State Route 903 (SR 903) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

located entirely in

Kittitas County Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, United States. The highway links

Lake Cle Elum Cle Elum Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of the Cle Elum River, in Washington state USA. At the site of the future city of Cle Elum, Washington, a Northern Pacific Railway station was named Clealum after the Kittitas name Tle-el-Lum ...

to Roslyn,

Cle Elum Cle Elum ( ) is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,872 at the 2010 census. About by car from Seattle, Cle Elum is a popular area for camping and outdoor activities. History Native history Cle Elum wa ...

and SR 970, which provides access to

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

. The highway has existed as a numbered highway since at least 1939, however a highway linking Lake Cle Elum to Cle Elum has existed since 1897. The

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

(WSDOT) had previously considered turning control of the highway over to Kittitas County, however this never happened, and WSDOT continues to maintain the highway.

Route description

SR 903 begins at an intersection with SR 970 just north of the

(I-90) / SR 970 interchange, headed westerly into the town of

. Before entering Cle Elum, the highway intersects its spur route, SR 903 Spur, which serves as a bypass for travelers on SR 970 who wish to avoid the main interchange of SR 903. The roadway parallels a railroad line before it terminates in South Cle Elum. The highway jogs to the north for a block before turning back west along Second Street, exiting the town and turning northwesterly. SR 903 continues through a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

before entering the town of Roslyn. The highway continues through town, turning southwesterly on Nevada Street, before turning back northwesterly at Seventh Street, exiting Roslyn. The highway continues through

Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...

before terminating at the boundary of the

Wenatchee National Forest Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres (2,711.55 sq mi, or 7,022.89 km²), it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from ...

, east of

Cle Elum Lake Cle Elum Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of the Cle Elum River, in Washington state USA. At the site of the future city of Cle Elum, Washington, a Northern Pacific Railway station was named Clealum after the Kittitas name Tle-el-Lum ...

. The roadway continues northerly however as Salmon La Sac Road. The

(WSDOT) measures traffic counts, measured in terms of

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

, with as few as 1,100 cars at the northern terminus, and as many as 7,400 cars just past the intersection at Pennsylvania Avenue in Roslyn.

History

The current highway was numbered Secondary State Highway 2E (SSH 2E) since at least 1939, though maps show a roadway following roughly the same alignment in existence since at least 1897. During the 1964 state highway renumbering, the designation was changed from SSH 2E to SR 903. WSDOT was considering dropping SR 903 from the state highway system and turning over the highway to Kittitas County in 1992; however, the idea was quickly dropped. The roundabout at Bullfrog was first proposed in 2002, and was estimated to cost $1.2 million, paid for by

Suncadia Resort Suncadia is an unincorporated community and resort in Kittitas County, Washington, covering an area of 6,300 acres (25.5 km). It is located approximately 80 miles (130 km) east of Seattle in the Cascade Mountains between Roslyn, Cle Elum ...

. The roundabout opened to traffic sometime between May 7 and July 15, 2005. Completed in August 2007, WSDOT repaved of highway between Cle Elum and the National Forest boundary for a cost of $2 million.

Major intersections

Spur route

Washington State Route 903 Spur is a long two-lane spur route of SR 903, constructed between 1973 and 1984. The spur route serves as a short connector allowing travelers on SR 970 who wish to continue west towards Cle Elum along SR 903 to bypass the main junction between SR 903 and SR 970 just north of I-90. On average, 3,000 cars-per-day travel over the spur route.

References

External links

Highways of Washington State
{{State highways in Washington related to I-90 Transportation in Kittitas County, Washington

903 __NOTOC__ Year 903 ( CMIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lo ...