Washington State Route 526

State Route 526, commonly known as SR 526, Casino Freeway, Boeing Freeway or Highway 526, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It is 4.52 miles (7.27 km) in length and runs from Mukilteo in the west to Everett in the east. It serves as a vital connection to Boeing's Largest Manufacturing facility at Paine Field, as well as Whidbey Island. It is often called the Casino Freeway because it is paralleled by Casino Rd. for much of the route, and prior to the construction of the freeway, Casino Rd. occupied much of the right-of-way. Also, partly finished Boeing 747s use SR 526 to cross.

Route description

SR 526 starts at an intersection with State Route 525 in Mukilteo and climbs an extremely steep hill to an intersection with State Route 525 Spur. The route makes a turn on to the freeway portion and squeezes between a gulch and the primary runway at Paine Field. The freeway passes under a taxiway between two sections of Boeing's Everett Plant and has an interchange with Airport Rd. The freeway continues along the front of the Boeing plant, the largest building in the world,^[2] to Seaway Blvd. the main access road to the Boeing facility. The freeway expands by a single lane and continues to an interchange with Evergreen Way, while a left-hand exit for I-5 north separates from the freeway under the overpass. On the other side, another lane is added as an exit to I-5 and an HOV lane to I-5 south. The freeway ends at a traffic signal at the northern terminus of both SR 99 and SR 527.

History

Prior to the 1964 renumbering, SR 526 was SSH 1I from Mukilteo to Everett. The rest of SSH 1I became SR 525.

Prior to the completion of the current freeway alignment in the 1980s, SR 526 followed the course of 5th St. in Mukilteo and Mukilteo Blvd. and 41st Street in Everett. While the names may change, it is in fact a single highway. The former terminus of SR 526 in Everett was at the interchange between I-5 and SR 99 (now the 41st Street & Broadway interchange with I-5, also known as Exit 192)

When Boeing expanded their factory in the early 1990s, the state of Washington required that Boeing pay for upgrades to the connection between SR 526 and I-5.^[3] These upgrades resulted in a direct connection being built to connect SR 526 to I-5 north, whereas previously one had to travel south on SR 527 in order to connect to I-5 north. Additional upgrades included an HOV queue lane for the I-5 southbound on-ramp, and the construction of sound walls along the freeway.

Recent and future improvements include expansion of the interchange with Evergreen Way, realignment with Washington State Route 525 Spur, and addition of HOV lanes.

Exit list

The entire route is in Snohomish County.

References

External links

• Highways of Washington State