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List of Interstate Highways in Washington

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Not to be confused with List of Interstate Highways in Washington, D.C..

Interstate Highways in Washington
Highway marker for Interstate 5, comprising a blue shield with a red, three-pointed crown Highway marker for Interstate 90, comprising a blue shield with a red, three-pointed crown Highway marker for Interstate 182, comprising a wide blue shield with a red, three-pointed crown
Highway markers for Interstate 5, Interstate 90, and Interstate 182
A map of the state of Washington, with its seven Interstate highways highlighted in red.
Map of highways in Washington with the Interstates highlighted in red
System information
Length764.26 mi[1] (1,229.96 km)
FormedJune 29, 1956
Highway names
InterstatesInterstate nn (I‑nn)
Business Loops:Business Loop Interstate nn (BL I‑nn)
Business Spurs:Business Spur Interstate nn (BS I‑nn)
System links

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 764 miles (1,230 km) 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 298 miles (480 km) 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

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Aerial view of a freeway interchange with flying ramps situated over a dense urban neighborhood.
Aerial image of the I-5 and I-90 interchange south of Downtown Seattle

All seven Interstate Highways in Washington are legally defined as part of the state highway system, which is maintained and administered by WSDOT.[2] They are all freeways built to Interstate Highway standards, which require full grade separation and control of access via interchanges, design speeds of 50 to 70 miles per hour (80 to 113 km/h), a minimum of two lanes per direction, and widths of at least 12 feet (3.7 m) for lanes and 4 to 10 feet (1.2 to 3.0 m) for the left and right shoulders, respectively.[3] The FHWA is responsible for overseeing these standards and can also approve exceptions.[4] 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.[3][5] 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.[6][7]

The Interstate Highway System covers about 764 miles (1,230 km) in Washington and consists of three primary routes and four auxiliary routes.[1][8] 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.[9] The longest route, I-90, is 298 miles (480 km) and connects the state's two largest cities, Seattle and Spokane; the shortest is I-705 at 1.5 miles (2.4 km).[1][8] 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.[10][11] 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.[12] The Seattle–Tacoma area ranks third among U.S. metropolitan areas for the number of sections with high-occupancy vehicle lanes.[13] 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.[14]

History

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Aerial view of a suburban neighborhood with a diagonal swath cleared of homes and turned into dirt. A few roads cross over the dirt trench.
Construction of I-5 in north Seattle, 1963

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.[15][16] 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.[17] It opened in 1953 and replaced sections of U.S. Route 99 (US 99), part of the older United States Numbered Highway System.[18][19]

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.[20][21] 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 2,388 miles (3,843 km) by 1953.[22][23] 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.[15][24] These included bypasses of Seattle and Portland, Oregon, the latter of which would also encompass Vancouver, Washington.[25]

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.[15] 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.[26][27] 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.[28][29] 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.[30] It was numbered I-82 by AASHO in 1958, completing the initial allocation of 726 miles (1,168 km) for Washington.[31][32] A rejected extension of I-82 across the Cascade Range to Tacoma and Aberdeen, totaling 167 miles (269 km), was submitted by Washington in 1959.[33]

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.[34] 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.[35] 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.[36] The first auxiliary route to be fully completed was I-405, which was opened to traffic between Woodinville and Lynnwood in November 1969.[37] 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.[38][39]

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.[40] 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.[41][42] 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.[43][44] The final Interstate to be added in Washington was I-705, a short spur into Downtown Tacoma,[45] which was approved by the FHWA and AASHTO in 1978 and opened in 1988.[46][47]

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.[48] The 7-mile (11 km) 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 $2.97 billion in 2023 dollars),[49] among the most expensive parts of the Interstate system.[48][50] The FHWA estimated the total cost to construct the Interstate Highway System in the state to be $4.558 billion in 1989 (equivalent to $9.75 billion in 2023 dollars),[49] placing Washington eighth among all states by total cost.[51]

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.[52] 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.[53][54] 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.[55] 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.[56]

Primary Interstates

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List of Primary Interstate Highways in Washington
Number Length (mi)[1] Length (km) Southern or western terminus Northern or eastern terminus Formed Removed Notes
I-5 276.62 445.18 I-5 at Oregon state line in Vancouver Highway 99 at Canadian border in Blaine 01957-08-141957[26] current Main north–south corridor in Western Washington; completed in 1969.[36] Officially designated the Purple Heart Trail since 2013.[57]
I-82 132.57 213.35 I-90 / US 97 in Ellensburg I-82 / US 395 at Oregon state line near Plymouth 01957-10-171957[30] current Serves the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities regions and was completed in 1986.[42]
I-90 297.51 478.80 SR 519 in Seattle I-90 at Idaho state line near Liberty Lake 01957-08-141957[26] current Main east–west corridor in Washington and the longest Interstate, completed in 1993.[48] Officially designated the American Veterans Memorial Highway since 1991.[58]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Auxiliary Interstates

