Interstate 705

Interstate 705 (abbreviated I-705, also known as the Tacoma Spur^[2]) is a short Interstate Highway spur route of Interstate 5 located entirely within Tacoma, Pierce, Washington, United States. I-705 serves as the connector between Interstate 5, Downtown Tacoma, Tacoma's waterfront, North Tacoma, and the Tacoma Dome. I-705 was the last portion of the Interstate Highway System to be constructed in Washington, and has been disparagingly referred to as "the road to nowhere".

Route description

The Tacoma Spur begins as a continuation of Washington State Route 7 (SR 7) underneath I-5 in Tacoma, and has a posted speed limit of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) for the entire length (1.5 Miles).^[1]

Traveling northbound as a continuation of SR 7, the first exit is for South 26th Street, which provides access to the Tacoma Dome and the Tacoma Amtrak station. A single-point urban interchange (SPUI) with SR 509 (South 21st Street) provides access to the University of Washington Tacoma campus, as well as the Port of Tacoma. The left two lanes of I-705 separate, providing access to A Street, as well as South 15th Street / Pacific Avenue, however travelers merging onto northbound I-705 can not access this exit. The Bridge of Glass, linking the Museum of Glass on the shorefront to downtown Tacoma, passes over I-705 as it continues north, paralleling the Thea Foss Waterway to the east, and Firemans Park to the west. A signalized at-grade intersection with Stadium Way marks the end of I-705 northbound.^[3]

Traveling southbound towards I-5, I-705 begins with on ramps from Stadium Way South and from Schuster Parkway. Passing Firemans Park on the south, traffic from South 9th Street and A Street merge onto I-705. Traffic coming from Bates Technical College and South 13th Street join the freeway, as well as traffic from South A Street. A SPUI with SR 509 (South 21st Street) is the only exit in Tacoma, before either exiting onto I-5 southbound towards Portland, Oregon, I-5 northbound towards Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, or onto SR 7.^[4]

Every year the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. This is expressed in terms of average annual daily traffic (AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. In 2009, WSDOT calculated that as few as 27,000 cars used the spur at the continuation point from SR 7, and as many as 71,000 cars between the onramp from I-5 and SR 509.^[5] The entire Tacoma Spur is listed on both the WSDOT List of Highways of Statewide Significance,^[6] which marks the highway as a critical to connecting major communities in the state, and the National Highway System, a system of roads that are important to the nation's economy, defense and mobility.^[7]

History

The Tacoma Spur was first codified into law by the Washington State Legislature in 1979,^[8] however due to federal budget cuts,^[2] construction on the freeway was not completed until 1990.^[9] The highway was the last Interstate to be completed in the state of Washington.^[10] The Tacoma City Council in 1992 proposed to name the freeway Martin Luther King Way, however that name was finally applied to nearby K Street.^[11] Work on the single-point urban interchange, costing $29.4 million (equivalent to $45 million in 2012^[12]), was completed in 1993 to accommodate the changes that were made to SR 509 through Tacoma.^[13]

Residents from the nearby Seattle have disparagingly referred to the Tacoma Spur as "the road to nowhere" and likened the exit ramps to tentacles.^[10]

Exit list

The entire route is in Tacoma, Pierce County.

References

External links

• Interstate 705 at Highways of Washington State
• Interstate 705 at Interstate Guide.com