List of unused highways in Washington

An unused highway may reference a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed but was unused^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} or later closed.^[10][11][12] An unused ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp,^[13] stub street,^[2][14][15] stub-out,^[2] or simply stub.^[16][17] The following is a list:

Washington

Seattle

• There are stubs and a long unused ramp on State Route 520 at the western end of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (in the Washington Park Arboretum) for the cancelled R. H. Thomson Expressway. The route through the Arboretum was one of the major factors fueling opposition to the Thomson Expressway. Some of the ramps are now used for the Lake Washington Boulevard E. interchange.^[18] All of these unused ramps are slated for removal as part of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge replacement project.

• Short ramp stubs exist on the Alaskan Way Viaduct near Safeco Field,^[19] only a short distance west from the Interstate 5/Interstate 90 interchange it was to connect to^[20] (the portion of the Alaskan Way Viaduct with these has already been demolished), and where the Viaduct crosses over University Street . This has been turned into a breakdown area, as seen here. The rest of the viaduct is scheduled to be demolished soon.

• To the side of the new CenturyLink Field running up 4th Avenue S., there was an entrance to eastbound Interstate 90, but it has been demolished and a replacement constructed a quarter mile south (made up from the newly constructed Edgar Martinez Way S. south of Safeco Field). The western terminus of I-90 still stands right next to where the ramp stub of the former eastbound on-ramp, though new railroad tracks now cover where the ramp was.^[21] The former configuration can still be seen here but now looks like this, with all former stubs removed.

• In the median of 4th Ave S near where the West Seattle Bridge passes over 4th Ave S, a ramp stub exists where an off ramp stood for 4th Ave S .

SeaTac

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport includes many unused and abandoned ramps. Over the last ten years, the Port of Seattle has continuously adjusted the entrance and the exit to the airport, leaving many unused and abandoned ramps, as well as unused portions of highway. Some ramps have had their directions changed, while others have been barred off from use:

• Starting from the north, the Airport Expressway originates from Highway 518, and continues south towards the airport. The original expressway ran side by side with a median in the middle, but starting from the Air Cargo road entrance to the expressway going south, is now completely separated by a left-hand exit to S 170th (which originally was a right-hand entrance going north), as well as by a zone for construction equipment. The unused northbound expressway still sits today, starting as an unused overpass over S 170th , continuing next to the current southbound highway, and eventually diminishing under the reconfigured northbound road, now elevated .
• Continuing southbound on either Departures Drive, or Arrivals Drive, just after the roads curve going southwest, two stub ramps can be seen joining either roads . These were originally entrance ramps from the northbound road, and have since been demolished and replaced by a U-turn ramp just east of the air-traffic control tower, further north on the road just after the Air Cargo road entrance.
• Just southwest of the above stub ramps, an abandoned ramp can be seen entering the parking garage from Departures Drive . The ramp was likely barricaded off due to further upgrades of other entrances to the parking garage, as well as possible crowding.
• Further south, after the departures area, an abandoned stub ramp can be seen pointing southeast . This ramp once connected Departures Drive to International Boulevard. The use of this ramp is further justified by the far right lane ending just as barriers begin to point you back towards the northbound Airport Expressway, to keep you from continuing onto the abandoned ramp. The ramp was presumably an exit only lane. Satellite imagery as far back as 1990 still show this ramp unused.^[22]

Tacoma

• The freeway section of State Route 7, just south of downtown from the Interstate 5 and Interstate 705 interchange, terminates rather abruptly at E 38th Street with stubs continuing south from the overpass. This can be seen by viewing late 1960s maps, which show a Route 7 freeway continuing south to Spanaway .

• Starting at the intersection of Highway 7 and 176th St, a small, 1.01 km (.68 mi) strip of highway, known as the "Cross-Base Highway", and marked as "State Route 704", exists that will reach all the way to Interstate 5 . The project began in April 2008, and was completed in August 2009, but only to "Spanaway Loop Road". The project is currently on hold, as voters declined Proposition 1 that would have funded the entire project. The project has also been met with criticism as to its environmental impact; The rare grey squirrel, with only 50 or so remaining in Washington State, inhabits the portion of Joint Base Lewis-McChord that the Cross-Base Highway would intersect; also, the base contains the last area in the state with oak prairie land. Starting at the intersection with Spanaway Loop Road, State Route 704 turns into "Wasmund Road S", which in turn comes to a private gate entering Joint Base Lewis-McChord, as well as a few other private drives. Sidewalks that would eventually cross the path of SR 704 have been installed, but currently provide little use as it crosses the aforementioned Wasmund Road, which is in itself largely unused^[23][24]

Lakewood

• Visible remnants of a converted cloverleaf interchange may be found at the interchange between Interstate 5 and State Route 512. There is an abandoned SB-to-EB loop ramp that was supplanted by a three lane left-turn on the old SB-to-WB ramp. It is abandoned, but easily visible due to a large dirt mount where the road surface once was and pavement stubs left on both I-5 and State Route 512, and lane markings on the State Route 512 stub. Existing plans call for this movement to be replaced by a two-lane flyover ramp by 2026.^[25]

Bothell

• Stubs formerly existed on State Route 522 west of its interchange with Interstate 405 near downtown Bothell. They were built when the highway was designed to cross the Sammamish River to the west and run parallel to the river, bypassing downtown Bothell and interchanging with the R. H. Thomson Expressway. That plan was abandoned in the mid 1970s.^[26] The expressway was reconfigured beginning in 2008 to create a new south entrance for the University of Washington Bothell.^[27] This was completed in January 2010

Puyallup

• State Route 167 has a west expressway terminus at State Route 161/N Meridian with a stub and grading suggesting a continuation. There are current plans to extend the expressway across Interstate 5 to State Route 509 in Fife.^[28] The same interchange, along with the suggestive grading, also includes a stub ramp originally from State Route 161 (N Meridian) to the highway going east. This section was bypassed, and later cut off in a project completed in 2008.^[29]
• State Route 512 at the interchange with 31st Ave SW has remnants of an old on ramp from 31st Ave SW Eastbound for traffic entering SR 512 Westbound . This was replaced by a half diamond interchange with 94th Ave E just to the west. A left turn option from SR 512 EB to 31st Ave SW still exists from this former configuration, but today provides little use.

Federal Way

• Highway 18 has what used to be a cloverleaf entrance ramp from EB highway 18 to SB Interstate 5 you can still see the remains of the circle now a decorated garden slope nicely concealed. It was replaced with a high swooping bridge to help eliminate congestion as well as the other leaf petal from westbound 18 to northbound I5 is now a combined exit with SB I5 that forks off with its own new swooping bridge. The old ramps are hard to notice now, but you can see them now as decorated gardens of grass and bark.

See also

• List of ghost towns in Washington

References