Washington

[FrCorySticha]

So, I just noticed last week when I went to Forks that SR 16 increases in milage from east to west, rather than west to east, as is standard. I know Oregon is weird with its non-interstates, but this is now the only one in Washington that, for whatever reason, does this. That I know of, anyway.

According to Wiki, SR 16 used to be SR/PSH 14 which ran north-south. I wonder if SR 16 just reused and extended the mile markers, since it runs pretty much northwest-southeast.

[Amaury]

That seems like a possibility, maybe. SR 505 is another one I noticed today. Increasing from north to south instead of south to north.

[stevashe]

That seems like a possibility, maybe. SR 505 is another one I noticed today. Increasing from north to south instead of south to north.

I suspect SR 505 is a similar case to SR 16 where the pre-1964 highway (SSH 1O in this case) ran east-west and the mile markers were maintained when the directions switched to north-south.

[Amaury]

Not an issue for SR 16, but for SR 505, I wonder if that's why Google Maps is erroneously referring to it as west-east. It's not a huge error that's going to get you lost or anything, but still. Even Wikipedia erroneously has west and east ends for the terminuses of SR 505 instead of north and south.

But when I look at it as a whole, SR 505 seems like it does run east and west more than north and south, so it could have been one of those oddities, where it's an odd number, but signed as east and west. Likewise, SR 16 could have maintained north and south signage, despite the even number. But that would be more something for a fictional thread.

[Amaury]

Not according to signage:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dNxxe8tnHNkocmb99

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DVxKXHT74hcy96VX9

https://maps.app.goo.gl/mKLzAm238stLXYDg7

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7SRDrPciCtkAo6LH9

And I am aware that east-west = even and north-south = odd is not an absolute. I'm saying SR 505 could have been designated east-west, even with the odd-number since at its southern terminus, the milepost is 19 instead of 1 and vice-versa, but it's designated north-south. Likewise, SR 16 could have been designated north-south, even with the even numbering, but it's designated east-west.

[Bickendan]

Something to note here are the street addresses along these highways: They're pegged to their highway's mileposts, in an abxx format, where a is the mile, b is the 10th, and xx is building/door number within that 10th.
278424 US 101 would be milepost 278.4, second building within that 10th, and the four being the random final digit -or- the third address for that building (278420, 278422, 278424, etc. Think small office buildings or apartments that aren't using suite or apartment numbers).

Local or county variances might supersede this overall system, however, and opt for a more traditional 20 'blocks' per mile from a 0 point.

[jay8g]

SR 16 is a weird case, since it does primarily run north-south rather than east-west. And then there's all of the 16X state routes that don't actually connect to SR 16, because SR 410's "grid number" (a made-up term) is also 16. I wonder if there was once some consideration of making the south part of SR 167 (the part that's finally being built now) along with all of SR 410 part of SR 16... that would kind of make sense on a map, but that would have required them to run SR 16 concurrent with I-5 for a while (which wasn't really done in the original state highway grid) and would imply they were already expecting US 410 to go away, so probably not, but it's interesting to think about.

[TEG24601]

SR 16 is a weird case, since it does primarily run north-south rather than east-west. And then there's all of the 16X state routes that don't actually connect to SR 16, because SR 410's "grid number" (a made-up term) is also 16. I wonder if there was once some consideration of making the south part of SR 167 (the part that's finally being built now) along with all of SR 410 part of SR 16... that would kind of make sense on a map, but that would have required them to run SR 16 concurrent with I-5 for a while (which wasn't really done in the original state highway grid) and would imply they were already expecting US 410 to go away, so probably not, but it's interesting to think about.

Makes it feel more logical to get SR 16 as a 5XX route, a 3X or 3XX route, or move SR 3 over to it, and make the current SR 3 some other route.

Or somehow route SR 167 through Tacoma to SR 16, then we can use cascading numbers to make the 16x routes logical.

