173-622: The Interstate Highways in Washington are segments of the national Interstate Highway System that lie within the U.S. state of Washington . The system comprises 764 miles (1,230 km) on seven routes that are owned and maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT); the design standards and numbering across the national system are managed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and
346-522: A concurrency or overlap. For example, I‑75 and I‑85 share the same roadway in Atlanta ; this 7.4-mile (11.9 km) section, called the Downtown Connector , is labeled both I‑75 and I‑85. Concurrencies between Interstate and US Highway numbers are also allowed in accordance with AASHTO policy, as long as the length of the concurrency is reasonable. In rare instances, two highway designations sharing
519-519: A 100-mile (160 km) section between Tumwater and Marysville . I-5 enters Washington on the Interstate Bridge , a pair of vertical-lift bridges that span the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. The bridge is the only point on I-5 where vehicles have to stop for cross traffic, because of the lifts. On the north bank of the river, the freeway passes under
692-637: A 28-year-old brevet lieutenant colonel, accompanied the trip "through darkest America with truck and tank," as he later described it. Some roads in the West were a "succession of dust, ruts, pits, and holes." As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 (Phipps Act). This new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $ 75 million allocated annually. Moreover, this new legislation for
865-476: A change in the numbering system as a result of a new policy adopted in 1973. Previously, letter-suffixed numbers were used for long spurs off primary routes; for example, western I‑84 was I‑80N, as it went north from I‑80 . The new policy stated, "No new divided numbers (such as I-35W and I-35E , etc.) shall be adopted." The new policy also recommended that existing divided numbers be eliminated as quickly as possible; however, an I-35W and I-35E still exist in
1038-613: A direct off-ramp to the Federal Way Transit Center and The Commons at Federal Way shopping mall. The freeway travels north into western Kent , intersecting SR 516 near Highline College . North of Angle Lake , I-5 tracks eastward between the cities of SeaTac and Tukwila , passing east of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport . At the Westfield Southcenter shopping mall in Tukwila, I-5 intersects SR 518 ,
1211-582: A freeway connecting east to Puyallup , before it reaches Tacoma. In Tacoma, the freeway passes the Tacoma Mall , turns east, and splits into collector–distributor lanes that run through central Tacoma and serve two interchanges: the terminus of SR 16 , which continues northwest over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to the Kitsap Peninsula ; and I-705 and SR 7 , which serve downtown Tacoma,
1384-498: A measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. The stretch of I-5 through Downtown Seattle is the busiest highway in Washington state, with a daily average of over 274,000 vehicles in the mainline and express lanes. The least-traveled segment of I-5 is located at SR 548 in Blaine , with a daily average of 6,600 vehicles. I-5 through the Seattle metropolitan area is among
1557-481: A minimum of two lanes per direction, and widths of at least 12 feet (3.7 m) for lanes and 4 to 10 feet (1.2 to 3.0 m) for the left and right shoulders , respectively. The FHWA is responsible for overseeing these standards and can also approve exceptions. The numbering scheme used to designate the Interstates was developed by AASHTO, an organization composed of the various state departments of transportation in
1730-485: A national expressway system in the 1940s, including several bypasses on US 99 that were built by the state in the early 1950s. The state's planned toll superhighway in the Seattle area was shelved in favor of a federally-funded freeway under the new Interstate Highway System, under which I-5 was created in 1957. Construction of I-5 was completed in 1969, and several segments of the highway have been widened or improved in
1903-580: A national road grid with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 . In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established, creating the first national road numbering system for cross-country travel. The roads were state-funded and maintained, and there were few national standards for road design. United States Numbered Highways ranged from two-lane country roads to multi-lane freeways. After Dwight D. Eisenhower became president in 1953, his administration developed
SECTION 10
#17328522070992076-501: A north–south freeway through Seattle that was later refined into the early concepts for Interstate 5 in the 1950s. A design from 1954 proposed an eight-lane facility from Downtown Seattle to Ravenna that would cost $ 194 million (equivalent to $ 1.75 billion in 2023 dollars) to construct. Alternate plans would have placed the freeway further east on 12th Avenue in Capitol Hill or along Empire Way , which would later be used for
2249-576: A numbering scheme in which primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, and shorter routes which branch off of longer ones are assigned three-digit numbers where the last two digits match the parent route. The Interstate Highway System is partially financed through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself is funded by a combination of a federal fuel tax and transfers from the Treasury's general fund. Though federal legislation initially banned
2422-481: A proposal for an interstate highway system, eventually resulting in the enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 . Unlike the earlier United States Numbered Highway System, the interstates were designed to be all freeways, with nationally unified standards for construction and signage. While some older freeways were adopted into the system, most of the routes were completely new. In dense urban areas,
2595-662: A railroad viaduct carrying Amtrak's Empire Builder and intersects SR 14 . The interchange with SR 14, located west of Pearson Field and the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site , also includes ramps serving downtown Vancouver. I-5 continues north through suburban Vancouver and into Hazel Dell , passing the Clark College campus and intersecting SR 501 at Fourth Plain Boulevard and SR 500 at Burnt Bridge Creek. I-5 intersects I-205 ,
2768-412: A remote operations center that relies on CCTV cameras and an inspection and sweep for abandoned vehicles by a ground crew, who also set up safety nets during the 15-minute switch-over. Prior to a $ 6.6 million project to automate the gates and signage in 2012, the switch-over took 50 minutes in total. During snowstorms and severe cold weather, WSDOT keeps the express lanes open in one direction for
2941-540: A report called Toll Roads and Free Roads , "the first formal description of what became the Interstate Highway System" and, in 1944, the similarly themed Interregional Highways . The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy that drove in part on
3114-528: A set of collector–distributor lanes as the freeway crosses the Skookumchuck River and a set of railroad tracks on the northwest side of the city. US 12 leaves the concurrency at Grand Mound , heading west towards Aberdeen while I-5 continues north into Thurston County . North of Grand Mound, I-5 passes two interchanges with SR 121 , which forms a loop between two of the exits to serve Millersylvania State Park . The freeway travels through
3287-464: A set of flyer stops that are connected to SR 523 by a northbound loop ramp and southbound slip ramp. I-5 continues north through Shoreline , passing the King County Metro north bus base and several suburban neighborhoods before reaching Snohomish County . At the county line near Lake Ballinger , I-5 intersects SR 104 , a highway that connects to Lake Forest Park , Edmonds , and
3460-409: A single digit prefixed to the two-digit number of its parent Interstate Highway. Spur routes deviate from their parent and do not return; these are given an odd first digit. Circumferential and radial loop routes return to the parent, and are given an even first digit. Unlike primary Interstates, three-digit Interstates are signed as either east–west or north–south, depending on the general orientation of
3633-769: A speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) because it is a parkway that consists of only one lane per side of the highway. On the other hand, Interstates 15, 80, 84, and 215 in Utah have speed limits as high as 70 mph (115 km/h) within the Wasatch Front , Cedar City , and St. George areas, and I-25 in New Mexico within the Santa Fe and Las Vegas areas along with I-20 in Texas along Odessa and Midland and I-29 in North Dakota along
SECTION 20
#17328522070993806-456: A speed limit of 80 mph (130 km/h). Other Interstates in Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming also have the same high speed limits. In some areas, speed limits on Interstates can be significantly lower in areas where they traverse significantly hazardous areas. The maximum speed limit on I-90 is 50 mph (80 km/h) in downtown Cleveland because of two sharp curves with
