State highways in Washington

infobox road
state=WA
type=SR
route=99
highway_name=State highways in Washington

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In the U.S. state of Washington, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) maintains a network of over 7000 miles (11000 km) of state highways, including all Interstate and U.S. Highways that pass through the state. The system comprises 8.5% of the state's public road mileage, but carries over half of the traffic.Washington State Department of Transportation, [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/TDO/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/HwyLog2006.pdf State Highway Log] , 2006] [Washington State Department of Transportation, [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/TDO/annualmileage.htm Annual Mileage and Travel Information] , 2006] All other public roads in the state are either inside incorporated places (cities or towns) or are maintained by the county.__FORCETOC__

ystem description

All state highways are designated by the Washington State Legislature and codified in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW). These routes are defined generally by termini and points along the route; WSDOT may otherwise choose the details, and may bypass the designated points as long as the road serves the general vicinity. [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.04.010 RCW 41.04.010 (definitions)] , accessed March 2008] [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.04.020 RCW 47.04.020 (classification of highways)] , accessed March 2008] [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.28.010 RCW 47.28.010 (latitude in selecting route)] , accessed March 2008] WSDOT's duties include "locating, designing, constructing, improving, repairing, operating, and maintaining" these state highways, including bridges and other related structures. [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.01.260 RCW 47.01.260 (authority of department)] , accessed March 2008] Within cities and towns, the local governments are responsible certain aspects of the streets maintained as parts of a state highway, including their grade and the portion not used for highway purposes. [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.24.020 RCW 47.24.020 (jurisdiction, control)] ] All routes, even Interstate and U.S. Highways, are defined as "state route number" plus the number; for instance, Interstate 5 is "state route number 5" and U.S. Route 395 is "state route number 395". Also included in the RCW are "state route number 20 north" (signed as State Route 20 Spur) and "state route number 97-alternate" (signed as U.S. Route 97 Alternate). Some other spurs, such as State Route 503 Spur, are defined as part of the main routes, as is U.S. Route 101 Alternate. [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.17 RCW 47.17 (state highway routes)] , accessed March 2008] WSDOT has also defined some spurs that mainly serve to provide full access between intersecting routes. [The only ones listed in the 2006 log that do not provide such "missing movements" are SR 9 Spur to the truck customs in Sumas and SR 504 Spur and SR 906 Spur to WSDOT maintenance areas.]

Although most state highways as defined by law are open to traffic, State Route 109 dead-ends at Taholah, State Route 501 has a gap in the middle, and State Routes 35, 168, 213, 230, 276, and 704, and most of SR 171, have not been constructed. Notable sections of state highways include the six crossings of the Cascade Range - the Columbia River Gorge (SR 14), White Pass (US 12), Chinook Pass (SR 410), Snoqualmie Pass (I-90), Stevens Pass (US 2), and the North Cascades Highway (SR 20). [Washington State Department of Transportation, [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/ Mountain Passes] , accessed March 2008] Of the 13 public road crossings of the Canadian border in Washington, nine are on state highways. [U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics: [http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/border_crossing_entry_data/us_canada/html/table_08_c.html Incoming Personal Vehicle Crossings, U.S.-Canadian Border, 1994-2003] : there are two state highway crossings at Blaine, and the four non-state highway crossings are at Boundary (former State Route 251), Ferry, Nighthawk, and Point Roberts.] Major bridges include the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and three floating bridges: the Evergreen Point Bridge, Hood Canal Bridge, and Lake Washington Bridge. The Washington State Ferries, except the route to Sidney, British Columbia, were legally included in the state highway system in 1994; a new State Route 339 was created at that time for the passenger-only Seattle-Vashon Ferry. [cite WAstat|year=1994|ch=209] According to the Washington State Department of Licensing, ocean beaches are legally state highways with a general speed limit of 25 mph (40 km/h), many only open to vehicles between the day after Labor Day and April 14, [cite web |url=http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/driverguide.pdf |title=Washington Driver Guide |author=Washington State Department of Licensing |date=2006|pages=36|quote="Driving on ocean beaches" - Driving is allowed on ocean beaches in Grays Harbor and Pacific counties. The beach is considered a state highway so all road, vehicle registration, and driver licensing regulations apply. The speed limit is convert|25|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on and pedestrians have the right-of-way at all times. You may only enter the beach with your vehicle through marked beach approaches and you may only drive on hard-packed sand. Watch for beach closure signs and signs that occasionally prohibit beach driving.] but state law places the beaches under the control of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and only designates them as "public highways". [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79A.05.010 RCW 79A.05.010 (definitions)] , accessed March 2008] [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79A.05.693 RCW 79A.05.693 (ocean beaches in Seashore Conservation Area declared public highways)] , accessed March 2008] [ [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79A.05.610 RCW 79A.05.610 (jurisdiction over and administration of area)] , accessed March 2008]

