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Roads that Could Have Been in the Northwest

Started by thefraze_1020, June 28, 2018, 02:51:51 PM

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Bickendan

Amusing that the shields look more like VA shields than OR shields.
But yeah, I've been casually following this project.


ylekot

Quote from: Bickendan on July 15, 2018, 09:17:36 PM
Laurelhurst Freeway was first pushed out from 39th to 52nd/50th, then south from Lake Oswego through Stafford and Willamette and east out to 95th (as it currently exists).
Mt Hood was pushed slightly north to Ivon St until 50th Ave, then south to Powell before it was cancelled.

Laurelhurst Freeway was going to be I-205. 
Mike Wiley

e.mike.wiley@gmail.com

Bickendan

Indeed,  that was always the planned number.

Bruce

#53
A more recent proposal: in 2000, Wenatchee's mayor and a few local officials proposed a $430 plan to convert State Routes 28 and 281 into a four-lane freeway, connecting Wenatchee with I-90. It was never studied or considered, so Wenatchee remains the largest metro area in the state without a freeway connection.

I imagine this freeway, had it been built with federal funds, would have been the first auxiliary route for I-90 in Washington. Perhaps I-790 to avoid any possible confusion with another route.

Quote
Officials ask for high-speed link to I-90: First step taken for $430 million freeway
September 14, 2000
Stephen Maher / The Wenatchee World (p. A2)

WENATCHEE – Local officials urged the state Transportation Commission on Wednesday to start pushing for a new four-lane freeway between the Wenatchee area and Interstate 90.

They said the new $430 million high-speed road is essential if the Wenatchee Valley is to improve freight mobility, recruit industry and attract more tourists.

They also pointed out Wenatchee's population is set to top 50,000 when the Census is announced, making it the only urban area in the state not served by an limited-access highway.

The highway idea has been bantered about locally for the past couple of years but hadn't been officially presented to the Transportation Commission until Wednesday.

The commission will decide later this year whether to ask the state Legislature and Gov. Gary Locke to budget an initial $100,000 for the project. If state funding is secured, the project will become part of the state's six-year road plan and be eligible for more funds.

"It's one of those things where you've got to start somewhere,"  said Jeff Adamson, Department of Transportation spokesman in Wenatchee. "There's now not enough freight mobility. It becomes a viable pitch. Essentially, what we're trying to do is get this on the books."

DOT officials said it will take about $2 million to study and design the entire 38-mile route. The first $100,000 would be used to design the stretch between East Wenatchee and Rock Island.

The plan is for the freeway to replace Highway 28 between East Wenatchee and Quincy, and then for a new bypass to be built adjacent to Highway 281 between Quincy and I-90 at George. Numerous frontage road sections and several interchanges would also have to be built.

Don Senn, DOT's regional administrator in Wenatchee, said turning either Stevens Pass or Blewett Pass into a four-lane high-speed thoroughfare is structurally and environmentally impossible. Senn said the new highway would be cost-effective and would connect motorists with interstates leading to Seattle, Spokane and the Tri-Cities.

Wenatchee Mayor Dennis Johnson told the commission that winter weather sometimes leads to canceled airline flights and treacherous travel over the passes, making a connection to I-90 all the more important.

"There are times when we get isolated,"  Johnson said.

jakeroot

Cool find! I would personally rather they focus their efforts on a Wenatchee Bypass, should any funds ever find their way to the coffers.

Crazy to think that Stevens Pass was even considered for 4-laning. If WSDOT ever gets around to a Monroe Bypass, plus the other various proposals, they could have a brand-new interstate from Everett to George! Might even be long enough to get a 92 or 94 designation.

Bruce

By my estimate, it would be around 160 miles long, which is too long for a 3di but a bit too short for a proper 2di.

If only we could slap I-90N on it and call it good.

jakeroot

Quote from: Bruce on August 19, 2018, 04:02:00 AM
By my estimate, it would be around 160 miles long, which is too long for a 3di but a bit too short for a proper 2di.

If only we could slap I-90N on it and call it good.

Yeah, that would be ideal. If not, confusing.

It would still be longer than I-82, though unlike I-82, it wouldn't connect two parallel interstates (instead acting more like a partial ring road), so it'd be harder to make the case for a 2di number (since it would run more diagonally). Though, the route would likely see a significant increase in traffic, especially for those heading to/from Canada; it could become nearly as important as I-90, making the case for a 2di a bit stronger.