3979-616: A state scenic highway that continues west along SR 4 towards the Pacific Ocean . The freeway continues north, following the Cowlitz River to Castle Rock , where it meets SR 411 and a short business route that loops back to an interchange with SR 504 , the main highway to Mount St. Helens . North of Castle Rock, the Cowlitz River turns away from I-5 as the latter enters Lewis County , intersecting SR 506 west of Toledo and SR 505 east of Winlock . Between
4152-467: A suggested limit of 35 mph (55 km/h) in a heavily congested area; I-70 through Wheeling, West Virginia , has a maximum speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) through the Wheeling Tunnel and most of downtown Wheeling; and I-68 has a maximum speed limit of 40 mph (65 km/h) through Cumberland, Maryland , because of multiple hazards including sharp curves and narrow lanes through
4325-526: A system of limited-access highways in 1947, in response to rising collisions and hazardous conditions on existing state roadways. The legislation authorized planning for a tolled superhighway between Seattle and Tacoma that would later be extended south to Oregon and north to British Columbia as a replacement for US 99. A second bill in 1951 authorized the construction of expressways to replace rural sections of US 99 and US 10 (the east–west trunk ), particularly by bypassing small cities, and
4498-460: A waterfront route. The first section, 5 miles (8.0 km) long and four lanes wide, opened to traffic on December 5, 1960, connecting with an existing expressway to Ferndale. The remainder of I-5 from Ferndale to the Peace Arch border crossing was upgraded in two stages, beginning with 11 miles (18 km) to Dakota Creek near Blaine that opened on October 29, 1963. The last section through Blaine
4671-575: Is a second half-diamond interchange with SR 529 Spur on Everett Avenue, at which point the HOV lanes terminate and leave the freeway at six total lanes. I-5 continues north through a narrow trench in the Riverside neighborhood and passes Summit Park, a city park built using leftover land and excavated dirt from the freeway's construction. The freeway continues over the Snohomish River and descends into
4844-534: Is also commonly believed the Interstate Highway System was built for the sole purpose of evacuating cities in the event of nuclear warfare . While military motivations were present, the primary motivations were civilian. The numbering scheme for the Interstate Highway System was developed in 1957 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The association's present numbering policy dates back to August 10, 1973. Within
5017-684: Is an Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States that serves as the region's primary north–south route. It spans 277 miles (446 km) across the state of Washington , from the Oregon state border at Vancouver , through the Puget Sound region , to the Canadian border at Blaine . Within the Seattle metropolitan area , the freeway connects the cities of Tacoma , Seattle , and Everett . I-5
5190-535: Is joined by the BNSF railroad while continuing north towards Mount Vernon . The freeway narrows to four lanes within Mount Vernon and forms the boundary between the uphill suburban neighborhoods and downtown along the river. In downtown Mount Vernon, it intersects SR 536 in an interchange adjacent to the city's train station . At its next interchange, I-5 crosses the railroad and encounters SR 538 , which connects
5363-465: Is the only interstate to traverse the whole state from north to south and is Washington's busiest highway, with an average of 274,000 vehicles traveling on it through Downtown Seattle on a typical day. The segment in Downtown Seattle is also among the widest freeways in the United States, at 13 lanes, and includes a set of express lanes that reverse direction depending on time of the day. Most of
List of Interstate Highways in Washington - Misplaced Pages Continue
5536-525: Is to have the highway route extend from Tamaulipas , Mexico to Ontario , Canada. The planned I-11 will then bridge the Interstate gap between Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada , and thus form part of the CANAMEX Corridor (along with I-19 , and portions of I-10 and I-15 ) between Sonora , Mexico and Alberta , Canada. Political opposition from residents canceled many freeway projects around
5709-635: The American Association of State Highway Officials established a national highway system in 1926, designating most of the Pacific Highway north of Los Angeles as part of U.S. Route 99 (US 99). The highway's Washington segment would ultimately be completed four years later with the opening of several bridges between Everett and Marysville. It was also realigned in several areas to use newer cut-off roadways, bypassing older sections. The section between Burlington and Bellingham, historically on
5882-409: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Washington has three primary Interstates and four auxiliary routes ; the seven routes serve most of the state's major cities. The longest of these is Interstate 90 (I-90), which is 298 miles (480 km) long and connects the state's two largest cities, Seattle and Spokane . I-5 is the only Interstate to span
6055-646: The Beacon Hill light rail tunnel near 1 Line's railyard and operating base. At the north end of SoDo and Beacon Hill, I-5 intersects I-90 , the state's major east–west freeway, forming a large interchange with ramps to T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field , two of the city's professional sports stadiums. North of the interchange, I-5 travels on an elevated viaduct over the International District and splits into collector–distributor lanes that serve exits to Downtown Seattle . The thirteen-lane freeway, among
6228-582: The Bellis Fair Mall . The freeway heads northwest and leaves Bellingham after passing Bellingham International Airport , entering the predominately rural part of the Fraser Lowland region. I-5 continues northwest along the railroad, crossing the Nooksack River on a pair of truss bridges near downtown Ferndale and reaching a junction with SR 548 north of the city. SR 548 continues along
6401-580: The Cascade Range to Tacoma and Aberdeen , totaling 167 miles (269 km), was submitted by Washington in 1959. Among the first Interstate projects in Washington to be built with funding from the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 were bypasses of Fort Lewis and Olympia that had already been planned by the state government. They were incorporated into I-5, and in early 1958 the Tacoma project became
6574-579: The Cowlitz reservation and crosses the Lewis River into Woodland , where it intersects SR 503 . Northwest of Woodland, the median of I-5 is used by freight trains and Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight passenger trains, which follow the freeway for its entire length. I-5 continues along the east bank of the Columbia River, passing through Kalama on the way towards Longview and Kelso . At
6747-474: The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas, and an I-35W and I-35E that run through Minneapolis and Saint Paul , Minnesota, still exist. Additionally, due to Congressional requirements, three sections of I-69 in southern Texas will be divided into I-69W , I-69E , and I-69C (for Central). AASHTO policy allows dual numbering to provide continuity between major control points. This is referred to as
6920-616: The Eastside ; and I-705 , a short spur into Tacoma . It was designated as the Purple Heart Trail in 2013 by the Washington State Transportation Commission to honor wounded military veterans. The freeway runs through the most densely populated region of Washington state, with 4.6 million people living in the nine counties on the corridor, approximately 70 percent of the state's population. Several of
7093-538: The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. Under the act, the federal government would pay for 90 percent of the cost of construction of Interstate Highways. Each Interstate Highway was required to be a freeway with at least four lanes and no at-grade crossings. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways , informally known as the Yellow Book , mapped out what became
List of Interstate Highways in Washington - Misplaced Pages Continue
7266-603: The Grand Forks area have higher speed limits of 75 mph (120 km/h). As one of the components of the National Highway System , Interstate Highways improve the mobility of military troops to and from airports, seaports, rail terminals, and other military bases. Interstate Highways also connect to other roads that are a part of the Strategic Highway Network , a system of roads identified as critical to
7439-520: The Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge to supplement the existing Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (both among the longest floating bridges in the world), expansion of the Mount Baker Tunnel , and a set of lids in Seattle and Mercer Island ; its total cost was $ 1.56 billion (equivalent to $ 2.97 billion in 2023 dollars), among the most expensive parts of the Interstate system. The FHWA estimated
7612-827: The Interstate Highway System , or the Eisenhower Interstate System , is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States . The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii , Alaska , and Puerto Rico . In the 20th century, the United States Congress began funding roadways through the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , and started an effort to construct
7785-515: The Lincoln Highway , the first road across America. He recalled that, "The old convoy had started me thinking about good two-lane highways... the wisdom of broader ribbons across our land." Eisenhower also gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network, as a necessary component of a national defense system while he
