Washington State Route 281

State Route 281
Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 28
Defined by RCW 47.17.505
Maintained by WSDOT
Major junctions
South end: I-90 near George
 
SR 281 Spur near George
North end: SR 28 in Quincy
Location
Counties: Grant
Highway system

State highways in Washington
Interstate • US • State
Former PSH • 1964 renumbering • Former SR

SR 278 SR 282

State Route 281 (SR 281) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, connecting I-90 near George with SR 28 in Quincy.

Contents

Route description

SR 281 begins at a diamond interchange with exit 149 of I-90 just north of the city of George. The highway snakes through some farmland before turning north, and intersecting its spur route, which connects the highway back to I-90 in the south. Continuing north, the highway passes a weigh station while continuing through farmland. Passing west of the Qunicy Municipal Airport, the highway continues north before terminating at an intersection with SR 28 in Quincy.[1]

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 many as 7,000 cars used the highway near the northern terminus at SR 28 and as few as 3,500 cars used the highway near the southern terminus at I-90.[2]

The entire highway is listed on both the WSDOT List of Highways of Statewide Significance,[3] 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.[4]

History

The first road that traveled south from Quincy was part of the Sunset Highway, first designated in 1915.[5] By 1931, the highway was designated as part of Primary State Highway 7, which remained the highways designation until the 1964 renumbering, when the road's designation was changed to the current SR 281.[6]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Grant County.

Location Mile[7] Destinations Notes
0.00 I-90 – Seattle, Spokane Interchange, southern terminus
2.65 To I-90 – Seattle, Moses Lake, Spokane Via SR 281 Spur
Quincy 10.55 SR 28 – Wenatchee, Ephrata Northern terminus

Spur route


Burke Spur
Location: North of George
Length: 1.69 mi[7] (2.72 km)

A National Highway System listed 1.69-mile (2.72 km) long spur route connects SR 281 back to I-90 2.65 mi (4.26 km) from SR 281's southern interchange with I-90, and to SR 283.[4][8] Between 2,000 and 3,600 cars travel on the highway on an average day.[2]

References

  1. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – SR 281 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=WA-281+N&daddr=Central+Ave+S%2FRd+Q+NW&geocode=FXxxzgIdChPb-A%3BFYO50AId0C7b-A&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=15&sll=47.232945,-119.850454&sspn=0.008684,0.027595&ie=UTF8&ll=47.176645,-119.836121&spn=0.278177,0.883026&z=10. Retrieved November 25, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "2009 Annual Traffic Report" (PDF). WSDOT. p. 167–168. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/Annual_Traffic_Report_2009.pdf. Retrieved November 25, 2010. 
  3. ^ "List of Highways of Statewide Significance" (PDF). WSDOT. July 26, 2009. p. 2. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/A4EBDFA1-4256-475C-88BA-CF93A87852F6/0/HSSlist2009.pdf. Retrieved November 25, 2010. 
  4. ^ a b "Washington State National Highway System (NHS) Designated Highways" (PDF). November 1, 2002. p. 2. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/F934B0E9-1EAB-47B3-8086-E5A00C9DDDEB/0/NHSlist.pdf. Retrieved November 25, 2010. 
  5. ^ Washington State Highway Commission (1915) (DjVu). Washington State Highways (Map). http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/maps_detail.aspx?m=27. Retrieved January 17, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Sign Route Numbers with Corresponding Legislative Highway Numbers" (PDF). Washington State Department of Highways. December 1, 1965. p. 10. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EC2F7D1E-2F51-4004-B5C3-5A2CE9FE3C7D/0/Indentification2.pdf. Retrieved January 17, 2011. 
  7. ^ a b Washington State Department of Transportation, State Highway Log, 2006
  8. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – SR 281 Spur (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=WA-281+S&daddr=47.118954,-119.852814+to:47.117133,-119.8519758+to:Unknown+road&geocode=FWX7zgIdOi7b-A%3BFWr6zgId8jDb-CmlR1IrM3eZVDF8_TpA30tTEw%3BFU3zzgIdOTTb-CnfLia21HCZVDF4-_xv4YIGjQ%3BFQK5zgIdvI3b-A&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=3&sz=16&via=1,2&sll=47.102718,-119.831014&sspn=0.004353,0.013797&ie=UTF8&ll=47.111495,-119.836292&spn=0.034815,0.110378&z=13. Retrieved November 25, 2010. 

External links