1970 Washington state highways (primary-secondary)

Primary State Highways were major

state highways 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 o ...

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 state highway renumbering. These highways had named branch routes as well as secondary state highways with lettered suffixes. The system of primary and secondary state highways were replaced by sign routes (now state routes) to consolidate and create a more organized and systematic method of numbering the highways within the state.

History

The first state road, running across the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

roughly where State Route 20 now crosses it, was designated by the legislature in 1893 (However, this road wasn't actually opened until 1972). Two other roads—a Cascade crossing at present State Route 410 and a branch of the first road to

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

—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 State Roads 14 to 18 in 1909.State Roads As Established by Legislature, 1893 to 1935 -
/ref> 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 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 hi ...

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 those. For instance, Primary State Highway 1 was the Pacific Highway (present

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

), and Secondary State Highway 1B was a spur from Bellingham to 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 ...

(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 George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's head, had been adopted. The primary/secondary state highway systems were replaced by the current numbering system in the 1960s, at the behest of the state legislature following the

1962 World's Fair The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The signs for the new highway numbers, which would be organized based on their general direction and—for secondary routes—a leading digit, first were posted in late 1963 and took effect in January 1964. The new numbers also coincided with existing U.S. Routes and new

Interstate Highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

to reduce confusion and eliminate duplicate numbers. The PSH/SSH signs were removed by 1970.

Secondary State Highways

Secondary State Highways (SSH) were

branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

of Primary State Highways with lettered suffixes used from 1937 to 1964. * Branches of PSH 1 * Branches of PSH 2 * Branches of PSH 3 * Branches of PSH 4 * Branches of PSH 5 * Branches of PSH 6 * Branches of PSH 7 * Branches of PSH 8 * Branches of PSH 9 * Branches of PSH 10 * Branches of PSH 11 * Branches of PSH 12 * Branches of PSH 13 * Branches of PSH 14 * Branches of PSH 15 * Branches of PSH 16 * Branches of PSH 17 * Branches of PSH 21 * Branches of PSH 22

Primary State Highway 1

PSH 1 followed the route of U.S. Route 99 (now

) from Vancouver to Blaine. It also served U.S. Route 99 Alternate (now SR 11) in Skagit and Whatcom counties.

Primary State Highway 2

This route followed the route of U.S. Route 10 (now

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 ...

) from Seattle to near Ellensburg, then

U.S. Route 97 U.S. Route 97 (US 97) is a major north–south route of the United States Numbered Highway System in the Pacific Northwest region. It runs for approximately through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, primarily serving in ...

to Peshastin, then

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...

to Spokane, then US 10/I-90 from Spokane to the Idaho state line. A southern branch of PSH 2 followed the route of

Washington State Route 18 State Route 18 (SR 18) is a State highways in Washington, state highway in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, serving southeastern King County, Washington, King County. The highway travels northeast, primarily as a Contr ...

from Snoqualmie, Washington, Snoqualmie to Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma.

Primary State Highway 3

This route followed Interstate 82 from Ellensburg to the Oregon State line (concurrent with U.S. Route 97 from Ellensburg to Union Gap and U.S. Route 410/12 from Union Gap to the Tri-Cities), U.S. Route 410 (now U.S. Route 12) from the Tri-Cities to Clarkston, U.S. Route 195 from Clarkston to Pullman, Washington State Route 27, SR 27 from Pullman to Oaksedale, US 195 from Oakesdale to Spokane, U.S. Route 2 from Spokane to Mead and U.S. Route 395 in Washington, U.S. Route 395 from Mead to the U.S.-Canada border. Spurs extended along I-82/, Washington State Route 125, SR 125 and Washington State Route 129, SR 129 from Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and Clarkston to the Oregon State Line This route was also known as the "Inland Empire Highway" and crossed the first, and for a time, the only highway bridge over the middle Columbia River. That bridge was located between the towns of Kennewick, WA and Pasco, WA.

Primary State Highway 4

This route followed State Route 30 (now part of State Route 20) from Tonasket, Washington, Tonasket to Republic, Washington, Republic and Washington State Route 21, State Route 21 from Republic to Wilbur, Washington, Wilbur.