7958-667: The Newaukum River near the Uncle Sam billboard , a politically conservative message board and roadside attraction. I-5 and US 12 turn northwest to follow the river and pass along the western edge of Chehalis , where they intersect SR 6 . After passing the Chehalis-Centralia Airport , the freeway follows the Chehalis River to the western side of Centralia . I-5 and US 12 then intersect SR 507 and gain
8131-566: The Northern states . The first major expressway with limited access to be built in the state was the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Downtown Seattle, which was announced in 1947 and used federal grants authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 . It opened in 1953 and replaced sections of U.S. Route 99 (US 99), part of the older United States Numbered Highway System . The Washington State Legislature approved their own plans for
8304-663: The Okanogan Country as the North Cascades Highway. In northern Burlington, I-5 intersects the southern end of SR 11 , which provides access to the western Chuckanut Mountains . I-5 crosses the railroad and the Samish River before reaching the Skagit Casino Resort and Skagit Speedway near Bow and Alger , located in the middle of the heavily forested Chuckanut foothills. The freeway then travels up into
8477-578: The Seattle Municipal Tower and adjacent to Seattle City Hall . The express lanes run through downtown and the Cascade neighborhood on the lower deck of I-5's southbound lanes, with ramps to the Pike Street at 9th Avenue (including a former exit to Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel 's Convention Place station ), and Stewart and Howell streets at Eastlake Avenue. After the ramps from Mercer Street,
8650-481: The Stillaguamish River and passes the Stillaguamish Indian Reservation and the Angel of the Winds Casino Resort . The freeway continues northwest through rural Snohomish County and intersects SR 532 east of Stanwood before crossing into Skagit County . From the Snohomish County line, the freeway turns north and descends into the Skagit Valley from Conway Hill, following the Skagit River that runs to its west. At Conway , I-5 intersects SR 534 and
8823-466: The Tacoma Dome , Tacoma Dome Station , and the Pacific Avenue corridor. East of the Tacoma Dome area, I-5 intersects SR 167 and crosses over the Puyallup River and a railroad carrying Sounder commuter trains . The freeway reaches Fife on the Puyallup Indian Reservation and intersects SR 99 , a section of former US 99 , at 54th Avenue East near the Emerald Queen Casino . After crossing Hylebos Creek, I-5 turns north and ascends from
SECTION 50
#17328522070998996-444: The US Department of Defense . The system has also been used to facilitate evacuations in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. An option for maximizing traffic throughput on a highway is to reverse the flow of traffic on one side of a divider so that all lanes become outbound lanes. This procedure, known as contraflow lane reversal , has been employed several times for hurricane evacuations. After public outcry regarding
9169-411: The US Highways , which increase from east to west and north to south). This numbering system usually holds true even if the local direction of the route does not match the compass directions. Numbers divisible by five are intended to be major arteries among the primary routes, carrying traffic long distances. Primary north–south Interstates increase in number from I-5 between Canada and Mexico along
9342-437: The West Coast to I‑95 between Canada and Miami, Florida along the East Coast . Major west–east arterial Interstates increase in number from I-10 between Santa Monica, California , and Jacksonville, Florida , to I-90 between Seattle, Washington , and Boston, Massachusetts , with two exceptions. There are no I-50 and I-60, as routes with those numbers would likely pass through states that currently have US Highways with
9515-427: The peak direction ; the express lanes run in the median of the freeway between Downtown Seattle and Northgate, carrying 54,000 of the 270,000 vehicles on the Ship Canal Bridge on an average weekday, as measured in 2010. The express lanes split from I-5 near James Street, with ramps to the mainline near the northbound Seneca Street exit; the southernmost downtown exit is at 5th Avenue and Cherry and Columbia streets under
9688-522: The state supreme court upheld the legislature's authorization and allowed the program to move forward. A separate bill in 1953 authorized planning for a toll highway between Tacoma and Everett to replace the nearly-complete Alaskan Way Viaduct and other urban streets with grade crossings and 19 total interchanges. The upgrade program was divided into 226 miles (364 km) of four-lane highway and 47 miles (76 km) of two-lane highway in rural sections between Marysville and Blaine. Construction on
9861-425: The 1970s. The section between northern Kelso and Castle Rock was improved to Interstate standards and widened to six lanes in 1976, which was followed by an expansion through Kelso that opened in 1981. The Kelso expansion project included relocating the freeway away from a mudslide-prone hill, transferring maintenance of the old alignment to the city government. A similar six-lane expansion project in Marysville in
10034-497: The Chuckanut Mountains and crosses into Whatcom County south of Lake Samish . The entire Skagit County section of I-5 is designated as the Skagit Valley Agricultural Scenic Corridor , a state scenic byway , in recognition of its agricultural industry. I-5 travels along the eastern shore of Lake Samish before turning west to follow Chuckanut Creek through a narrow valley formed by Chuckanut and Lookout mountains in Lake Samish State Park . At Lake Padden , it turns north and enters
10207-402: The Congress Hotel in Chicago. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50,000-mile (80,000 km) system, consisting of five east–west routes and 10 north–south routes. The system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $ 25,000 per mile ($ 16,000/km), providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. In 1919, the US Army sent an expedition across
10380-406: The FHWA proposed to route I-82 towards the Tri-Cities, which would be directly served by a spur route . The new connector, numbered I-182 , was approved in 1969 and fully opened in 1986 alongside the last Washington section of I-82; the highways were delayed by disagreements with local governments and spending cuts during the early 1980s recession . The Washington section of I-205 was completed with
10553-449: The Hawks Prairie industrial area, where it intersects SR 510 , a highway serving the Nisqually Indian Community and Yelm . I-5 continues northeast through the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge towards DuPont on the east side of the Nisqually River in Pierce County . Immediately east of DuPont, I-5 travels through Joint Base Lewis–McChord , a major military installation that encompasses land on both sides of
SECTION 60
#173285220709910726-670: The Interstate Highway System, but it was tentatively designated as State Route 605 (SR 605) by the legislature. Proposals to build a north–south freeway near Lake Sammamish were defeated in 1968, but the idea was revived in 1998 as an extension of SR 18 through the Snoqualmie Valley . A 2004 study commissioned by the state legislature determined that an outer beltway would not be feasible to construct due to its high costs as well as opposition from local residents and environmental groups. Interstate Highway System [REDACTED] The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways , commonly known as
10899-407: The Interstate Highway System. Assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson , who was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953. Some sections of highways that became part of the Interstate Highway System actually began construction earlier. Three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that
11072-424: The Interstate Highway program. The Interstates of Alaska and Puerto Rico are numbered sequentially in order of funding without regard to the rules on odd and even numbers. They also carry the prefixes A and PR , respectively. However, these highways are signed according to their local designations, not their Interstate Highway numbers. Furthermore, these routes were neither planned according to nor constructed to
11245-554: The Kitsap Peninsula via the Edmonds–Kingston ferry . The freeway continues through western Mountlake Terrace , passing the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center and its median bus station near 236th Street Southwest. Upon entering Lynnwood , I-5 turns northeast and follows the Interurban Trail , passing the Lynnwood Transit Center , which is connected to the HOV lanes via a set of direct ramps. The freeway then intersects SR 524 (196th Street Southwest) and its spur route on 44th Avenue West before heading towards Alderwood Mall . To
11418-504: The Northgate Mall, with a ramp to Northeast 103rd Street and the two remaining lanes merging onto I-5. The downtown entrances at Cherry, Columbia, and Pike streets are designated for HOV use only to encourage carpooling without affecting buses using the ramps. The express lanes typically carry southbound traffic from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. and northbound traffic from 11:15 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, with an overnight closure from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. On most weekends,