Most state routes are numbered in a grid, with even-numbered routes running east-west and odd-numbered routes running north-south. [Only SR 501, SR 523, SR 531, and SR 548 run in a perpendicular direction.] Even two-digit routes increase from south to north in three "strips", with SR 4, SR 6, and SR 8 in the western part of the state, SR 14, SR 16, SR 18, and SR 20 in central Washington, and SR 22, SR 24, SR 26, SR 28, and former SR 30 in the east. Odd numbers similarly increase from west to east, with SR 3, SR 7, SR 9, SR 11, SR 17, SR 21, SR 23, SR 25, SR 27, and SR 31 following this general progression. (SR 19 was added in 1991, and lies west of SR 3; SR 41 is an extension of Idaho State Highway 41.) Three-digit routes (and SR 92 and SR 96) are usually numbered by taking the first one or two digits of a route it connects to and adding another digit or two. In some cases, instead of using the two-digit route's actual number, a number that would fit the grid is used instead. Three-digit routes have been numbered as follows:

History

After passing several early laws designating state roads starting in 1893, the Washington State Legislature created the State Highway Board in 1905 and appropriated funds to construct - but not maintain - twelve numbered "state roads" in sparsely settled areas of the state. (Main highways in more populated areas would continue to be entirely under county control, though sometimes built with 50% state aid.) Six of these highways were east-west crossings of the Cascades; others included a portion of Chuckanut Drive and a road around the west side of the Olympic Peninsula.cite WAstat|year=1905|ch=7|p=18] Under a 1909 law, the State Highway Board surveyed a connected network of proposed state roads, [cite WAstat|year=1909|ch=51|p=94] The legislature added most of these routes to the state highway system in 1913, when they formed a two-tiered system of primary and secondary roads. Primary roads were completely controlled by the state, including maintenance, and received only names, while secondary roads kept their numbers and county maintenance. Unlike the earlier state roads, these primary roads mostly followed existing passable county roads. [State Highway Board, [http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/maps_detail.aspx?m=33 Road Map of Washington Showing Main Traveled Roads] , 1912] cite WAstat|year=1913|ch=65|p=221] Washington Department of Transportation, [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/AFDDA538-123B-43F8-A166-B30BAA34C492/0/40yearsReport.pdf Forty Years with the Washington Department of Highways] , pp. 1-2, 6, accessed March 2008]

A 1923 restructuring of the system re-assigned numbers to almost all the primary state highways, [cite WAstat|year=1923|ch=185|p=627] which were soon marked on signs.Fact|date=March 2008 In 1937, the old primary/secondary split was abolished, and a new system of primary and secondary state highways was created, all to be maintained by the state in the same manner. The old state roads all kept their numbers as new primary state highways, and secondary state highways were created as alphanumeric branches of those primary highways (for instance SSH 8D was a branch of PSH 8). [cite WAstat|year=1937|ch=190|p=933] [cite WAstat|year=1937|ch=207|p=993] The final renumbering [Washington State Highway Commission, December 1, 1965, Identification of State Highways, [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6836215D-E301-43F3-895A-472BD2FDE86A/0/Identification.pdf part 1] and [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EC2F7D1E-2F51-4004-B5C3-5A2CE9FE3C7D/0/Indentification2.pdf part 2] (PDF)] was authorized by law in 1963 and posted in January 1964, when new "sign route" numbers were assigned that matched the inter-state systems and otherwise formed the present grid. Until 1970, these numbers coexisted with the older primary and secondary state highways, when the legislature adopted the sign route numbers as "state routes",Fact|date=March 2008 finally eliminating all vestiges of the 1905 numbering. [For example, SR 4 from 1905 kept its number as PSH 4 until 1970.]

References

External links

* [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ Washington State Department of Transportation]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/index.html Highways of Washington State]
* [http://mdo20.0catch.com/route/wa/wasign.html Road Signs of Washington]