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In the U.S. state of Washington, every state highway - a road owned and maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) - is assigned a State Route number by state law. These are named state route number X in the legal descriptions, and are called State Route X (commonly abbreviated SR X) by WSDOT. These State Routes include roads signed as U.S. Routes or Interstate Highways.

Numbering pattern

A rough grid of two-digit numbers is assigned to major routes; U.S. Routes and Interstate Highways make the grid imperfect. Odd-numbered routes stretch from U.S. Route 101 (functionally a State Route 1) in the west to State Route 31 in the east. Even-numbered routes run in three general strips, roughly separated by Interstate 5 and the Columbia River. The westernmost strip runs from State Route 4 north to State Route 8 (2 and 10 are used up by U.S. Route 2 and former U.S. Route 10). The next strip runs from State Route 14 (former State Route 12 before U.S. Route 12 was extended into the state) north to State Route 20, and the eastern strip runs from State Route 22 to State Route 28 (formerly to State Route 30, now part of SR 20).

Less major routes are assigned three-digit numbers, as a spur of a major route. One or two digits are added onto the end of the "parent" to form the three-digit number. For instance, U.S. Route 101 (functionally SR 1) has spurs of State Route 104 and State Route 117, Interstate 5 has spurs of State Route 505 and State Route 527, and State Route 26 has State Route 261 as a spur. Several unused two-digit numbers are assigned functionally to U.S. Routes - for instance U.S. Route 97 fits as SR 15, so one of its spurs is State Route 153. Similarly, a spur of U.S. Route 395, functionally SR 29, is State Route 291. On the other hand, both of these have newer spurs assigned based on their U.S. Route numbers - State Route 971 and State Route 397 for instance. This method had been used since the beginning for some spurs of U.S. Route 830 (since renumbered as spurs of State Route 4), though other spurs were numbered by its location in the grid (as SR 4 and SR 12).

The two spurs of State Route 9 are State Route 92 and State Route 96, as three-digit numbers beginning with 90 are in use by Interstate 90.

History

The first state road, running across the Cascade Range roughly where State Route 20 now crosses it, was designated by the legislature in 1893. Two other roads - a Cascade crossing at present State Route 410 and a branch of the first road to Wenatchee - were added in 1897. The Washington Highway Department was established in 1905, and a set of twelve State Roads, numbered from 1 to 12, were assigned. A thirteenth was added in 1907, and SR 14 to SR 18 in 1909.

However, it was not until 1913 that a connected system was laid out - earlier state roads had been disconnected segments of road needing improvements. The seven primary roads were only assigned names, while the older state roads kept their numbers as secondary roads. In 1923, most state roads were assigned new numbers, though the primary and secondary split remained, and several roads remained named only. The United States Numbered Highways were assigned in late 1926, overlapping some of the State Roads.

The first major reworking of the system was passed in 1937, including a complete renumbering. A number of Primary State Highways were designated, while Secondary State Highways were suffixed spurs off of those. For instance, Primary State Highway 1 was the Pacific Highway (present Interstate 5), and Secondary State Highway 1B was a spur from Bellingham to the Canadian border (now State Route 539). U.S. Routes kept dual designations with State Highways. By 1952, the present highway shield, in the shape of George Washington's head, had been adopted.

In 1963, a law was passed authorizing a new numbering for sign routes. These would coincide with the U.S. Route designations, as well as the Interstate Highway numbers assigned in 1959, and would provide a non-suffixed number for every stretch of state highway. The present numbering system was adopted then. Signs for the new sign routes were posted in January 1964, and until 1970 they coexisted with the older state highway numbers. At that time, the legislative definitions were changed to use the sign route numbers, renamed state routes. Those definitions, with amendments, are still in use today.

List of State Routes

Several bridges have been defined as part of the state highway system:

• South Fork Skykomish River Bridge
• Manette Bridge
• Grays River Bridge (Rosburg)
• Elochoman Bridge

Most ocean beaches are also drivable in Washington, though many are only open to vehicles between the day after Labor Day and April 14. They are legally part of the state highway system with a general speed limit of 25 MPH.

References

1. Revised Code of Washington Chapter 47.17 - State highway routes
2. State Roads As Established by Legislature, 1893 to 1935 (PDF)
3. ^ Historical Collection - 40 Years with the Washington Department of Highways
4. Twenty-Fourth Biennial Report of the Washington Highway Commission 1950-52, U. S. Route directional marking assembly supplemented by overhead mast arm supported standard destination signs in Tenino, Washington.
5. Washington State Highway Commission, December 1, 1965, Identification of State Highways, part 1 (PDF)
6. Highways of Washington State - State Highways aka State Routes (SRs)

• Washington State Highway Commission, December 1, 1965, Identification of State Highways, part 1 and part 2 (PDF)
• Washington State Department of Transportation Library's Biennial Reports Historical Image Library

External links

Template:Portal US Roads

• Washington State Department of Transportation
• Washington Highways Page
• Highways of Washington State
• Road Signs of Washington

• Washington state highways