11591-451: The Puyallup River Valley, entering King County and the city of Federal Way while parallel to SR 99. After passing under SR 161 at Kitts Corner near the Wild Waves Theme Park , I-5 intersects SR 18 , a freeway that connects to Auburn and Maple Valley . I-5 continues north past the former corporate headquarters of Weyerhauser to central Federal Way, where the freeway's high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes) have
11764-506: The US to determine the difficulties that military vehicles would have on a cross-country trip. Leaving from the Ellipse near the White House on July 7, the Motor Transport Corps convoy needed 62 days to drive 3,200 miles (5,100 km) on the Lincoln Highway to the Presidio of San Francisco along the Golden Gate . The convoy suffered many setbacks and problems on the route, such as poor-quality bridges, broken crankshafts, and engines clogged with desert sand. Dwight Eisenhower , then
11937-631: The United States, including: In addition to cancellations, removals of freeways are planned: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has defined a set of standards that all new Interstates must meet unless a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is obtained. One almost absolute standard is the controlled access nature of the roads. With few exceptions , traffic lights (and cross traffic in general) are limited to toll booths and ramp meters (metered flow control for lane merging during rush hour ). Being freeways , Interstate Highways usually have
12110-412: The United States. A set of business routes , which use a modified green Interstate shield, are designated and maintained by local governments instead of WSDOT and do not require approval from the FHWA. The Interstate Highway System covers about 764 miles (1,230 km) in Washington and consists of three primary routes and four auxiliary routes . They connect the major cities and metropolitan areas of
12283-424: The University District. I-5 runs north along 5th Avenue through the University District, a few blocks west of the University of Washington campus, and intersects Northeast 45th and 50th streets using a weaved pair of diamond interchanges . In the Roosevelt – Green Lake area, I-5 intersects Ravenna Boulevard and SR 522 , a major highway that travels along the north side of Lake Washington. Further north,
12456-409: The Washington state government's plan for limited access highways, including an urban tollway that was later cancelled. The original allocation of two primary routes and two auxiliary routes was later expanded in the 1960s and 1970s with the addition of I-82 and two more auxiliary routes. The last segment of the Interstate Highway System in Washington, a section of I-90 between Seattle and Bellevue ,
12629-473: The act was signed, and paving started September 26, 1956. The state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could also be considered one of the first Interstate Highways, and is nicknamed "Grandfather of the Interstate System". On October 1, 1940, 162 miles (261 km) of
12802-648: The cancellation of the Somerset Freeway . This situation was remedied when the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project started in 2010 and partially opened on September 22, 2018, which was already enough to fill the gap. However, I-70 remains discontinuous in Pennsylvania , because of the lack of a direct interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike at
12975-406: The choice of routing destroyed many well-established neighborhoods, often intentionally as part of a program of " urban renewal ". In the two decades following the 1956 Highway Act, the construction of the freeways displaced one million people, and as a result of the many freeway revolts during this era, several planned Interstates were abandoned or re-routed to avoid urban cores. Construction of
13148-609: The city of Bellingham , intersecting SR 11 east of Fairhaven and the Alaska Marine Highway terminal. The freeway travels along the east side of Sehome Hill and downtown, passing the Western Washington University campus and several intersections with downtown streets. Northeast of downtown Bellingham, I-5 intersects SR 542 (the Mount Baker Highway) and turns west to meet SR 539 at
13321-650: The city. In some locations, low speed limits are the result of lawsuits and resident demands; after holding up the completion of I-35E in St. Paul, Minnesota , for nearly 30 years in the courts, residents along the stretch of the freeway from the southern city limit to downtown successfully lobbied for a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit in addition to a prohibition on any vehicle weighing more than 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) gross vehicle weight . I-93 in Franconia Notch State Park in northern New Hampshire has
13494-401: The collection of tolls, some Interstate routes are toll roads , either because they were grandfathered into the system or because subsequent legislation has allowed for tolling of Interstates in some cases. As of 2022 , about one quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country used the Interstate Highway System, which has a total length of 48,890 miles (78,680 km). In 2022 and 2023,
13667-497: The construction and improvement of highways. The nation's revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In December 1918, E. J. Mehren, a civil engineer and the editor of Engineering News-Record , presented his "A Suggested National Highway Policy and Plan" during a gathering of the State Highway Officials and Highway Industries Association at
13840-407: The contiguous United States, primary Interstates—also called main line Interstates or two-digit Interstates—are assigned numbers less than 100. While numerous exceptions do exist, there is a general scheme for numbering Interstates. Primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, while shorter routes (such as spurs, loops, and short connecting roads) are assigned three-digit numbers where
14013-588: The corridor. The federal government began planning for a national "superhighway" system in the late 1930s, including the US ;99 corridor as the main route along the West Coast. The highway system, designed with a minimum of four lanes in rural areas and strict grade separation , was approved for limited funding by Congress in 1944 and planned by the Bureau of Public Roads over the following years. The US 99 corridor
14186-463: The creation and majority-federal funding of the Interstate Highway System . A few months later, the state supreme court overturned the $ 194 million authorization (equivalent to $ 1.67 billion in 2023 dollars) to build the 65-mile (105 km) Tacoma–Everett expressway as a toll road after finding it to be unconstitutional. The federal contribution under the Interstate Highways program
14359-439: The creation of the Interstate Highway System and its design standards. It also established a federal commitment to fund 90 percent of construction costs for eligible Interstate projects. In August 1957, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO; now AASHTO) designated the state's two primary routes as I-5 and I-90, replacing US 99 and US 10, respectively. A pair of auxiliary routes were also included in
14532-486: The day. Various sections of the Interstate Highways serving the Seattle and Portland–Vancouver metropolitan areas also have designated lanes for high-occupancy vehicles , buses, and tolled vehicles . The Seattle–Tacoma area ranks third among U.S. metropolitan areas for the number of sections with high-occupancy vehicle lanes. In 2019, Washington's Interstates carried an estimated 17.4 billion vehicle miles traveled , comprising 28 percent of all travel on roads in
14705-563: The decades since. Interstate 5 is the only Interstate to traverse Washington from north to south, serving as the primary highway for the western portion of the state. It is listed as part of the National Highway System and the state's Highways of Statewide Significance program, recognizing its connection to major communities. I-5 has three auxiliary Interstate Highways within Washington: I-205 , an easterly bypass of Portland, Oregon , and Vancouver ; I-405 , bypassing Seattle via
14878-618: The discontinuity, but they have been blocked by local opposition, fearing a loss of business. The Interstate Highway System has been expanded numerous times. The expansions have both created new designations and extended existing designations. For example, I-49 , added to the system in the 1980s as a freeway in Louisiana , was designated as an expansion corridor, and FHWA approved the expanded route north from Lafayette, Louisiana , to Kansas City, Missouri . The freeway exists today as separate completed segments, with segments under construction or in
15051-448: The dissemination of public information. As a result, the 2005 evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina ran much more smoothly. According to urban legend , early regulations required that one out of every five miles of the Interstate Highway System must be built straight and flat, so as to be usable by aircraft during times of war. There is no evidence of this rule being included in any Interstate legislation. It