Primary State Highway 5

PSH 5 began at Primary State Highway 2 (Washington), PSH 2 in Seattle and traveled south along the Green River (Duwamish River), Green River Valley and across the Cascade Range to a junction with Primary State Highway 3 (Washington), PSH 3 in Yakima, Washington, Yakima. The section from Enumclaw, Washington, Enumclaw to Yakima was co-signed with U.S. Route 410, US 410. PSH 5 had several branch routes that connected to Renton, Washington, Renton, Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma, Mount Rainier National Park, and Cayuse Pass. Two branches, the White Pass Highway and Washington State Route 168, Naches Pass Highway, were fully not built at the time. During the 1964 renumbering, the trunk route of PSH 5 was divided between Washington State Route 167, SR 167 from Seattle to Enumclaw and US 410 (now Washington State Route 410, SR 410) from Enumclaw to Yakima. SR 167 was later rerouted away at Auburn, leaving the former highway to Enumclaw signed as Washington State Route 164, SR 164. Its branches became various highways, including Washington State Route 7, SR 7 from Tacoma to Morton, Washington, Morton, the former Washington State Route 14 (1964), SR 14 (now U.S. Route 12 in Washington, US 12) from Morton to Yakima, Washington State Route 165, SR 165, Washington State Route 169, SR 169, and Washington State Route 706, SR 706. ;Branches *PSH 5 AT (Auburn–Tacoma): Traveled southeast from Tacoma to Puyallup and north to Auburn. Now part of Washington State Route 167, SR 167. *PSH 5 CP (Cayuse Pass): Connected PSH 5 to the White Pass Highway via Cayuse Pass. It became SR 143 and was renumbered to Washington State Route 123, SR 123. *PSH 5 EF (Enumclaw–Fairfax): Connected the northwest entrance of Mount Rainier National Park to Enumclaw. Most of the highway became Washington State Route 165, SR 165. *PSH 5 EK (Elbe–Kosmos): Connected the now-defunct town of Kosmos, Washington, Kosmos to Morton, Washington, Morton and Elbe, Washington, Elbe. It was renumbered as part of SR 7. *PSH 5 ER (Enumclaw–Renton): Traveled north from Enumclaw to Renton, Washington, Renton, where it connected to a branch of PSH 1. It was renumbered to Washington State Route 169, SR 169 *PSH 5 SB (Sumner–Buckley): An east–west route connecting Sumner to Buckley. It was renumbered to be part of US 410 and later SR 410. *PSH 5 TR (Tacoma–Rainier): Traveled south from Tacoma to Elbe, Washington, Elbe and east to the Nisqually Entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. The north–south section became SR 7, while the remainder to the national park is now Washington State Route 706, SR 706. *PSH 5 WP (White Pass): A connector between PSH 1 and PSH 5 in Naches. Now part of U.S. Route 12 in Washington, US 12. *An additional branch, the Naches Pass Highway, was not given a separate designation. It became Washington State Route 168, SR 168.

Primary State Highway 6

The route followed present-day U.S. Route 2 from Spokane, Washington, Spokane to Newport, and Washington State Route 31, State Route 31 (a portion of which is now State Route 20) from Newport to the Canada-United States border

Primary State Highway 7

This route followed U.S. Route 10/Interstate 90 from Ellensburg, Washington, Ellensburg to George, Washington, George, Washington State Route 281, State Route 281 from George to Quincy, Washington, Quincy, and Washington State Route 28, State Route 28 from Quincy to Davenport, Washington, Davenport

Primary State Highway 8

The route followed Washington State Route 14, State Route 14 (designated as Washington State Route 12 from 1964-67) from Vancouver, Washington to Maryhill, Washington, Maryhill,

from Maryhill to Toppenish, Washington, Toppenish and Washington State Route 22, State Route 22 from Toppenish to Buena, Washington, Buena.

Primary State Highway 9

This route followed U.S. Route 101 in Washington, U.S. Route 101 from Olympia to Aberdeen.

Primary State Highway 10

This route ran on

from the U.S.-Canada border to Wenatchee, and Washington State Route 28, State Route 28 from Wenatchee to Quincy. A spur extended along Washington State Route 17, State Route 17 from Brewster, Washington, Brewster to Coulee City, Washington, Coulee City

Primary State Highway 11

This route followed U.S. Route 395 in Washington, U.S. Route 395 from Pasco, Washington, Pasco to Ritzville, Washington, Ritzville and U.S. Route 10/Interstate 90 in Washington, Interstate 90 from Ritzville to Spokane, Washington, Spokane

Primary State Highway 12

This route followed Washington State Route 6, State Route 6 from Chehalis to Raymond, and U.S. Route 101 in Washington, U.S. Route 101 from Raymond to Johnsons Landing, and Washington State Route 4, State Route 4 from Johnsons Landing to Kelso.

Primary State Highway 13

This route followed U.S. Route 101 in Washington from Aberdeen to Raymond.

Primary State Highway 14

This route followed Washington State Route 16, State Route 16 from Hoodsport to Tacoma

Primary State Highway 15

This route followed

from Everett, Washington, Everett to Peshastin

Primary State Highway 16

This route followed State Route 20 from Fredonia, Washington, Fredonia to Pateros, Washington, Pateros, and Washington State Route 153, State Route 153 from Pateros to Twisp

Primary State Highway 17

Primary State Highway 18

The route followed the route of U.S. Route 10 (now

) from George, Washington, George to Ritzville, Washington, Ritzville

Primary State Highway 19

The provisional designation of a proposed outer bypass of the Seattle metropolitan area between Auburn, Washington, Auburn and Bothell, Washington, Bothell, also known unofficially as Interstate 605 (Washington), Interstate 605.

Primary State Highway 21

View shows in foreground rock fill slope protection at about Sta

The route followed present-day Washington State Route 104, State Route 104 from the Kingston Ferry to the Hood Canal Bridge, then Washington State Route 3, State Route 3 from the Hood Canal Bridge to Belfair, Washington, Belfair, then Washington State Route 106, State Route 106 from Belfair to Skokomish, Washington, Skokomish

Primary State Highway 22

The route followed present-day Washington State Route 25.

References

;General * ;Notes {{reflist Pre-1970 state highways in Washington (state), Lists of roads in Washington (state), Primary State Highways