Washington State Route 99

State Route 99
Route information
Defined by RCW 47.17.160
Maintained by WSDOT
Length:	49.11 mi[1] (79.03 km)
Existed:	late 1960s – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-5 in Fife
	SR 18 in Federal Way SR 509 through Federal Way SR 516 in Des Moines SR 518 in SeaTac SR 599 in Tukwila SR 509 in Seattle SR 104 in Edmonds SR 524 in Lynnwood SR 525 in Mukilteo
North end:	I-5/SR 526/SR 527 in Everett
Highway system
State highways in Washington Interstate • US • State Former PSH • 1964 renumbering • Former SR ← US 99 SR 100 →

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 (80 km) from Fife in the south to Everett in the north, with a 2-mile (3.2 km) gap in Tukwila.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Southern division 1.2 Northern division 1.3 Designated alignments 1.3.1 Southern 1.3.2 Northern 2 History 3 Major intersections 4 Cutout 5 References 6 External links

Route description

SR 99 has two separate divisions:

Southern 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 where it becomes Pacific Highway South 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 where the freeway carrying SR 599 northward passes over International Boulevard South. SR 599 terminates at that point; north of there, it becomes SR 99. SR 99 continues north to an interchange with SR 509 and West Marginal Way at the southern end of the First Avenue South Bridge. SR 99 crosses over the bridge and onto East Marginal Way, a surface street passing through the industrial and warehouse district of south Seattle known as Sodo. Near Spokane Street and the eastern end of the West Seattle Bridge, SR 99 again becomes a freeway. A portion travels on the surface before the route rises onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which traverses the downtown Seattle waterfront. The viaduct terminates at the Battery Street Tunnel, which runs for 3,140 feet (960 m) underneath Battery Street. The tunnel carries SR 99 underneath the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle and onto Aurora Avenue North.^[2]

The tunnel was built in 1952 using the cut-and-cover method. It carries two traffic lanes in each direction, and connects the Alaskan Way Viaduct to Aurora Avenue N., providing continuity for State Route 99. There are no sidewalks or other provisions for pedestrians or bicyclists in the Tunnel. When an incident blocking traffic takes place within the tunnel, warning lights advise motorists to exit SR-99 at Western Avenue (northbound) and Denny Way (southbound). Emergency exits are placed behind sliding doors, with stairways leading up to Battery Street on the surface. Plans to renovate the Battery Street Tunnel to meet current ventilation and safety standards are on hold as of August 2008 due to financial and other considerations.

Aurora Avenue at this point is lined with businesses, residences, side streets and sidewalks. There is a median barrier, so cross traffic and left turns are not available; access is right-in/right-out (RIRO) only. There are also several pedestrian overpasses and underpasses along this route. As Aurora Avenue nears and passes along the east flank of Queen Anne Hill, the median barrier ends, although access remains RIRO. Aurora Avenue then crosses the Lake Washington Ship Canal on the George Washington Memorial Bridge (1932). At the interchange for Bridge Way, a very low median barrier begins, rising to a higher wall a bit north of North 38th Street. The barrier lowers again just beyond North 49th Street. Aurora Avenue then bisects Woodland Park, with the barrier replaced by paint stripes until the next side street, North 59th. The higher wall resumes as Aurora Avenue approaches the northbound entrance from Green Lake Way. Just north of North 68th Street, there is a traffic light-controlled crosswalk across Aurora Avenue through a narrow break in the median. RIRO access ends and cross traffic resumes just before Winona Avenue North, which is the first traffic light-controlled intersection on Aurora Avenue. Aurora Avenue continues northward to 145th Street, which intersection is also the west terminus of SR 523. At that point, SR 99 leaves Seattle and enters Shoreline as it continues northward on Aurora Avenue. SR 99 and Aurora Avenue crosses a former Interurban Railway right-of-way, now an urban trail, near North 155th Street.^[3] It then continues north to the King County - Snohomish County line, which consists of a street marked North 205th Street in King County and 244th Street Southwest in Snohomish County.^[2] Upon entering Snohomish County and the city of Edmonds, the highway changes names to Pacific Highway North and crosses interchange with SR 104. The highway continues north into Edmonds.^[2] North of Edmonds, SR 99 enters Lynnwood, where it is known as Highway 99. SR 99 intersects SR 524 at 196th Street Southwest. SR 99 intersects SR 525 (known as the Mukilteo Speedway) at a partial interchange near Serene Lake. This interchange marks the northern end of the SR 525 freeway, which is an extension of Interstate 405.