15224-525: The east of the mall, I-5 intersects I-405 and SR 525 . I-5 crosses into northern Lynnwood and intersects 164th Street Southwest near Martha Lake and Mill Creek , where a partial HOV ramp connects to the Ash Way Park and Ride . The freeway continues north into Everett and intersects SR 96 southeast of Paine Field . It then passes Silver Lake and the South Everett park and ride (located in
15397-492: The eastern end of the concurrency near Breezewood . Traveling in either direction, I-70 traffic must exit the freeway and use a short stretch of US 30 (which includes a number of roadside services) to rejoin I-70. The interchange was not originally built because of a legacy federal funding rule, since relaxed, which restricted the use of federal funds to improve roads financed with tolls. Solutions have been proposed to eliminate
15570-683: The eastern freeway bypass of the Portland metropolitan area , in Salmon Creek near the Vancouver campus of Washington State University . From Salmon Creek, I-5 continues northwesterly and intersects SR 502 at the Gee Creek rest area west of Battle Ground . Its next interchange, in eastern Ridgefield , forms the eastern terminus of SR 501. The freeway passes the Ilani Casino Resort on
15743-450: The economy. Not just as a public works measure, but for future growth. Clay's committee proposed a 10-year, $ 100 billion program ($ 1.13 trillion in 2023), which would build 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of divided highways linking all American cities with a population of greater than 50,000. Eisenhower initially preferred a system consisting of toll roads , but Clay convinced Eisenhower that toll roads were not feasible outside of
15916-417: The entire day to prevent snow and ice from causing electronic failures in the automated gates. The entire highway is in Seattle , King County . The Pacific Highway was formed in 1913 by the state government as the north–south trunk in its first highway system, following the general route of modern-day I-5. The trunk route, one of three suggested by good roads activists for several years and studied by
16089-488: The existing, largely non-freeway, United States Numbered Highways system. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald , chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. In 1939, Bureau of Public Roads Division of Information chief Herbert S. Fairbank wrote
16262-477: The expanding Interstate system in the 1960s and 1970s, building rest areas and scenic overlooks on the primary routes and introducing mileage-based exit numbers in 1973. The southern section of I-82 between Yakima and Oregon was originally routed away from the Tri-Cities region, where local leaders petitioned for access to the Interstate system. Following a dispute between the states of Washington and Oregon,
16435-426: The federal government, Interstate Highways are owned by the state in which they were built. With few exceptions , all Interstates must meet specific standards , such as having controlled access, physical barriers or median strips between lanes of oncoming traffic, breakdown lanes , avoiding at-grade intersections , no traffic lights , and complying with federal traffic sign specifications. Interstate Highways use
16608-661: The finished but unopened freeway a month earlier to avoid congestion on US 99. The Tacoma and Olympia sections of I-5 were connected by a new freeway across Fort Lewis and the Nisqually River that opened in November 1968 and cost $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 80.3 million in 2023 dollars). Its opening eliminated the last traffic signal between Seattle and Portland. I-5 was routed around Bellingham on an easterly arc with several interchanges that were added after lobbying by downtown business groups who had originally favored
16781-456: The first section in the state to use the Interstate shield . I-5 was also the first Interstate to be fully completed in Washington, following the opening of a section between Everett and Marysville on May 14, 1969. The first auxiliary route to be fully completed was I-405, which was opened to traffic between Woodinville and Lynnwood in November 1969. The state government made improvements to
16954-507: The first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2, 1956. The first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44 . On August 13, 1956, work began on US 40 (now I-70) in St. Charles County. Kansas claims that it was the first to start paving after the act was signed. Preliminary construction had taken place before
17127-594: The first time sought to target these funds to the construction of a national road grid of interconnected "primary highways", setting up cooperation among the various state highway planning boards. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. In 1922, General John J. Pershing , former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during
17300-672: The four-abreast express lanes emerge onto the median of I-5, following it past Capitol Hill and Eastlake to the Ship Canal Bridge. The express lanes cross the Ship Canal on the lower deck of the bridge, which includes an exit to Northeast 42nd Street in the University District. A southbound-only, HOV-only onramp from Ravenna Boulevard and an additional ramp to SR 522 connect the express lanes to North Seattle, leaving two express lanes and an HOV lane. The express lanes end southwest of
17473-400: The freeway and its parallel railroad . Near American Lake , an interchange with Thorne Lane marks the proposed western terminus of SR 704 , a new highway that would travel between the boundaries of Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base (the two components of Joint Base Lewis–McChord) to Spanaway . Continuing past the bases, I-5 passes through Lakewood and intersects SR 512 ,
17646-441: The freeway is four lanes in rural areas and six to eight lanes in suburban areas, including a set of high-occupancy vehicle lanes in the latter. I-5 also has three related auxiliary Interstates in the state, I-205 , I-405 , and I-705 , as well as several designated business routes and state routes. The freeway follows several historic railroads and wagon trails developed during American settlement of western Washington in
17819-474: The freeway reaches Northgate and the express lanes merge back with the mainline, forming a set of HOV lanes. I-5 passes to the west of Northgate Mall and the Northgate light rail station along 1st Avenue before moving back east to 5th Avenue near Haller Lake . At Jackson Park , freeway intersects SR 523 , which runs on 145th Street and forms the northern city limit of Seattle. The interchange includes
17992-692: The freeway runs due north along the boundary between the city and the Tulalip Indian Reservation and intersects several arterial streets: SR 528 west of downtown Marysville, 88th Street near Quil Ceda Village , and 116th Street near the Tulalip Resort Casino and Seattle Premium Outlets shopping mall. North of the city and reservation, I-5 crosses over the railroad and enters Arlington 's Smokey Point neighborhood, where it intersects SR 531 just west of Arlington Municipal Airport . A pair of rest areas are situated north of
18165-574: The freeway to the Skagit Valley College and a minor retail corridor. The freeway then crosses the Skagit River into Burlington on a bridge that partially collapsed on May 23, 2013, and was subsequently renamed the Trooper Sean M. O'Connell Jr. Memorial Bridge after a state trooper who died while directing detour traffic during its rebuilding. On the north side of the river, I-5 skirts
18338-563: The freeway's median) at 112th Street Southeast near the Everett Mall and a southbound-only rest area. Northeast of the mall, I-5 comes to a major interchange with several highways: SR 99, which travels southwest as Everett Mall Way; SR 526 , which travels west to the Boeing Everett Factory and Mukilteo ; SR 527 , which travels south through Mill Creek; and Broadway, which continues north into downtown Everett. From
18511-678: The freeway, causing vehicles to weave across several lanes that contributes to traffic congestion. I-5 continues onto the Ship Canal Bridge towards the University District , crossing 160 feet (49 m) over a section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Eastlake Avenue parallel to the University Bridge . The bridge also includes a lower deck for the express lanes, with a ramp connecting to Northeast 42nd Street in
18684-507: The general course of the Snohomish River , and intersects the southern terminus of SR 529 at a half-diamond interchange with Pacific Avenue and Maple Street near the Everett train station and transit center. One block north of the interchange, the freeway intersects US 2 , a major highway that travels across Stevens Pass to eastern Washington. To the north of the US 2 ramps
18857-542: The highest speed limits in a given area. Speed limits are determined by individual states. From 1975 to 1986, the maximum speed limit on any highway in the United States was 55 miles per hour (90 km/h), in accordance with federal law. Typically, lower limits are established in Northeastern and coastal states, while higher speed limits are established in inland states west of the Mississippi River . For example,
19030-542: The highly populated coastal regions. In February 1955, Eisenhower forwarded Clay's proposal to Congress. The bill quickly won approval in the Senate, but House Democrats objected to the use of public bonds as the means to finance construction. Eisenhower and the House Democrats agreed to instead finance the system through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself would be funded by a gasoline tax. In June 1956, Eisenhower signed