Hurricane Rex

I so wish this could happen in the future. Wenatchee really could use it but I wonder if its terminus would be the WA 285 bridge or the US2/US97 bridge. If I was designing it, I would lean towards the second option. Also why jump to interstate? A 4 lane expressway similar to WA 8/US 12 and US 395 would work fine there as well (if they don't knee-jerk and post it at 60 like WA 8/US 12).
Quote from: Bruce on August 18, 2018, 07:35:10 PM
A more recent proposal: in 2000, Wenatchee's mayor and a few local officials proposed a $430 plan to convert State Routes 28 and 281 into a four-lane freeway, connecting Wenatchee with I-90. It was never studied or considered, so Wenatchee remains the largest metro area in the state without a freeway connection.

I imagine this freeway, had it been built with federal funds, would have been the first auxiliary route for I-90 in Washington. Perhaps I-790 to avoid any possible confusion with another route.

Quote
Officials ask for high-speed link to I-90: First step taken for $430 million freeway
September 14, 2000
Stephen Maher / The Wenatchee World (p. A2)

WENATCHEE – Local officials urged the state Transportation Commission on Wednesday to start pushing for a new four-lane freeway between the Wenatchee area and Interstate 90.

They said the new $430 million high-speed road is essential if the Wenatchee Valley is to improve freight mobility, recruit industry and attract more tourists.

They also pointed out Wenatchee's population is set to top 50,000 when the Census is announced, making it the only urban area in the state not served by an limited-access highway.

The highway idea has been bantered about locally for the past couple of years but hadn't been officially presented to the Transportation Commission until Wednesday.

The commission will decide later this year whether to ask the state Legislature and Gov. Gary Locke to budget an initial $100,000 for the project. If state funding is secured, the project will become part of the state's six-year road plan and be eligible for more funds.

"It's one of those things where you've got to start somewhere,"  said Jeff Adamson, Department of Transportation spokesman in Wenatchee. "There's now not enough freight mobility. It becomes a viable pitch. Essentially, what we're trying to do is get this on the books."

DOT officials said it will take about $2 million to study and design the entire 38-mile route. The first $100,000 would be used to design the stretch between East Wenatchee and Rock Island.

The plan is for the freeway to replace Highway 28 between East Wenatchee and Quincy, and then for a new bypass to be built adjacent to Highway 281 between Quincy and I-90 at George. Numerous frontage road sections and several interchanges would also have to be built.

Don Senn, DOT's regional administrator in Wenatchee, said turning either Stevens Pass or Blewett Pass into a four-lane high-speed thoroughfare is structurally and environmentally impossible. Senn said the new highway would be cost-effective and would connect motorists with interstates leading to Seattle, Spokane and the Tri-Cities.

Wenatchee Mayor Dennis Johnson told the commission that winter weather sometimes leads to canceled airline flights and treacherous travel over the passes, making a connection to I-90 all the more important.

"There are times when we get isolated,"  Johnson said.

LG-TP260

ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

jakeroot

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on August 19, 2018, 01:22:49 PM
Also why jump to interstate? A 4 lane expressway similar to WA 8/US 12 and US 395 would work fine there as well (if they don't knee-jerk and post it at 60 like WA 8/US 12).#

I don't think there's anything wrong with dual carriageway with at-grade intersections, but it's better just to do it right the first time.

At-grade without signals or roundabouts would feel pretty slow at anything less than 60. 395 (in Eastern WA) is posted at 70 for its entire length, despite having at-grade intersections along much of it. WSDOT rarely posts dual carriageways at less than 60, unless there's a lot of signals or roundabouts. 410 through Sumner (a freeway, and nothing less) is an exception, posted at 55. There are no Interstates posted at less than 60, to my knowledge (exceptions being I-5 and I-90 with their ATM systems, though the default limit is still 60 or 70).

Hurricane Rex



Quote from: jakeroot on August 19, 2018, 02:17:31 PM
Quote from: Hurricane Rex on August 19, 2018, 01:22:49 PM
Also why jump to interstate? A 4 lane expressway similar to WA 8/US 12 and US 395 would work fine there as well (if they don't knee-jerk and post it at 60 like WA 8/US 12).#

I don't think there's anything wrong with dual carriageway with at-grade intersections, but it's better just to do it right the first time.

At-grade without signals or roundabouts would feel pretty slow at anything less than 60. 395 (in Eastern WA) is posted at 70 for its entire length, despite having at-grade intersections along much of it. WSDOT rarely posts dual carriageways at less than 60, unless there's a lot of signals or roundabouts. 410 through Sumner (a freeway, and nothing less) is an exception, posted at 55. There are no Interstates posted at less than 60, to my knowledge (exceptions being I-5 and I-90 with their ATM systems, though the default limit is still 60 or 70).