[Bickendan]

SR 16 is a weird case, since it does primarily run north-south rather than east-west. And then there's all of the 16X state routes that don't actually connect to SR 16, because SR 410's "grid number" (a made-up term) is also 16. I wonder if there was once some consideration of making the south part of SR 167 (the part that's finally being built now) along with all of SR 410 part of SR 16... that would kind of make sense on a map, but that would have required them to run SR 16 concurrent with I-5 for a while (which wasn't really done in the original state highway grid) and would imply they were already expecting US 410 to go away, so probably not, but it's interesting to think about.

That would have been two cases of I-5 interacting with a(n) SR 16 in that manner, after the 'hidden' section of CA 16 between Woodland and Sacramento!

[kkt]

WA 20 the North Cascades Highway, is closed for the seaon over the Cascades.

[PNWRoadgeek]

WA 20 the North Cascades Highway, is closed for the seaon over the Cascades.

That means not a lot of traffic headed up to North Cascades National Park then. Though it's very cold up there, so I don't think lots of people would be headed over that way. Any other possible seasonal closures?

[xonhulu]

Any other possible seasonal closures?

WA 410 over Chinook Pass closed for the winter a few days ago, as well.

[Bruce]

WA 20 the North Cascades Highway, is closed for the seaon over the Cascades.

That means not a lot of traffic headed up to North Cascades National Park then. Though it's very cold up there, so I don't think lots of people would be headed over that way. Any other possible seasonal closures?

It always closes at the beginning of winter, but people still do visit parts of the national park complex. Same with Chinook/Cayuse passes.

[Amaury]

On my drive to Seaside, Oregon, earlier this week, I drove down SR 4 on the way there. The section of SR 4 between the SR 401 junction in Naselle and the SR 432 junction in Longview, give or take, I drove on for the first time. (I say give or take, as there are other street blocks with SR 4 within Longview that I hadn't driven on before, either.)

Anyway, around milepost 22, there's a summit called KM Mountain. I'm just curious if KM stands for something:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jhUqdx7zwAKakKBp6
https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/weather/2789

[xonhulu]

Anyway, around milepost 22, there's a summit called KM Mountain. I'm just curious if KM stands for something:

I vaguely remember it was named for a logging company or nearby mill, but I wouldn't bet the house on that.

[Bruce]

On my drive to Seaside, Oregon, earlier this week, I drove down SR 4 on the way there. The section of SR 4 between the SR 401 junction in Naselle and the SR 432 junction in Longview, give or take, I drove on for the first time. (I say give or take, as there are other street blocks with SR 4 within Longview that I hadn't driven on before, either.)

Anyway, around milepost 22, there's a summit called KM Mountain. I'm just curious if KM stands for something:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jhUqdx7zwAKakKBp6
https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/weather/2789

As luck would have it, this 2005 article in the Longview Daily News has the answer: it's named for Knappton Mill.

[Amaury]

One of the westbound Interstate 82 bridges between Yakima and Selah was damaged by a semi-collision early this morning: https://www.facebook.com/WSDOT/posts/pfbid0QWZ62YYK8FgQRHKQ9xvUimBXLcdtD9Tr8onKxh6d6g4dsB1ocmXFRuM5fdAxE11Tl

FINAL UPDATE 4:46 p.m.: The two right lanes WB I-82 on the Yakima River Bridge have reopened to traffic. The left lane will remain closed until a repair can be made to the damage caused by a truck striking the guardrail and truss. Repairs will be coordinated as soon as possible, but there's no estimated completion date yet. We will share updates as more information becomes available.

12:35 update: One lane has reopened on WB I-82 in Yakima. Bridge crews are now on scene to evaluate the damage to the Yakima River Bridge.

ORIGINAL:
HEADS UP, YAKIMA AREA TRAVELERS: Westbound I-82 is closed at Exit 31 due to a semi-truck collision, which has resulted in damage to the Yakima River Bridge and a fuel spill.
The closure is at Exit 31 to detour traffic onto WB US 12 around the collision scene. We'll need to do an inspection of the Yakima River Bridge and the fuel will need to be cleaned up, so the closure will likely continue into the afternoon.