19203-459: The highway and a modern " freeway " through Vancouver. The plan was opposed by Governor Arthur B. Langlie , who questioned its constitutionality on the basis that it could violate the state constitution's 18th amendment. The bond's use of future gas tax revenues to pay interest would, under some interpretations, violate the amendment's requirement that the gas tax must be used for highway purposes, using it instead to pay off debts. Later that year,
19376-520: The highway and travels west towards the Cherry Point Refinery and Birch Bay . In Blaine, the northernmost city on I-5, SR 543 splits off to serve an alternate border crossing for trucks and freight. I-5 travels along the northeast edge of downtown Blaine and intersects SR 548 before it reaches the Canadian border at the Peace Arch , where the highway terminates. The monument
19549-405: The highway in the state. The 19.7-mile (31.7 km) section between north Seattle and Everett was opened on February 3, 1965. It was constructed over sections of the former Seattle–Everett Interurban Railway and cost $ 23 million (equivalent to $ 170 million in 2023 dollars). Several of the freeway's interchanges in southern Snohomish County were opened two months later. The freeway
19722-607: The highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle . The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes, a reference to turnpikes . Milestones in the construction of the Interstate Highway System include: The initial cost estimate for the system was $ 25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 425 billion in 2006 or $ 618 billion in 2023 ) and took 35 years. The system
19895-590: The highway: Freeway Park , a landscaped city park between Seneca and Union streets; and the Seattle Convention Center between Union and Pike streets. I-5 continues north out of downtown Seattle under a 20-to-30-foot (6.1 to 9.1 m) retaining wall along Melrose Avenue at the edge of Capitol Hill . To the west is the South Lake Union and Cascade neighborhoods, accessed via ramps to Stewart Street and Mercer Street . The freeway travels along
20068-454: The inefficiency of evacuating from southern Louisiana prior to Hurricane Georges ' landfall in September 1998, government officials looked towards contraflow to improve evacuation times. In Savannah, Georgia , and Charleston, South Carolina , in 1999, lanes of I-16 and I-26 were used in a contraflow configuration in anticipation of Hurricane Floyd with mixed results. In 2004, contraflow
20241-469: The interchange and are the busiest in the state, serving 2.1 million visitors per year, and is home to a 22-foot-wide (6.7 m) Western red cedar stump that was once hollowed out to allow vehicles to drive through it. The area around the freeway transforms from suburban to rural, with rolling hills and forested areas, as it approaches Island Crossing and an interchange with SR 530 west of downtown Arlington. North of Island Crossing, I-5 crosses
20414-436: The lanes are open to southbound traffic from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and northbound traffic from 1:45 p.m. to 11 p.m., with an overnight closure to reduce neighborhood noise. The weekend times are sometimes adjusted for special events, including weekend sporting events, or construction on the mainline lanes in Seattle. The express lanes are controlled by a series of movable gates and electronic signs controlled by
20587-507: The largest cities along the I-5 corridor are also connected by the parallel Cascades , a regional train service between Eugene, Oregon , and Vancouver , British Columbia, operated by Amtrak and funded by the state governments of Oregon and Washington. I-5 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), who conduct an annual survey of traffic volume that is expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT),
20760-431: The last two digits match the parent route (thus, I-294 is a loop that connects at both ends to I-94 , while I-787 is a short spur route attached to I-87 ). In the numbering scheme for the primary routes, east–west highways are assigned even numbers and north–south highways are assigned odd numbers. Odd route numbers increase from west to east, and even-numbered routes increase from south to north (to avoid confusion with
20933-490: The late 1960s was delayed after a dispute between the state government and Tulalip Tribes over compensation for land that was later settled in 1970. A section further north of Marysville was expanded to six lanes in 1972, including a new bridge over the Stillaguamish River for northbound traffic and replacement of a railroad underpass with a pair of overpasses. A municipal traffic plan from 1946 outlined designs for
21106-450: The mainline. Some auxiliary highways do not follow these guidelines, however. The Interstate Highway System also extends to Alaska , Hawaii , and Puerto Rico , even though they have no direct land connections to any other states or territories. However, their residents still pay federal fuel and tire taxes. The Interstates in Hawaii, all located on the most populous island of Oahu , carry
21279-526: The mall interchange, I-5 descends towards the Lowell area on the east side of a hill with several suburban neighborhoods. Near the Everett Memorial Stadium and Lowell Park, the freeway intersects 41st Street in a single-point urban interchange , with additional ramps from the HOV and mainline lanes towards downtown Everett on Broadway. I-5 then curves northeasterly around downtown Everett, following
21452-737: The maximum speed limit is 75 mph (120 km/h) in northern Maine, varies between 50 and 70 mph (80 and 115 km/h) from southern Maine to New Jersey, and is 50 mph (80 km/h) in New York City and the District of Columbia. Currently, rural speed limits elsewhere generally range from 65 to 80 miles per hour (105 to 130 km/h). Several portions of various highways such as I-10 and I-20 in rural western Texas, I-80 in Nevada between Fernley and Winnemucca (except around Lovelock) and portions of I-15 , I-70 , I-80 , and I-84 in Utah have
21625-456: The mid-to-late 19th century. The state legislature incorporated local roads into the Pacific Highway in 1913, connecting the state's southern and northern borders between Vancouver and Blaine. The Pacific Highway was built and paved over the next decade, and became the northernmost segment of the national U.S. Route 99 (US 99) in 1926. The federal government endorsed the creation of
21798-630: The next interchange at SR 599 , a short freeway that connects to SR 99. From the SR ;599 interchange, I-5 makes a gradual turn to the northwest while crossing over the Duwamish River and a mainline railroad, following the latter into the city of Seattle after an interchange with SR 900 . After entering Seattle, I-5 passes under the Link 1 Line tracks at Boeing Access Road and runs northwesterly between Boeing Field and Georgetown to
21971-619: The north end of Capitol Hill through the Eastlake neighborhood on the east side of Lake Union , passing over the I-5 Colonnade mountain bike park. At Roanoke Park , I-5 intersects the western terminus of SR 520 , a major freeway that crosses Lake Washington on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge to Bellevue and Redmond . The heavily trafficked Mercer Street and SR 520 exits use ramps that are on opposite sides of
22144-404: The number of fatalities on the Interstate Highway System amounted to more than 5,000 people annually, with nearly 5,600 fatalities in 2022. The United States government's efforts to construct a national network of highways began on an ad hoc basis with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , which provided $ 75 million over a five-year period for matching funds to the states for
22317-502: The official Interstate Highway standards . On one- or two-digit Interstates, the mile marker numbering almost always begins at the southern or western state line. If an Interstate originates within a state, the numbering begins from the location where the road begins in the south or west. As with all guidelines for Interstate routes, however, numerous exceptions exist. Interstate 5 in Washington Interstate 5 ( I-5 )
22490-787: The opening of the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge over the Columbia River in December 1982, a few months before the Oregon section was fully open to traffic. The final Interstate to be added in Washington was I-705, a short spur into Downtown Tacoma, which was approved by the FHWA and AASHTO in 1978 and opened in 1988. The final section of the Interstate system in Washington, I-90 between Seattle and Bellevue , took over 30 years to plan and construct amid disagreements and litigation over its design and other mitigation. The 7-mile (11 km) section included construction of
22663-561: The original Interstate Highway System was proclaimed complete in 1992, despite deviations from the original 1956 plan and several stretches that did not fully conform with federal standards . The construction of the Interstate Highway System cost approximately $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 618 billion in 2023). The system has continued to expand and grow as additional federal funding has provided for new routes to be added, and many future Interstate Highways are currently either being planned or under construction. Though heavily funded by
