History of state highways in Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the U.S. state of Washington, over a period of about 100 years, there have been three different types of state highways. Over time, the Washington State Highway Board (renamed Washington State Highway Department in 1905 and later to WSDOT in 1964) has made numerous changes eventually having 7,000 miles (11,000 km) of state highway now.[1][2]
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[edit] Cascade Wagon Road
The first "highway" in Washington was the Cascade Wagon Road, which opened in 1893 and followed a route close to that of current State Highway 20. Though the Wagon Road was not a real state highway, soon other named highways were being built and than Washington began to start making a system of highways.
[edit] First (unnamed) system
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.[3]
Under a 1909 law, the State Highway Board surveyed a connected network of proposed state roads,[4] 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.[5][6][7]
[edit] State Road System
A 1923 restructuring of the system re-assigned numbers to almost all the primary state highways,[8] which were soon marked on signs. There were twelve state roads in all before the system was replaced in 1937.
[edit] Primary and secondary system
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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).[9][10] The final renumbering[11] 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",[citation needed] finally eliminating all vestiges of the 1905 numbering.[12]
[edit] U.S. Routes
In 1926, the U.S. Route system was created to link the country through paved highways. After the system was created, three routes were assigned to pass through Washington and also co-exist with existing Primary state highways. Two of the three routes were later decommissioned, but one still is in existent today. U.S. Route 99 was co-signed with Primary State Highway 1 and was decommissioned in 1968, after the completion of Interstate 5. U.S. Route 10 was co-signed with Primary State Highway 2 and other routes and was decommissioned in 1968, after the completion of Interstate 90. U.S. Route 101 was co-signed with Primary State Highway 9 and Primary State Highway 12 until 1970, when the system was abolished and US 101 took over the designation.
[edit] Current state route system
In January of 1964, the Washington State Legislature decided to change the system and also the department. The department was renamed to its current name (WSDOT) and the state adopted the parent and descendent route numbering system. The system used a parent Interstate, U.S. Route, or state route (such as Interstate 5, U.S. Route 101, or Washington State Route 4) running through a main route and smaller tributaries and feeder routes (such as Washington State Route 525 for Interstate 5, Washington State Route 105 for US 101, and Washington State Route 401 for SR 4) to connect the main route with other areas and routes.
[edit] Interstates
After the Interstate Highway Act was signed in 1956, two Interstates were assigned to run through Washington. They were joined by some descendent Interstates and another Interstate later on. Interstate 5 was commissioned to run from the Canadian border at Blaine to the Oregon border along the Interstate Bridge (over the Columbia River). Interstate 90 was commissioned to run from an interchange with Interstate 5 in Seattle to the Idaho border east of Spokane.
[edit] Referneces
- ^ Washington State Department of Transportation, State Highway Log, 2006
- ^ Washington State Department of Transportation, Annual Mileage and Travel Information, 2006
- ^ Session Laws of the State of Washington. 1905 chapter 7, p. 18. "An act providing for the survey establishment and repair of certain State highways, and making an appropriation therefor."
- ^ Session Laws of the State of Washington. 1909 chapter 51, p. 94. "An act providing for the survey of certain proposed state roads, and state road extensions, by the State Highway Commissioner, and a report on the feasibility of the same."
- ^ State Highway Board, Road Map of Washington Showing Main Traveled Roads, 1912
- ^ Session Laws of the State of Washington. 1913 chapter 65, p. 221. "An act relating to public highways, classifying the same and naming and fixing the routes of certain state roads."
- ^ Washington Department of Transportation, Forty Years with the Washington Department of Highways, pp. 1-2, 6, accessed March 2008
- ^ Session Laws of the State of Washington. 1923 chapter 185, p. 627. "An act relating to, classifying, naming and fixing the routes of certain state highways, amending Section 6796, and repealing Sections 6791, 6792, 6793, 6794, 6795, 6797, 6798, 6799, 6800, 6801, 6802, 6803, 6804, 6805, 6806, 6808, 6809, 6811, 6812, 6813 and 6816 of Remington's Compiled Statutes."
- ^ Session Laws of the State of Washington. 1937 chapter 190, p. 933. "An act relating to public highways, creating and establishing, describing and designating the primary state highways of the State of Washington and declaring an emergency."
- ^ Session Laws of the State of Washington. 1937 chapter 207, p. 993. "An act relating to public highways; classifying public highways outside incorporated cities and towns; establishing, designating and describing secondary state highways as branches of primary state highways of this state; defining the powers and duties of certain public officers with respect thereto; providing for application of laws, rules and regulation of vehicles thereon; repealing acts and parts of acts in conflict; providing for constitutionality; and declaring an emergency."
- ^ Washington State Highway Commission, December 1, 1965, Identification of State Highways, part 1 and part 2 (PDF)
- ^ For example, SR 4 from 1905 kept its number as PSH 4 until 1970.
[edit] External links
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