Washington State Route 16

State Route 16 is a state highway in Washington, U.S.A. It extends just over 27 miles (43 km) from Tacoma in the southeast to Gorst in the northwest.

Route description

SR 16 originates at Interstate 5, runs through the city of Tacoma, and crosses the Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to Gig Harbor on the Kitsap Peninsula. From there, it continues northwest past Burley, Bethel, and Port Orchard, and ends at State Route 3 in Gorst, at the western end of Sinclair Inlet.

SR 16 is a freeway for its entire length with the exception of two local driveway access north of Gig Harbor, for which several options to improve safety are being considered, and several at-grade crossings at the northern endpoint in Gorst. A previous at-grade crossing at Burley-Olalla Road was converted to a diamond interchange in 2009.^[2]

Although the route of SR 16 geographically runs north–south, its even number indicates an east–west route, and is usually signed as such, with the western terminus in at State Route 3 in Gorst near Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula and the eastern terminus at Interstate 5 in Tacoma. The mileposts on SR 16 increase from east to west, instead of the usual practice of west to east. There is also a 3-mile (4.8 km) gap in the mileposts at the Tacoma Narrows bridge. This is due to the pre-freeway routing which began at Interstate 5 at Pacific Ave. SR 16 followed Pacific Ave north into downtown Tacoma, turned west onto 6th St, continued under the current SR 16 freeway, and then turned northwest onto Olympic Boulevard which led to the Narrows Bridge. The once 4-lane Olympic Boulevard has been converted to a city park.

From 2002 to 2007, WSDOT built a second parallel Tacoma Narrows Bridge crossing, designed to resemble the existing suspension bridge. The old bridge carries westbound traffic without a toll, while its sister structure carries eastbound traffic and has a $4.00 toll for passenger cars. It also premiered a new RFID technology, christened the Good To Go! pass, which allows frequent users to bypass the toll booths by way of a prepaid transponder placed on the inside of the windshield. Using the pass also reduces the toll to $2.75.

At the eastern terminus, SR 16 crosses the Nalley Valley viaduct. The viaduct's unique tetrapod structure prevents widening, as well as the close proximity of the Interstate 5 and Sprague Avenue interchanges. The viaduct is being completely rebuilt in stages. Work began in early 2009 and is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

SR 16 has also become the second state highway in Washington State to have exit numbers posted at interchanges. SR 14 in the Vancouver area has long had numbered exits. As of 2008, two interchanges on SR 3 near Bremerton and Silverdale have also been marked with exit numbers.

Several projects along SR 16 have been conducted as part of a revitalization of freeways in the Tacoma/Pierce County area. Completed projects include the twinning of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, widening between Gig Harbor and I-5 to include HOV lanes and auxiliary lanes^[3] and redesigning several interchanges to improve traffic flow. The last project to be completed on SR 16 is rebuilding the Nalley Valley viaduct for a new, expanded interchange with I-5.^[4]

Exit list

Spur route

State Route 16 Spur is a spur route of State Route 16 in Gorst, Washington, consisting of a short section of surface street. The road connects State Route 3 and State Route 16 just south of their interchange, and also provides access to Feigley Road from the two highways. It is 0.39 miles (0.63 km) long, and has no mileposts posted along it, although it officially continues the mileage of SR 16 west from its junction.^[1]

Related routes

External links

• Highways of Washington State

References