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List of Auxiliary Interstate Highways in Washington
Number Length (mi)[1] Length (km) Southern or western terminus Northern or eastern terminus Formed Removed Notes
I-182 15.19 24.45 I-82 / US 12 near Richland US 12 in Pasco 01969-06-231969[41] current I-182 is a spur that serves the Tri-Cities area and was completed in 1986.[42]
I-205 10.57 17.01 I-205 at Oregon state line near Vancouver I-5 in Salmon Creek 01958-01-011958[29] current I-205 is a loop that bypasses Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington; its Washington section was completed in 1982 and the entire highway opened in 1983.[44]
I-405 30.30 48.76 I-5 / SR 518 in Tukwila I-5 / SR 525 in Lynnwood 01958-01-011958[29] current I-405 is a loop that bypasses Seattle to serve the Eastside and was completed in 1969.[37]
I-705 1.50 2.41 I-5 / SR 7 in Tacoma Schuster Parkway in Tacoma 01978-01-011978[46] current I-705 is a spur that serves Downtown Tacoma and was completed in 1988.[47]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Multimodal Planning Division (January 4, 2021). State Highway Log Planning Report 2020, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. II-1–II-7. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "Chapter 47.17 RCW: State Highway Routes". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  4. ^ WSDOT Environmental and Engineering Programs, Design Office (November 2007). "Chapter 330: Design Documentation, Approval, and Process Review" (PDF). Design Manual, M22-01.03 (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. 330–9, 330–12. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Interstate Frequently Asked Questions: Who numbered the Interstates?". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  6. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (May 4, 2013). "Special Committee on US Route Numbering Report to SCOH on May 3, 2013 Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  7. ^ WSDOT Engineering and Regional Operations, Traffic Operations (May 2021). "Chapter 2: Signs" (PDF). Traffic Manual M51-02.10 (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 2-52. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Table 3: Interstate Routes in Each of the 50 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  9. ^ Washington State Department of Transportation (2014). Washington State Highways, 2014–2015 (PDF) (Map). 1:842,000. Olympia: Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  10. ^ "Urban Highways with the Most Lanes" (PDF). Federal Highway Administration. July 27, 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  11. ^ Giordano, Lizz (July 22, 2019). "A driver can dream: Can I-5 express lanes be more nimble?". The Everett Herald. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  12. ^ "HOV system map". Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  13. ^ Booz Allen Hamilton; HNTB (December 2008). "A Compendium of Existing HOV Lane Facilities in the United States" (PDF). Federal Highway Administration. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Annual Mileage and Travel Information". Washington State Department of Transportation. 2020. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  15. ^ a b c Weingroff, Richard F. (2006). "Designating the Urban Interstates". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  16. ^ Miller, James N. (July 23, 1939). "14,000 Mile Super Highway To Speed Transportation". The Seattle Times. p. 3.
  17. ^ Cooper, Carl L. (June 3, 1947). "Double-Deck Viaduct for Alaskan Way; Devin Reveals Double-Deck Viaduct Plans". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 1.
  18. ^ Ott, Jennifer (October 27, 2011). "Alaskan Way Viaduct, Part 2: Planning and Design". HistoryLink. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  19. ^ "Alaskan Way Viaduct Opened To Traffic". The Seattle Times. April 5, 1953. p. 1.
  20. ^ Cunningham, Ross (February 25, 1947). "New Seattle-to-Tacoma Superhighway Proposed". The Seattle Times. p. 1.
  21. ^ Tate, Cassandra (November 8, 2004). "Washington Legislature authorizes construction of limited access highways in 1947". HistoryLink. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  22. ^ Cunningham, Ross (February 3, 1952). "Knotty Financial, Traffic Problems Face Building Freeway Through Seattle". The Seattle Times. p. 12.
  23. ^ Tegner, Bob (January 25, 1959). "Freeways, highways web the Empire". The Spokesman-Review. p. 74. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Swift, Earl (2011). The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-618-81241-7. OCLC 1159862340.
  25. ^ Bureau of Public Roads (1955). General Location of ⁠National System of Interstate Highways. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 71, 98. OCLC 4165975. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via WikiSource.
  26. ^ a b c American Association of State Highway Officials (August 14, 1957). Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (Map). Public Roads Administration. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  27. ^ Hittle, Leroy (October 9, 1957). "State's Two Major Highways To Be Renumbered In Defense System". Port Angeles Evening News. Associated Press. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Faber, Jim (July 1, 1956). "Half-Billion Plus To Smooth Bumps In State's Roads". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 1.
