Washington State Route 272

State Route 272 marker

State Route 272

SR 272 is highlighted in red.
Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 27
Defined by RCW 47.17.495
Maintained by WSDOT
Length: 19.22 mi[1] (30.93 km)
Existed: 1964[2] – present
Major junctions
West end: US 195 in Colfax
  SR 27 in Palouse
East end: SH-6 at Idaho state line near Palouse
Location
Counties: Whitman
Highway system
← SR 271SR 274 →

State Route 272 (SR 272) is a 19.22-mile (30.93 km) long state highway serving Whitman County in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels from U.S. Route 195 (US 195) in Colfax to a short concurrency with parent route SR 27 in Palouse before ending at the Idaho state line and becoming Idaho State Highway 6 (SH-6). Prior to 1964, the highway was split between Secondary State Highway 3F (SSH 3F) from Colfax to Palouse and a branch of Primary State Highway 3 (PSH 3) from Palouse to the Idaho state line.

Route description

SR 272 begins as Canyon Street in Colfax at an intersection with Main Street, signed as US 195.[3] The highway passes Colfax Cemetery before leaving Colfax and traveling northeast along the Palouse River into farmland.[4][5] SR 272 turns southeast into Palouse, crossing the Palouse River and becoming Church Street before an intersection with Division Street, signed as SR 27.[6] The highway turns south and east onto Echanove Avenue concurrent with SR 27, crossing a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) rail lube before turning south onto Division Street and splitting off.[7] SR 272 continues east as Main Street and leaves Palouse, traveling northeast over the WSDOT rail line towards the Idaho state line, where the highway becomes SH-6.[8] SH-6 continues east for 5.711 miles (9.191 km) along the Palouse River towards Potlatch, Idaho.[9]

Every year the 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 2011, WSDOT calculated that between 350 and 2,100 vehicles per day used the highway, mostly in Colfax and Palouse.[10]

History

A road connecting Colfax to Palouse and Potlatch, Idaho was first constructed in the early 20th century and appeared on a 1910 United States Geological Survey map of the Pullman area.[11] The road, following the course of the Palouse River, was later paved between Palouse and Idaho and designated as a branch of PSH 3,[12] while the gravel road between US 195 in Colfax and Palouse was signed as SSH 3F.[13][14] SSH 3F was later paved in 1955,[15][16] as the two highways merged to form SR 272 in the 1964 highway renumbering.[2][17]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Whitman County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Colfax0.000.00 US 195 (Main Street) – Spokane, PullmanWestern terminus
Palouse16.5226.59 SR 27 south (Division Street) – PullmanWest end of SR 27 / SR 272 overlap
16.7726.99 SR 27 north (Division Street) – SpokaneEast end of SR 27 / SR 272 overlap
 19.2230.93 SH-6 to US-95Eastern terminus; Idaho state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Staff (2012), State Highway Log: Planning Report 2011, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, pp. 1308–1310, retrieved January 19, 2013
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "47.17.495: State route No. 272", Revised Code of Washington (Washington State Legislature), 1970, retrieved January 19, 2013
  3. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Colfax", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 19, 2013
  4. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Colfax Cemetery", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 19, 2013
  5. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Palouse River", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 19, 2013
  6. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Palouse", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 19, 2013
  7. ↑ 2011 Washington State Rail System (PDF) (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. January 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  8. ↑ Google (January 19, 2013). "State Route 272" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  9. ↑ State Highway 6 Milepost Log, Idaho Transportation Department, December 18, 2006, retrieved January 19, 2013
  10. ↑ Staff (2011), 2011 Annual Traffic Report (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, p. 165, retrieved January 19, 2013
  11. ↑ Topography: Washington - Pullman Quadrangle (JPG) (Map). 1:125,000. United States Geological Survey. December 1910. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  12. ↑ Washington State Legislature (March 17, 1937), "Chapter 190: Establishment of Primary State Highways", Session Laws of the State of Washington, Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.), Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature, pp. 934–935, retrieved January 19, 2013, SEC. 3. A primary state highway to be known as Primary State Highway No. 3, or the Inland Empire Highway, is hereby established according to description as follows: Beginning at a junction with Primary State Highway No. 2 in the vicinity east of Cle Elum, thence southeasterly by the most feasible route by way of Ellensburg, Yakima, Pasco and Wallula to Walla Walla, thence in a northerly direction by the most feasible route by way of Dayton, Dodge, Colfax, Rosalia, Spokane and Colville to the international boundary line in the vicinity of Laurier; also beginning at a junction with Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, in the vicinity of Dodge, thence in an easterly direction by the most feasible route by way of Pomeroy and Clarkston to the Washington-Idaho boundary line; also beginning at Clarkston on Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, thence in a southerly direction by the most feasible route by way of Asotin to the Washington-Oregon boundary line; also beginning at Wallula on Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, thence in a southwesterly direction to the Washington-Oregon boundary line; also beginning at Walla Walla on Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, thence in a southerly direction to the Washington-Oregon boundary line; also beginning at a junction with Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, in the vicinity south of Rosalia, thence in a southerly direction by the most feasible route by way of Pullman to a point of junction southeast of Uniontown, thence in an easterly direction by two most feasible routes to two points on the Washington-Idaho boundary line; also beginning at Colfax on Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, thence in a southeasterly direction by the most feasible route to Pullman on Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, thence in an easterly direction by the most feasible route to a point on the Washington-Idaho boundary line; also beginning at Palouse on Primary State Highway No. 3, as herein described, thence in a northeasterly direction by the most feasible route to a point on the Washington-Idaho boundary line.
  13. ↑ Washington State Legislature (March 18, 1937), "Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways", Session Laws of the State of Washington, Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.), Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature, p. 1000, retrieved January 19, 2013, (f) Secondary State Highway No. 3F; beginning at Colfax on Primary State Highway No. 3, thence in an easterly direction by the most feasible route to Palouse on Primary State Highway No. 3.
  14. ↑ Highways of the State of Washington (DJVU) (Map). Department of Highways. 1939. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Palouse Road Project Ahead", The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), August 13, 1954, retrieved January 19, 2013
  16. ↑ Pullman, 1963 (JPG) (Map). 1:250,000. United States Geological Survey. 1963. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  17. ↑ Prahl, C. G. (December 1, 1965), Identification of State Highways (PDF), Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways, retrieved January 19, 2013

External links

Route map: Bing