22836-564: The original Washington allocation and numbered in 1958: I-205 , bypassing Portland and Vancouver; and I-405 , bypassing Seattle. Washington's third primary route, connecting Ellensburg to Pendleton, Oregon , was authorized by the BPR in October 1957 as part of an addition to the Interstate Highway System. It was numbered I-82 by AASHO in 1958, completing the initial allocation of 726 miles (1,168 km) for Washington. A rejected extension of I-82 across
23009-586: The planning phase between them. In 1966, the FHWA designated the entire Interstate Highway System as part of the larger Pan-American Highway System, and at least two proposed Interstate expansions were initiated to help trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Long-term plans for I-69 , which currently exists in several separate completed segments (the largest of which are in Indiana and Texas ),
23182-411: The prefix H . There are three one-digit routes in the state ( H-1 , H-2 , and H-3 ) and one auxiliary route ( H-201 ). These Interstates connect several military and naval bases together, as well as the important communities spread across Oahu, and especially within the urban core of Honolulu . Both Alaska and Puerto Rico also have public highways that receive 90 percent of their funding from
23355-561: The primary means of access to the airport and Burien , and I-405 , the eastern freeway bypass of Seattle that travels through Renton and the Eastside. The interchange includes several left-hand ramps, necessitating the separation of the thru HOV lanes from the mainline. For a short distance, the light rail tracks of the Link 1 Line , which followed SR 518 from Tukwila International Boulevard station , join I-5 and run on its west side until
23528-504: The program was expanded to cover 2,388 miles (3,843 km) by 1953. In addition to the inter-regional superhighways planned in the 1930s and 1940s, the BPR also surveyed potential urban routes and bypasses that would perform auxiliary functions. These included bypasses of Seattle and Portland, Oregon , the latter of which would also encompass Vancouver, Washington . The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 , signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 29, 1956, formally authorized
23701-515: The proposed R. H. Thomson Expressway . A larger, twelve-lane freeway through Downtown Seattle with a reversible express lane system was announced in April 1957 ahead of a series of public hearings . The proposal received a mix of strong support and criticism from members of the public, while the city government endorsed the plan with a caveat that right of way along the freeway be reserved for use by rapid transit . The twelve-lane design, sans transit,
23874-487: The relocation of the military base's main gate to a new cloverleaf interchange . Another early Interstate project, the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) Olympia Freeway, was opened to traffic on December 12, 1958, at a cost of $ 11.6 million (equivalent to $ 94 million in 2023 dollars). It also included a freeway section of US 101 and US 410 that intersected I-5 in the state's first three-level interchange. A rural section of freeway between Marysville and Mount Vernon
24047-602: The river's estuary , which has several sloughs that I-5 crosses. It also passes the Everett Water Pollution Control Facility and several wastewater treatment ponds, which produces strong odors that are noted by motorists. On the north side of Steamboat Slough, I-5 turns northwesterly and intersects SR 529 before crossing over the BNSF Railway and Ebey Slough into Marysville. Within Marysville,
24220-524: The route, without regard to the route number. For instance, I-190 in Massachusetts is labeled north–south, while I-195 in New Jersey is labeled east–west. Some looped Interstate routes use inner–outer directions instead of compass directions, when the use of compass directions would create ambiguity. Due to the large number of these routes, auxiliary route numbers may be repeated in different states along
24393-478: The rural sections in southwestern Washington began in late 1951 and the first section near Kalama was opened early the following year. Major bypasses of Centralia, Fort Lewis, Kelso, Marysville, and Tumwater were completed in 1954. The 2-mile-long (3.2 km) Vancouver freeway opened on April 1, 1955, constituting the state's first grade-separated freeway and costing $ 7 million (equivalent to $ 62.2 million in 2023 dollars) to construct. In December 1955,
24566-419: The same numbers, which is generally disallowed under highway administration guidelines. Several two-digit numbers are shared between unconnected road segments at opposite ends of the country for various reasons. Some such highways are incomplete Interstates (such as I-69 and I-74 ) and some just happen to share route designations (such as I-76 , I-84 , I‑86 , I-87 , and I-88 ). Some of these were due to
24739-503: The same roadway are signed as traveling in opposite directions; one such wrong-way concurrency is found between Wytheville and Fort Chiswell , Virginia, where I‑81 north and I‑77 south are equivalent (with that section of road traveling almost due east), as are I‑81 south and I‑77 north. Auxiliary Interstate Highways are circumferential, radial, or spur highways that principally serve urban areas . These types of Interstate Highways are given three-digit route numbers, which consist of
24912-662: The section between Chehalis and Olympia was moved onto a straighter highway that bypassed Tenino and other small towns along the meandering route of the Pacific Highway. Its opening marked the end of the southern section of the upgraded US 99. The northern section was declared complete after a bypass of Mount Vernon and Burlington, including a new bridge over the Skagit River , was opened to traffic in June 1957. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 , signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 29, 1956, formally authorized
25085-630: The south end of Kelso, near the confluence of the Columbia and Cowlitz rivers, the freeway intersects SR 432 , which connects to Longview and the Lewis and Clark Bridge via SR 433 . I-5 continues north along the Coweeman River to the Three Rivers Mall , located east of downtown Kelso, where SR 4 terminates. Between Vancouver and Kelso, the highway is part of the Lewis and Clark Trail ,
25258-420: The state from south to north, traveling from the Oregon state line to the Canadian border . The system also includes several business routes that are not maintained or managed by WSDOT, but rather by local governments. The general plan and federal funding for the Interstate Highway System were approved by the U.S. Congress in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 . The federal plan incorporated elements of
25431-439: The state legislature in 1909, strung together several wagon trails dating back as early as the 1840s, when settlers arrived in the Puget Sound region from the Willamette Valley via the Cowlitz Trail . Part of the highway also followed the military road constructed in the 1850s from Fort Vancouver to Fort Bellingham . The Washington section was part of a longer highway along the West Coast from Canada to Mexico, which
25604-453: The state, working in concert with the U.S. routes and state routes also maintained by WSDOT. The longest route, I-90 , is 298 miles (480 km) and connects the state's two largest cities, Seattle and Spokane ; the shortest is I-705 at 1.5 miles (2.4 km). The widest section in the state is on I-5 in Downtown Seattle , which spans 13 lanes and includes a set of reversible express lanes that change direction depending on time of
25777-466: The state. Early proposals for a national system of "superhighways" with limited access and grade separation emerged in the 1930s at the behest of the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR; now the FHWA) under the Roosevelt administration . A 1939 BPR report evaluated national corridors for tolled superhighways, including a north–south route on the West Coast terminating at the Canadian border in Washington and an east–west route originating in Seattle to connect
25950-412: The suburb of Tumwater, passing the Olympia Regional Airport and several state office parks before reaching the terminus of US 101 , a major highway that encircles the Olympic Peninsula , on the south side of Capitol Lake . After the interchange, I-5 enters Olympia and turns eastward after passing the Washington State Capitol campus and downtown Olympia. The freeway passes through Lacey and
26123-477: The total cost to construct the Interstate Highway System in the state to be $ 4.558 billion in 1989 (equivalent to $ 9.75 billion in 2023 dollars), placing Washington eighth among all states by total cost. An outer beltway for the Seattle metropolitan area, bypassing I-405 and several Eastside suburbs, has been proposed under the unofficial moniker of " I-605 " several times since the 1960s. The state government has never formally applied for its addition to
26296-512: The two interchanges is the Gospodor Monument Park , a roadside attraction with four sculptures of up to 100 feet (30 m) in height commemorating religious and indigenous figures. After their installation in 2002, the sculptures caused backups on the freeway due to rubbernecking by passing drivers who slowed down near them. Near Napavine , I-5 becomes concurrent with US 12 , which continues east across White Pass to Yakima . The two highways intersect SR 508 and cross over
