Washington State Route 99

Infobox WA State Route|type=State|route=99|sec=160
length_mi=49.11
length_ref= [Washington State Department of Transportation, [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/TDO/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/HwyLog2007.pdf State Highway Log] , 2007]
length_round=2
formed=late 1960s
dir1=South
dir2=North
from=
junction=
to=
previous_type=US
previous_route=99
next_type=WA
next_route=100

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State Route 99, abbreviated SR 99, commonly called Highway 99, is a numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Washington extending just under 50 miles from Fife in the south to Everett in the north, with a 2-mile gap in Tukwila.

Route description

SR99 has two separate divisions:

outhern division

SR 99 originates at Interstate 5 in Fife, near its own intersection with 54th Avenue E. From there, it heads eastward to Federal Way and intersects SR 18 just west of its interchange with I-5. It then begins to travel north, through Des Moines, overlapping SR 509 for a few miles. The route becomes a little difficult to identify for several miles, as there are no reassurance signs until entering SeaTac. Once there, it becomes International Boulevard and forms the eastern boundary of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport until crossing SR 518, where the southern division ends.

Northern division

The northern division begins at a freeway interchange marking the terminus of SR 599 and proceeds north from there as a freeway until a complicated interchange with SR 509 at the southern end of the First Avenue South Bridge. This freeway alignment is also called West Marginal Way. The designation passes over the bridge and onto East Marginal Way which transects the industrial and warehouse district known as Sodo. Near the eastern end of the West Seattle Bridge, SR 99 returns to freeway status along a surface portion of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. SR 99 follows the viaduct to its terminus in the north at the Battery Street Tunnel, a route it continues along.

Once SR 99 exits from the tunnel, it continues through the neighborhoods of North Seattle as Aurora Avenue North. Aurora Avenue snakes its way around Queen Anne Hill, crosses the Lake Washington Ship Canal on the George Washington Memorial Bridge (1932), bisects Woodland Park and escapes the city and county near Shoreline at an interchange with SR 104 in Edmonds as Pacific Highway North.

North of Edmonds, SR 99 enters Lynnwood, where it is known as Highway 99. After a brief journey through Lynnwood, SR 99 enters Everett, where it becomes known as Evergreen Way, until 3 miles south of its terminus, where it follows another route known as Everett Mall Way. SR 99 passes the Mall near its interchange/intersection with Interstate 5, SR 526, and SR 527.

Designated alignments

SR 99 is designated along the following streets from south to north:

outhern

*54th Avenue East
*Pacific Highway East
*70th Avenue East
*Pacific Highway South

Northern

*West Marginal Way
*First Avenue South Bridge
*East Marginal Way
*Alaskan Way Viaduct
*Battery Street Tunnel
*Aurora Avenue North
*Highway 99
*Evergreen Way
*Everett Mall Way

History

*State Route 99 was originally named Pacific Highway 1, which itself had been built over an earlier wagon road named R.F. Morrow Road.cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C1DC4A4E-3C3E-4A6F-88CF-D40DDB6E1CD4/0/introduction.pdf |title=SR 99 North: North End of Battery Street Tunnel to N. 145th Street Route Development Plan |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=2007-12-03|format=PDF]
*SR 99 is a short remnant of US 99. SR 99 is primarily the route of US 99 where building Interstate 5 would have been prohibitively expensive, or would not have served the greater good. Also, with the exception of the freeway sections, and from the Battery Street Tunnel to the north side of the George Washington Bridge (Aurora Bridge), SR 99 is tightly lined with stores, making any expansion nearly impossible.
*SR 99 used to be both US 99 and Primary State Highway (PSH) 1. As I-5 was built, these designations were moved to the new alignments from state line to international border until I-5 began being designated over the route. They were then co-signed briefly, and later, around the time of the 1964 state highway renumbering, SR 99 was redesignated over much of its former route. Slowly, over time, SR 99 was cut back to the current routing from Fife to Everett.
*US 99 used to be routed through the downtown Seattle streets. When the viaduct was built and US 99 was transferred to it, the old route became U.S. Route 99 Alternate (later Business).
*SR 99's former northern terminus was in downtown Everett. However, shortly after the opening of the Boeing Freeway and the Everett Mall, SR 99 was rerouted via Everett Mall Way to terminate at the interchange of the Boeing Freeway (SR 526), SR 527, and I-5.
*On the Alaskan Way Viaduct, near its southern terminus, there are ghost ramps on the east side of the structure. These were the only interchange structures created when the viaduct was first built in anticipation of the US 10 freeway (now Interstate 90) being completed into Seattle, and being extended to SR/US 99. However, the construction of Qwest Field and Safeco Field have made the possibility of this occurring remote. Some other connection may be made when the viaduct is replaced in the near future.
*Many cities and towns along the I-5 corridor in Washington have streets named 'Highway 99', 'Old Highway 99', or 'Pacific Highway' all used to be part of US 99. Those cities with the streets still designated 'Highway 99' can cause confusion with people unfamiliar with the area, as they expect the street to be part of SR 99. This is most apparent in Vancouver, Washington whose "Hwy 99" is often confused for a state route.
*To this day, an older US 99 sign is still in place on an overhead sign at the Columbia Street onramp to the Alaskan Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle.
*In 2004 the state legislature removed the SR 99 designation from the part of the route along Tukwila International Boulevard in Tukwila. The same act also specified that the alignment south of SR 18 will be abandoned once the new SR 509 freeway is completed from Tacoma to Federal Way. [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.17.160 RCW 47.17.160 ] ]

Major intersections

References

Notes

* Near the northern terminus of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the southbound section of the viaduct is cut away to make room for a brick building that was there at the time of construction. This provides an interesting visual; although the structure of the building extends only a few inches into the viaduct, it is nonetheless unusual to see part of a building in the road, on a bridge, 50 ft in the air.
* At no point is SR 99 more than 5 miles west of I-5.
* At SR 99's northern terminus, there is no direct connection to southbound I-5. Traffic must continue ¼ mile north of the terminus before reaching the entrance ramp to Southbound I-5.

External links

* [http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/sr099.html Highways of Washington State]