Guardrail and one of the narrow road/striped cautionary signs were also damaged, as seen in WSDOT's photos. This striped sign on the right: https://maps.app.goo.gl/u6yMb7MbkYepfroTA

[jay8g]

So WSDOT made a surprise announcement that Revive I-5 work through Seattle was being delayed by a year. The stated reason is a funding shortfall, but the relatively small amount of funding they referenced makes that seem like an excuse covering for the real reason. No idea what that real reason could be -- maybe political influence from the companies trying to get employees to stop working from home, maybe the new governor wanted to make a splash, or maybe the design-build contractor just wasn't ready yet. This is after the initial plans were already watered down and delayed due to funding issues a few years ago.

The claim that it's due to funding seems particularly odd considering all of the money they're spending on emergency repairs and  interim fixes while waiting for the full project, not to mention the increase in costs due to inflation in the meantime.

The lack of focus on maintenance on WSDOT's highways (which seems to be primarily a political issue) is quite concerning, and I feel like it's just a matter of time until emergency repairs and band-aid fixes aren't going to cut it anymore and there's a major incident -- think the West Seattle Bridge closure of a few years ago, or any of the other similar things that have happened in other parts of the country.

[Bruce]

I think the more likely reason is that the full frequency on the Lynnwood-to-Seattle light rail lines is still not available. The 2 Line won't be extended over the lake until later this year at the earliest, so there's still a gap in capacity that already gets overwhelmed; throw in redirected commuters because of the bridge work and it becomes way too crowded at rush hour.

[Rothman]

Funding shortfalls, no matter the size, can be a major obstacle to progressing projects due to needing to work with MPOs.  MPOs' TIPs must be fiscally constrained, causing MPAs to be little, strictly funded fiefdoms within a state.

(personal opinion emphasized)

[stevashe]

I read through the whole blog and checked the project page on WSDOT's website and it sounds like it's not the whole project being delayed, just portion related to rehabilitating the Ship Canal Bridge. Other pavement work will continue to happen this year and the completion date for the whole project has not changed.

This means that it's really just changing around the order that the elements of this project are happening, which isn't a big deal and happens fairly regularly. The only reason it's even being announced is because of the major lane closures, otherwise a change like this would probably fly under the radar.

I think this also makes the funding argument hold more water since the project is already under contract (it was advertised back in 2023 and construction started fall 2024), so the cost has already been agreed to and makes the inflation point moot. However, the blog does include a paragraph about working closely with transit agencies so I think Bruce's theory probably plays a part as well.

[kkt]

There's a general shortfall in state funding this year.  The legislature will have to figure out what to cut or what taxes to increase, but delaying portions of this rehabilitation project may be a start.

https://ofm.wa.gov/about/news/2024/12/inslee-releases-future-focused-budget-proposal-highlights-growing-costs-income-inequality

[stevashe]

Signs have recently gone up for the SR 18/I-90 DDI project. Looks like WSDOT is still using its classic design for option lane here and not an APL. (Not that I'm complaining!)

I am complaining a bit about how they've put up this sign showing a two lane exit before the second lane has opened. It's pretty easy to see how this could confuse drivers, which is especially problematic since this exit backs up onto the freeway sometimes.


I-90/SR 18 interchange sign WB by Steven Ashe, on Flickr

[Amaury]

I wonder if they will make the eastbound side consistent and make it have Auburn and Snoqualmie Parkway like in the photo above, as eastbound just has Snoqualmie Parkway, compared to westbound which has had Auburn. Eastbound also abbreviates Parkway as Pkwy. Although looking at older Google Maps captures, westbound used to have Auburn and Tacoma, while eastbound fully spelled out Parkway.

[jakeroot]

Signs have recently gone up for the SR 18/I-90 DDI project. Looks like WSDOT is still using its classic design for option lane here and not an APL. (Not that I'm complaining!)

I am complaining a bit about how they've put up this sign showing a two lane exit before the second lane has opened. It's pretty easy to see how this could confuse drivers, which is especially problematic since this exit backs up onto the freeway sometimes.


I-90/SR 18 interchange sign WB by Steven Ashe, on Flickr

Hmm.

Is the plan for the right lane to actually be only for Snoqualmie Parkway? I don't know the exact numbers, but I would have to assume most traffic is actually going to Hwy 18. I would think both exit lanes should be allowed to "turn left" at the DDI to head towards Auburn.