I agree, when I said kneejerked though, I meant it should be posted at 65 or 70 not 60. WA 8 always felt a little slow at 60 to me. On the dual carriageway, I suggested that as a cost saving measure that outside of East Wenatchee and Quincy wouldn't make a huge difference for a while. It also would save the trouble of building any frontage roads if it was needed on the interstate. If dual carriageway was chosen, most intersections would be RIRO, with acceleration lanes similar to other 4 lane expressways.

LG-TP260

ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

thefraze_1020

Switching gears a bit, does anybody know the story about this abandoned ramp at the interchange between US 195 and Cheney-Plaza Road in Plaza? https://www.google.com/maps/@47.3104868,-117.3871405,1021m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
Alright, this is how it's gonna be!

Bruce

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on August 19, 2018, 01:22:49 PM
I so wish this could happen in the future. Wenatchee really could use it but I wonder if its terminus would be the WA 285 bridge or the US2/US97 bridge. If I was designing it, I would lean towards the second option. Also why jump to interstate? A 4 lane expressway similar to WA 8/US 12 and US 395 would work fine there as well (if they don't knee-jerk and post it at 60 like WA 8/US 12).

There's no way that it would be the SR 285 bridge, as that would require demolishing the mall or some of its surrounding stores for ramps. The Eastmont Avenue extension would be a more natural terminus and allow for freeway-to-freeway connections.

Bruce

A third Columbia River crossing near Vancouver at Lady Island (just south of Camas) was studied by WSDOT in 1959 (report here).


Hurricane Rex

Quote from: Bruce on August 21, 2018, 10:04:28 PM
A third Columbia River crossing near Vancouver at Lady Island (just south of Camas) was studied by WSDOT in 1959 (report here).


That site was also what was decided for the East County crossing, currently stalled due to Vancover only accepting a CRC crossing or nothing, defying voter's wishes.

LG-TP260

ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

jakeroot

Quote from: Bruce on August 19, 2018, 06:05:12 PM
Quote from: Hurricane Rex on August 19, 2018, 01:22:49 PM
I so wish this could happen in the future. Wenatchee really could use it but I wonder if its terminus would be the WA 285 bridge or the US2/US97 bridge. If I was designing it, I would lean towards the second option. Also why jump to interstate? A 4 lane expressway similar to WA 8/US 12 and US 395 would work fine there as well (if they don't knee-jerk and post it at 60 like WA 8/US 12).

There's no way that it would be the SR 285 bridge, as that would require demolishing the mall or some of its surrounding stores for ramps. The Eastmont Avenue extension would be a more natural terminus and allow for freeway-to-freeway connections.

Agreed. Wenatchee is, oddly for Eastern Washington cities, quite dense. Rebuilding Hwy 2 as an Interstate, bridging over Easy St, and re-configuring the Eastmont junction into a grade-separated interchange is the only realistic option. And that's saying a lot, since the terrain east from that point is not exactly conducive for freeways. We might be looking at a tunnel, especially since Eastmont looks like it might be too steep to be converted into a tight urban freeway (especially if we're talking about an interstate).

An alternative idea might be for any tunnel (beneath the ridges east of Wenatchee) to start immediately after crossing the Columbia, and use the current 4-lane Hwy 2 as a Y-interchange to access Sunset Hwy (with some ramp reconfiguration). The tunnel could stay underground until maybe Terrace Park, minus a bridging required for the creek near Badger Mountain Road. Not sure if the soil out there is good for tunneling.

Bruce

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on August 22, 2018, 01:46:36 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 21, 2018, 10:04:28 PM
A third Columbia River crossing near Vancouver at Lady Island (just south of Camas) was studied by WSDOT in 1959 (report here).

That site was also what was decided for the East County crossing, currently stalled due to Vancover only accepting a CRC crossing or nothing, defying voter's wishes.

It wouldn't make much sense today, given that I-84 is congested and this would only push more cars into it. Plus, further sprawl around Camas would be a dangerous precedent that could trigger further encroachment of the foothills.

Bruce

Quote from: jakeroot on August 22, 2018, 03:50:41 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 19, 2018, 06:05:12 PM
Quote from: Hurricane Rex on August 19, 2018, 01:22:49 PM
I so wish this could happen in the future. Wenatchee really could use it but I wonder if its terminus would be the WA 285 bridge or the US2/US97 bridge. If I was designing it, I would lean towards the second option. Also why jump to interstate? A 4 lane expressway similar to WA 8/US 12 and US 395 would work fine there as well (if they don't knee-jerk and post it at 60 like WA 8/US 12).

There's no way that it would be the SR 285 bridge, as that would require demolishing the mall or some of its surrounding stores for ramps. The Eastmont Avenue extension would be a more natural terminus and allow for freeway-to-freeway connections.