26469-440: The war, complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of interconnected primary highways—the so-called Pershing Map . A boom in road construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s, with such projects as the New York parkway system constructed as part of a new national highway system. As automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such an interconnected national system to supplement
26642-484: The water-facing Chuckanut Drive , was moved inland via Lake Samish in 1931. State Road 1 was re-designated in 1937 as Primary State Highway 1 under the state's new highway numbering system, but was not signed as such, giving priority to the overlapping US 99. By 1941, the Pacific Highway was the busiest road in the Pacific Northwest and had been widened to four lanes in most urban areas because of traffic congestion, necessitating studies into by-passing cities along
26815-413: The west along the railroad and Beacon Hill to the east. Mid-way along Beacon Hill near Jefferson Park , the freeway turns due north and intersects the east end of the Spokane Street Viaduct, part of the West Seattle Bridge , which has additional ramps to the SoDo area and the VA Puget Sound Medical Center . I-5 continues north between SoDo and northern Beacon Hill, crossing over the western portal of
26988-444: The western edge of Burlington, passing car dealerships and retail stores, including the Cascade Mall and an outlet mall . To the west of downtown Burlington, the freeway intersects SR 20 , a major state highway, in a partial cloverleaf interchange that includes several businesses inside the western loop. SR 20 continues west towards Anacortes and the Olympic Peninsula, and east through North Cascades National Park to
27161-480: The widest in the United States, runs in the full block between 6th and 7th avenues between downtown to the west and First Hill to the east, home to Harborview Medical Center and Yesler Terrace . It passes to the east of Seattle's tallest building, the Columbia Center , and the city's Central Library before adding a set of reversible express lanes in the median near Madison Street . I-5 turns northeasterly and passes under two structures built atop sections of
27334-399: The worst congested highways in the United States, with 78 percent of peak direction miles classified as "routinely congested" for seven to eight hours a day and an average annual delay of 55 hours for Seattle– Everett commutes. The freeway has a maximum speed limit of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) in rural areas and 60 mph (97 km/h) in urban and suburban areas, which includes
27507-457: Was also the first to use the Interstate highway shield , which was installed during construction in 1958. By the end of 1959, new interchanges and overpasses had brought most of the highway between Vancouver and Olympia to Interstate standards. Governor Albert D. Rosellini announced an accelerated push for freeway construction, primarily aimed at completing Interstate 5 between Seattle and the Canadian border, in August 1960. The Tacoma section
27680-453: Was anticipated to be $ 165 million (equivalent to $ 1.42 billion in 2023 dollars), but come in smaller installments that would require more time to complete the freeway project. The entire US 99 corridor was subsequently assigned the designation of "Interstate 5" in 1957 and the federal government allocated planning funds to begin engineering of the Seattle Freeway, which commanded its own Highway Department division. Washington
27853-661: Was built in 1921 and its surrounding park is open to the public without needing to report to customs officers. The park is connected to its administrative buildings and parking lots by a set of crosswalks across the northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 5. The Peace Arch–Douglas crossing is the third-busiest port of entry on the Canadian border, with an average of 3,500 to 4,800 vehicles crossing per day. The highway continues north as Highway 99 towards Vancouver, located 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Blaine. I-5 has 7.14 miles (11.49 km) of express lanes within Seattle, which reverse to carry traffic in
28026-523: Was completed in 1993. An eighth route, popularly named I-605 , has been proposed in several forms since the 1960s but was never submitted for formal approval. All seven Interstate Highways in Washington are legally defined as part of the state highway system , which is maintained and administered by WSDOT. They are all freeways built to Interstate Highway standards , which require full grade separation and control of access via interchanges , design speeds of 50 to 70 miles per hour (80 to 113 km/h),
28199-463: Was completed in early 1959. The first section of the Tacoma–Seattle–Everett freeway was opened to traffic on October 1, 1959, extending the Fort Lewis freeway 5 miles (8.0 km) from Gravelly Lake near McChord Field to South 72nd Street in southern Tacoma. The $ 4.68 million project (equivalent to $ 37.4 million in 2023 dollars) built the six-lane freeway and a cloverleaf interchange at SSH 5G (now SR 512). The Tacoma section
28372-470: Was conceived by the Pacific Highway Association of North America in 1910. The Pacific Highway was dedicated by 60,000 people at the Peace Arch in Blaine on September 4, 1923, with a few sections still under construction. Earlier that year, the Washington state government had designated it as State Road 1 and allotted funds to pave some rural sections. By 1925, almost all of the highway had been paved or improved to modern standards. The federal government and
28545-416: Was delayed by construction issues and opened on November 23, 1965, with a dedication ceremony at the Peace Arch. The British Columbian government had already completed upgrades to its section of Highway 99 between Blaine and the Fraser River in 1962. The southernmost section of the Bellingham Freeway through the Chuckanut Mountains opened in three stages in 1966, completing the last four-lane section of
28718-442: Was employed ahead of Hurricane Charley in the Tampa, Florida area and on the Gulf Coast before the landfall of Hurricane Ivan ; however, evacuation times there were no better than previous evacuation operations. Engineers began to apply lessons learned from the analysis of prior contraflow operations, including limiting exits, removing troopers (to keep traffic flowing instead of having drivers stop for directions), and improving
28891-488: Was extended 13.5 miles (21.7 km) north to Midway (near Des Moines) on October 10, 1962. The dedication ceremony was attended by Governor Rosellini and included a parade of U.S. Army vehicles from Fort Lewis . The Tacoma–Midway section cost $ 14.5 million to construct (equivalent to $ 136 million in 2023 dollars) and included a cloverleaf interchange for the Auburn cutoff (later SR 18) in Federal Way. The ceremony had been preceded by drivers trespassing onto
29064-518: Was included in the initial 37,700-mile (60,672 km) system announced three years later by the Public Roads Administration . The state legislature adopted its own set of standards for limited-access highways in 1947, later amending them to encourage upgrades to existing two-lane roadways. In 1951, the legislature authorized a $ 66.7 million bond issue (equivalent to $ 628 million in 2023 dollars) to fund upgrades to US 99, including four-lane sections on all but 40 miles (64 km) of
29237-416: Was initially six lanes wide but was expanded to eight lanes from Northgate to modern-day Shoreline in 1966 because of increased traffic congestion. The 3-mile (4.8 km) bypass of downtown Everett between 41st Street and the Snohomish River was completed on January 18, 1968; its opening eliminated fourteen traffic lights and included ramps to connect with the Hewitt Avenue Trestle. The final section of I-5
29410-434: Was opened on May 14, 1969, spanning 3.5 miles (5.6 km) between Everett and Marysville over the Snohomish River delta. It was originally scheduled to open several months earlier, but delayed steel work on the bridge over the Snohomish River caused scheduling issues. Several right-in/right-out intersections and non-grade-separated sections remained on I-5 until the completion of widening and grade separation projects in
29583-422: Was proclaimed complete in 1992, but two of the original Interstates— I-95 and I-70 —were not continuous: both of these discontinuities were due to local opposition, which blocked efforts to build the necessary connections to fully complete the system. I-95 was made a continuous freeway in 2018, and thus I-70 remains the only original Interstate with a discontinuity. I-95 was discontinuous in New Jersey because of
29756-494: Was serving as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II . In 1954, Eisenhower appointed General Lucius D. Clay to head a committee charged with proposing an interstate highway system plan. Summing up motivations for the construction of such a system, Clay stated, It was evident we needed better highways. We needed them for safety, to accommodate more automobiles. We needed them for defense purposes, if that should ever be necessary. And we needed them for
29929-436: Was the fastest of the three West Coast states to upgrade sections of US 99 to four lanes and partial Interstate standards using new interchanges, with only 15 miles (24 km) of the highway in northern Whatcom County still two-laned by 1959. Among the first projects to use federal funding from the 1956 act was an upgrade of the Fort Lewis highway to four-lane freeway standards, which opened in September 1957 and included
#98901