After a journey through Lynnwood, SR 99 enters Everett, where it becomes known as Evergreen Way, until 3 miles (4.8 km) south of its terminus. At an intersection of Evergreen Way and Everett Mall Way, SR 99 goes northeast on Everett Mall Way. SR 99 passes the Mall near its interchange/intersection with Interstate 5, SR 526, and SR 527.

Before the completion of Interstate 5, SR 99 used to follow Evergreen Way onto Everett Mall Way (then known as "The Broadway Cut-Off") to Broadway; it then continued northbound through downtown Everett on Broadway. As Evergreen Way continues north in Everett, it becomes Rucker Avenue just south of 41st Street. Rucker Avenue intersects the former alignment of SR 526 at 41st Street.

Designated alignments

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

Southern

• 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.^[4]
• SR 99 is a short remnant of US 99, which extended from the Canadian Border at the Peace Arch in Blaine, Wa. to Vancouver, Wa. at the Oregon Border. SR 99 is primarily the route of US 99 where building Interstate 5 along the same route 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 originally was routed through the downtown Seattle streets, along 1st Avenue and 1st Avenue South. 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 formerly extended through 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, but part of SR 99 still extends from the northern part of Everett as State Route 529, becoming State Street through Marysville, then Smokey Point Boulevard.
• 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', 'Pacific Highway', or simply 'Old 99' 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.^[5]

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[6]	Destinations	Notes
Pierce	Fife	0.00	I-5 – Tacoma, Seattle	Interchange
		0.18	Pacific Highway – Fife	Former SR 99 south
	Milton	1.62	Porter Way	Former SR 514
King	Federal Way	4.49	SR 18 east (South 348th Street) to I-5 – Auburn, North Bend
		7.72	SR 509 south (South Dash Point Road) – Dash Point State Park	South end of SR 509 overlap
		8.83	16th Avenue South – Saltwater State Park	Former SR 509 north
	Kent	11.84	SR 516 (SR 509 north) to I-5 – Des Moines, Kent	North end of SR 509 overlap
	Des Moines
	Seatac	15.11	South 182nd Street – Sea-Tac Airport
		16.73	SR 518 to I-5 / I-405 – Burien, Renton	Interchange; south end of gap
	Tukwila
		19.33	SR 599 south to I-5	Interchange; north end of gap
		South end of freeway
		19.98	West Marginal Place South	Northbound exit and entrance
	Seattle	21.17	Des Moines Drive, 14th Avenue South
		21.75	South Cloverdale Street	Northbound entrance only
		22.37	South Kenyon Street – South Park	No northbound exit
		North end of freeway
		22.40	South Holden Street – South Park Industrial Area
		22.79	SR 509 south / West Marginal Way Southwest – Burien	Interchange
		First Avenue South Bridge over the Duwamish River
		23.14	To I-5 / Michigan Street	Interchange
		South end of freeway
		24.82	Spokane Street – West Seattle	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		25.40	West Seattle Bridge – Harbor Island	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		27.03	Safeco Field, Ferries	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		27.58	Seneca Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		28.30	Western Avenue
		28.72	Denny Way – Downtown Seattle	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		North end of freeway
		29.13	Broad Street	Interchange; no northbound exit
		29.13	To I-5 / Mercer Street	Interchange; no southbound exit
		29.25	Seattle Center (Valley Street)	Southbound exit and entrance
		30.45	Queen Anne Drive	Interchange
		Aurora Bridge over Lake Union
		31.10	Bridge Way, North 39th Street	Interchange
		31.74	Green Lake Way, North 46th Street	Interchange
		32.57	North 65th Street, West Greenlake Way North	Interchange
		36.75	SR 523 east (North 145th Street) to I-5
	Shoreline
		39.87	SR 104 to I-5 – Edmonds, Kingston Ferry, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park	Partial Interchange
Snohomish	Edmonds
	Lynnwood	43.12	SR 524 (196th Street Southwest)
		46.90	SR 525 to I-5 south / I-405 south / Alderwood Mall Parkway – Mukilteo, Whidbey Island Ferry	Partial Interchange
	Everett	51.67	I-5 – Seattle, Marysville
		51.67	SR 526 west / SR 527 south (19th Avenue Southeast/Bothell-Everett Highway) – Mukilteo, Whidbey Island Ferry
		51.67	Broadway	Continuation beyond SR 526/SR 527

Cutout

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 (15 m) in the air.

References

External links

• Highways of Washington State