to be built on Grandview at Kickerville . . December 14, 2018.
  7. Book: Mueller . Marge . Mueller . Ted . 2004 . Washington State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide . 3rd . 127–129 . . Seattle . 0-89886-893-9 . 55800990 . Google Books . December 14, 2018.
  8. Web site: October 18, 2010 . SR 5 – Exit 274: Junction Peace Portal Drive . Washington State Department of Transportation . December 14, 2018.
  9. June 3, 2016 . City of Blaine Comprehensive Plan 2016: Transportation Element – Functional Classification Central Blaine, 2013 . City of Blaine . December 14, 2018.
  10. Web site: May 14, 2012 . SR 5 – Exit 276: Junction SR 548/D St/Blaine City Center . Washington State Department of Transportation . February 1, 2013.
  11. 2017 . 2016 Annual Traffic Report . 212–213 . Washington State Department of Transportation . December 14, 2018.
  12. United States Geological Survey . Washington (Whatcom County): Blaine Quadrangle . May 1907 . 1:250,000 . JPG . February 1, 2013.
  13. Book: Washington State Legislature . Session Laws of the State of Washington . 1913 . March 12, 1913 . February 1, 2013 . Washington State Legislature . . Chapter 65: Classifying Public Highways . 221 . A highway starting at the international boundary line at Blaine, Washington; thence southerly by the most feasible route through the cities of Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, Seattle, Renton, along the easterly side of the White River Valley through Kent, Auburn, Tacoma, Olympia, Tenino, Centralia, Chehalis, to the southern boundary line at the city of Vancouver, Washington, to be known as The Pacific Highway..
  14. Book: Washington State Legislature . Session Laws of the State of Washington . 1923 . March 19, 1923 . February 1, 2013 . Washington State Legislature . Olympia, Washington . Chapter 185: Primary and Secondary State Highways . 627–628 . SECTION 1. A primary state highway, to be known as State Road No. 1 or the Pacific Highway, is established as follows: Beginning at the international boundary line at Blaine in the County of Whatcom; thence by the most feasible route in a southerly direction to the interstate bridge over the Columbia River between Vancouver and Portland..
  15. . . November 11, 1926 . United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials . 1:7,000,000 . Washington, DC . . 32889555 . November 7, 2013 . . amp.
  16. Rand McNally . Rand McNally Junior Road Map of Washington . 1926 . February 1, 2013.
  17. Book: Washington State Legislature . Session Laws of the State of Washington . 1937 . March 17, 1937 . February 1, 2013 . Washington State Legislature . Olympia, Washington . Chapter 190: Establishment of Primary State Highways . 933 . Beginning at the international boundary line in the vicinity of Blaine in Whatcom county, thence in a southerly direction by the most feasible route to the Washington-Oregon boundary line on the interstate bridge over the Columbia river..
  18. Web site: Prahl . C. G. . Identification of State Highways . . December 1, 1965 . February 1, 2013.
  19. United States Geological Survey . Victoria, 1966 . 1966 . 1:250,000 . JPG . February 1, 2013.
  20. Web site: 47.17.807: State route No. 548 . 1991 . . . February 1, 2013.
  21. Web site: February 1997 . SR-548 Route Development Plan . 2-1 . Washington State Department of Transportation . WSDOT Library Digital Collections . October 7, 2021.
  22. Web site: I-5 - Blaine Exit Interchange Improvements - Complete September 2010 . September 2010 . Washington State Department of Transportation . February 1, 2013.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Washington State Route 548".

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