  29. ^ a b c Johnson, A. E. (November 10, 1958). "Correspondence to W. A. Bugge". American Association of State Highway Officials. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  30. ^ a b Mooney, Richard E. (October 19, 1957). "1,102 Miles Added To U.S. Roads Plan". The New York Times. p. 1. ProQuest 114071045. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  31. ^ National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, As of June, 1958 (Map). American Automobile Association. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via Library of Congress.
  32. ^ Dugovich, William (May 1967). "Seattle's Superfreeway". Washington Highways. Vol. 14, no. 2. Washington State Department of Highways. pp. 2–5. OCLC 29654162. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  33. ^ "Commission Requests Aberdeen-Yakima Route For Interstate System". Washington Highway News. Vol. 8, no. 5. Washington State Department of Highways. March 1959. p. 7. OCLC 29654162. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  34. ^ Nelson, Stub (April 19, 1957). "Your City And State: About Your Highway 99". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 14.
  35. ^ "Highway Sign Makes Debut". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 10, 1958. p. 7.
  36. ^ a b Dougherty, Phil (April 10, 2010). "Interstate 5 is completed in Washington on May 14, 1969". HistoryLink. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  37. ^ a b "South-bound lanes on Hwy. 405 open Nov. 5". The Enterprise. October 29, 1969. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  38. ^ Barr, Robert A. (May 25, 1972). "Rest stops: 122 along state highways; 240 is goal". The Seattle Times. p. F5.
  39. ^ "State has new map showing mileages to freeway points". The Seattle Times. June 3, 1973. p. A23.
  40. ^ Woehler, Bob (November 25, 1984). "I-82 saga was 25-year freeway tug-of-war". Tri-City Herald. p. C4. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ a b U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (June 24, 1969). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 12. Retrieved November 26, 2021 – via Wikisource.
  42. ^ a b c Woehler, Bob (April 4, 1986). "Interstate opening a Tri-City success story". Tri-City Herald. p. B7. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ Ryll, Thomas (December 15, 1982). "It's open! The long wait ends as cars roll over I-205 bridge". The Columbian. p. A1. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ a b Federman, Stan (March 6, 1983). "I-205 opening paves way to future". The Oregonian. p. E2.
  45. ^ Nelson, Robert T. (March 29, 1998). "In the 6th district, Dicks keeps delivering". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  46. ^ a b Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (June 29, 1978). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 5. Retrieved November 26, 2021 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  47. ^ a b Szymanski, Jim (October 16, 1988). "Spur is city's link to future". The News Tribune. pp. A1, A12. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  48. ^ a b c Reynolds, Peggy (September 9, 1993). "Last link of I-90 ends 30-year saga". The Seattle Times. p. A10. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  49. ^ a b Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  50. ^ Pryne, Eric (September 13, 1993). "Bridge of sighs: I-90 span is over at last". The Seattle Times. p. B1.
  51. ^ Weingroff, Richard (1998). "The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways, Part III – Cost". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  52. ^ Gilmore, Susan (August 24, 2003). "Some freeway plans never went anywhere". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  53. ^ "Auburn–Bothell Highway Study Phase 1 – Study Design". Washington State Legislature Joint Committee on Highways. February 1970. p. II-1. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  54. ^ Andrews, G. H. (January 8, 1971). "A Legislative Study: Kenmore to Swamp Creek". Washington State Legislature Joint Committee on Highways. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  55. ^ Singer, Natalie (July 15, 2004). "State study revives idea of new Western Washington highway". The Seattle Times. p. B4. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  56. ^ "Valley will not see proposed foothills highway". Snoqualmie Valley Record. October 28, 2004. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  57. ^ Hill, Christian (August 2, 2013). "I-5 in Washington becomes Purple Heart Trail to honor veterans". The Columbian. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  58. ^ "Chapter 56: American Veterans Memorial Highway" (PDF). 1991 Session Laws of the State of Washington. Washington State Legislature. July 28, 1991. pp. 398–399. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
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