Washington State Route 18

Infobox WA State Route|type=State|route=18|sec=075|formed=1964
length_mi=28.41
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length_round=2
dir1=West
dir2=East
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next_type=State|previous_type=State|next_route=19|previous_route=17

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State Route 18, also known as SR 18 or Highway 18, is a 28-mile long state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, which connects State Route 99 in south King County with Interstate 90. It runs northeast from Federal Way, through Auburn, connecting to Green River Community College, then through Covington, Maple Valley, over the 1,375 ft Tiger Summit, and then terminates at I-90 about eight miles east of Issaquah near Snoqualmie. This highway is the most direct route between Eastern Washington and Tacoma. North of I-90, Highway 18 becomes a local arterial Snoqualmie Parkway. Snoqualmie Parkway continues to SR 202 just east of Snoqualmie Falls. This is the shortest route between I-90 and attractions at Snoqualmie Falls.

Highway 18 is a dangerous roadway due in part to the heavy truck traffic between I-5 and I-90. For the past several years, work as been done on a [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR18/AuburntoI90/ project] to turn SR 18 into a limited access highway and widen it to four lanes, two in each direction. Three-fourths of the highway upgrade has been completed; it now has four lanes from Federal Way to Issaquah Hobart Road. The last one-fourth of the expansion is 7 miles which includes the climb up to Tiger Summit and the last 2 miles to Interstate 90 with a freeway-to-freeway connection. The project still needs $267.5 million in funding and construction is set to be completed by 2015.

SR 18 forms part of one possible route for a proposed future Interstate 605, though the idea faces considerable opposition. However, an appropriate measure would be to renumber the highway as an Interstate highway after completion of the widening, since it links Interstate 5 to Interstate 90.

Exit list

The entire route is in King County.

Cultural references

A band local to the Kent/Covington/Auburn area called Daphne Loves Derby wrote a song entitled "Midnight Highway" which sings "I miss our midnight rides on highway 18, 18 is gone."

Related routes

*State Route 181

References

External links

* [http://www.phenry.org/wsh/sr18.html Washington State Highways: SR 18]
* [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR18/AuburntoI90 SR 18 - Corridor from Auburn to I-90]
* [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/northwest/King/projectlist_KING.htm#SR18 Projects and Project Updates for Highway 18]