Agreed. Wenatchee is, oddly for Eastern Washington cities, quite dense. Rebuilding Hwy 2 as an Interstate, bridging over Easy St, and re-configuring the Eastmont junction into a grade-separated interchange is the only realistic option. And that's saying a lot, since the terrain east from that point is not exactly conducive for freeways. We might be looking at a tunnel, especially since Eastmont looks like it might be too steep to be converted into a tight urban freeway (especially if we're talking about an interstate).

An alternative idea might be for any tunnel (beneath the ridges east of Wenatchee) to start immediately after crossing the Columbia, and use the current 4-lane Hwy 2 as a Y-interchange to access Sunset Hwy (with some ramp reconfiguration). The tunnel could stay underground until maybe Terrace Park, minus a bridging required for the creek near Badger Mountain Road. Not sure if the soil out there is good for tunneling.

The current plan for Wenatchee (the Apple Capital Loop) is to build a new stroad across the Wenatchee River to directly connect US 97A, widen SR 28, and upgrade some of the intersections on US 2 to roundabouts or interchanges.

I think it would be easier to build a new alignment for US 2 between the bridge and the area north of SR 28, allowing for the Eastmont intersection to prioritize eastbound-to-southbound turns and not have to handle inter-city traffic.

Bruce

Just came across a 1985 proposal that explored building an East Wenatchee bypass in the foothills of Badger Mountain. Didn't pan out, but it's interesting to see how far WSDOT were willing to build back then.


jakeroot

Quote from: Bruce on August 22, 2018, 09:19:02 PM
I think it would be easier to build a new alignment for US 2 between the bridge and the area north of SR 28, allowing for the Eastmont intersection to prioritize eastbound-to-southbound turns and not have to handle inter-city traffic.

I could see that. Hard to say exactly what would be best without laying out a preferred alignment. Oh, wait...

Quote from: Bruce on August 23, 2018, 12:35:15 AM
Just came across a 1985 proposal that explored building an East Wenatchee bypass in the foothills of Badger Mountain. Didn't pan out, but it's interesting to see how far WSDOT were willing to build back then.

https://i.imgur.com/zz7PlIN.png

Glad I wasn't crazy in suggesting a route across those foothills. Would have been some fun geography to cross. Still not sure how any freeway could have risen from the route of the Richard Odabashian Bridge up into the foothills (assuming it was reused, after only having been opened in 1975).

Bruce

In 1966, a few Oregon legislators were interested in trying to get US 101 (or a parallel inland route) on the Interstate system, mostly for the federal funding.


Bickendan


Bruce

While not totally on-topic, I find the alternative choices for built highways to be fascinating.

Interstate 82, after a decade of the Tri-Cities fighting for inclusion, was still undecided as late as 1973:


Bruce

Another find from the WSDOT Library collection: a 1971 report from the Joint Committee on Highways that examined a few potential additions to the state highway system.

Among them was a freeway extension of SR 526 from the Broadway Interchange in Everett to SR 9 and US 2 in Snohomish, which would have cost around $5 million (or $33 million in today's dollars).

It would have required a steep grade down to the floor of the Snohomish River Valley, plus a new crossing of the river itself near Snohomish's airport. Overall not a good plan, but would have been an interesting way of extending US 2 all the way to Whidbey Island and perhaps beyond (to the San Juans, Port Townsend, or even Port Angeles/Neah Bay).


Bruce

Quote from: thefraze_1020 on June 28, 2018, 02:51:51 PM
The first example I have is SR 9 in Snohomish, WA. Between the Bickford Ave overpass and Marsh Road, there is extra right-of-way on the west side of the road, indicating that this portion of the highway was originally intended to be divided. Also, look at the layout of the interchange with 2nd Street. It definitely looks like it was modified after a second carriageway was cancelled.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.9165701,-122.1125941,1015m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

The Connecting Washington package actually funded a second bridge over the Snohomish River and four-laning of SR 9 up to the first Snohomish interchange.

https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr9/marsh-road-2nd-street/home

Sub-Urbanite

Quote from: Bruce on August 21, 2018, 10:04:28 PM
A third Columbia River crossing near Vancouver at Lady Island (just south of Camas) was studied by WSDOT in 1959 (report here).



I actually think this one is a good idea — it's far enough out of the way to create a significant disincentive for sprawl, but would allow Camas-Wenatchee commuters and SW Washington-bound freight to bypass the Glenn Jackson.

It'll never happen, of course, because of the very black-and-white politics of the region. But of the new bridge proposals over the Columbia, this is probably the best.



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