State Route 116 (SR 116) 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 ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

, serving

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and Marrowstone islands in Jefferson County. The two-lane highway travels east from SR 19 in Port Hadlock-Irondale across the

Portage Canal The Portage Canal was built to connect the Fox River and Wisconsin River at Portage, Wisconsin along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. For a time, it completed a route from the north Atlantic Ocean, through the St. Lawrence Seaway and down the Missi ...

to Indian Island and Marrowstone Island, turning north and ending at the entrance to

Fort Flagler State Park Fort Flagler State Park is a public recreation area that occupies the site of Fort Flagler, a former United States Army fort at the northern end of Marrowstone Island in Washington. The state park occupies at the entrance to Admiralty Inlet and ...

. SR 116 was created in 1991 and follows the route of Flagler Road, built and paved in the 1960s.

Route description

SR 116 begins at an intersection with SR 19 in Port Hadlock-Irondale, located between Port Ludlow and

Port Townsend Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to ...

. The highway travels east as Nees' Corner Road over Chimacum Creek and through the community of Port Hadlock before crossing the

onto Indian Island. SR 116 continues east on Indian Island as Flagler Road along the coast of Oak Bay and turns north along Scow Bay onto

Marrowstone Island Marrowstone is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 844 at the 2010 census. All Marrowstone addresses are in Nordland, Washington, and the ZIP code for Marrowstone Island is 98358. ...

, entering a wooded area. The highway continues north through central Marrowstone Island and passes through

Mystery Bay State Park Mystery Bay State Park is an Washington marine state park on Mystery Bay, a small inlet off Scow Bay/Kilisut Harbor on the western side of Marrowstone Island Marrowstone is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Washington, Unit ...

before ending at the entrance to

. Every year, 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) 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 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 ...

(AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. In 2011, WSDOT calculated that the busiest section of the highway was its western terminus at SR 19, carrying 6,500 vehicles, while the least busiest section was the eastern terminus at Fort Flagler State Park, carrying 440 vehicles. SR 116 is designated as a part of the National Highway System between SR 19 and Indian Island.

History

A road connecting

and

with Indian Island and Port Hadlock-Irondale on the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

has existed and been paved since the late 1960s. The roadway was codified in 1991 as SR 116, traveling east from newly created SR 19 and was formally added to the state highway system on April 1, 1992. The bridge over the

Port Townsend Ship Canal The Port Townsend Ship Canal (also known as the Portage Canal) is a canal connecting Port Townsend Bay and Oak Bay in Jefferson County, Washington. Built in 1915, the canal separates Indian Island from the Quimper Peninsula of mainland Washingt ...

, also known as the Portage Canal, was retrofitted by

WSDOT 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. Established in 1905, it is ...

in late 2007 and early 2008 to add safer railings for pedestrians.

Major intersections

References

External links

Highways of Washington State
{{State highways in Washington related to US 101

116 116 (''one hundred and sixteen'') may refer to: *116 (number) *AD 116 * 116 BC * 116 (Devon and Cornwall) Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a military unit * 116 (MBTA bus) * 116 (New Jersey bus) * 116 (hip hop group), a Christian hip hop collect ...

Transportation in Jefferson County, Washington