State Route 292 (SR 292) is a state highway located entirely in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The east–west highway connects SR 231 in Springdale to

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

(US 395) at Loon Lake. It is approximately long and follows Sheep Creek and a railroad. The highway was built in the early 20th century along the

Spokane Falls and Northern Railway The Spokane Falls & Northern (SF&N) is a historic railroad that operated in northeast Washington state. The SF&N initially connected the city of Spokane (then called Spokane Falls) with the Canada–United States border at Waneta, British Columbi ...

and was incorporated into the

Inland Empire Highway Primary State Highways were major state highways in the U.S. state of Washington used in the early 20th century. They were created as the first organized road numbering system in the state in stages between 1905 and 1937 and used until the 1964 ...

in 1913. It later became part of US 395 until it was realigned in 1959 to bypass Springdale. The former highway became a branch of Secondary State Highway 3J (SSH 3J), which was renumbered to SR 292 in 1964.

Route description

State Route 292 (SR 292) begins in Springdale at an intersection with SR 231, the town's main street and a major north–south highway through Stevens County. The highway travels east from the town along the BNSF Railway's Kettle Falls Subdivision, a minor freight railroad, and Sheep Creek between Limekiln Hill and May Hill. It continues east into rolling forestland and passes farmland before descending towards the

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

community of Loon Lake. SR 292 crosses over Sheep Creek and under the railroad as it enters Loon Lake, where it passes north of the eponymous lake. The highway travels southeast through Loon Lake's small commercial district and terminates at a roundabout with US 395 and Garden Spot Road on the northeast shore of the lake. The , two-lane highway primarily connects Springdale to Loon Lake, along with serving recreational traffic in the area. It is maintained by 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. Established in 1905, it is ...

(WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey of traffic volume that is expressed 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 ...

. Average traffic volumes on SR 292 in 2016 ranged from a minimum of 2,300 vehicles at SR 231 in Springdale to a maximum of 3,400 vehicles in Loon Lake.

History

The

(later part of the Great Northern Railway) was completed between Spokane and

Chewelah Chewelah ( ) is a city in Stevens County, Washington, United States. It is located approximately northwest of Spokane, Washington, Spokane. The population was 2,607 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, a 19.3% increase from 2000. Hist ...

in 1889, providing a fixed overland link between Springdale and Loon Lake. A parallel

wagon road ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. I ...

was completed by 1910 and later classified as suitable for automobile travel. It was incorporated into the

, a state highway established in 1913 that connected the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, prima ...

to Spokane and the

Canadian border Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

in Stevens County. The Inland Empire Highway was assigned the designation of State Road 3 (later Primary State Highway 3) in 1923. It then became part of US 395, created in 1926 as part of the initial

United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

to connect Spokane to the Canadian border. Paving of the highway between Spokane and

Kettle Falls Kettle Falls ( Salish: Shonitkwu, meaning "roaring or noisy waters", also Schwenetekoo translated as "Keep Sounding Water") was an ancient and important salmon fishing site on the upper reaches of the Columbia River, in what is today the U.S. ...

began in 1931 and was completed a year later. The Springdale–Loon Lake section was rebuilt in 1951, including a new underpass under the Great Northern Railway. The state government approved plans to realign US 395 between Loon Lake and Chewelah onto a straighter highway in early 1957. The new alignment would eliminate more than 45 curves and nearly between Spokane and Chewelah; it would cost $1.3 million to construct (equivalent to $ in dollars) and use funding from the federal government. Construction began in October 1957 and the new highway opened to traffic on November 10, 1959. The former route from Loon Lake to Springdale was retained as a branch of SSH 3J by the state legislature in early 1959. SSH 3J was renumbered to SR 231 in 1964, while its east–west branch became SR 292. In 1991, the state government proposed decommissioning SR 292 and transferring it to county maintenance, but were opposed by civic leaders from Springdale who feared that logging trucks would be unable to use the county-maintained road. The proposal was rejected by the state legislature and resurfaced three years later, where it also failed to gain traction. In response to safety concerns and 19 collisions from 2017 to 2022, WSDOT constructed a roundabout to replace the eastern terminus of SR 292 at US 395 in Loon Lake. The roundabout was constructed beginning in September 2022 as part of a larger $12 million repaving project and opened to traffic in early October.

Major intersections

References

External links

Highways of Washington State
{{State highways in Washington related to US 395

292 __NOTOC__ Year 292 ( CCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hannibalianus and Asclepiodotus (or, less frequently, year ...

Transportation in Stevens County, Washington

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links