Interstate 5 South - Thurston County to Longview

Old U.S. 99 angles southeast from the Thurston County line along Harrison Avenue through unincorporated Fords Prairie. Exit 81 consists of a diamond interchange with Harrison in the city of Centralia.
U.S. 99 shifted to the Interstate 5 freeway in the mid-1950s from Exits 79 to 102.¹

09/02/06

I-5/U.S. 12 south meet Exit 82, Harrison Avenue and Factory Outlet Way. Harrison Avenue (Old U.S. 99) continues east to become Main Street en route to the Centralia city center.
The Centralia Factory Outlets are located along Harrison Avenue on both sides of the freeway. Exit 82 points of interest include the Port of Centralia and Centralia College.

09/02/06

Continuing south, Interstate 5 & U.S. 12 next meet the northbound beginning of SR 507 (Mellen Street). SR 507 consists of a 43.52 mile route from Centralia northeast to Tenino, Rainier, Yelm, to SR 7 south of Tacoma.

09/02/06

Built originally for the U.S. 99 expressway, the Skookumchuck River truss bridges of Interstate 5 & U.S. 12 have been in service since 1951.

09/02/06

I-5/U.S. 12 south travel between Plummer Lake and the Chehalis River into the diamond interchange with SR 507 (Mellon Street) at Exit 81. SR 507 follows a combination of Mellen, Alder, and Cherry Streets to a one way street couplet (Tower Avenue north / Pearl Street south). The couplet represents original U.S. 99 into the city center.

09/02/06

Southbound motorists exit the city of Centralia and parallel the Chehalis River and flood plain.

09/02/06

Exit 79 (Chamber Way) is the first of three Chehalis area interchanges of I-5/U.S. 12 south. Officially named Chamber of Commerce Way for the Twin Cities Chamber of Commerce¹, Chamber Way connects a big box retail center next to Chehalis-Centralia Airport (CLS), Interstate 5 & U.S. 12 and National Avenue (historic U.S. 99).

09/02/06

I-5/U.S. 12 south connect with Chamber Way at the city of Chehalis. Historically, the original U.S. 99 expressway from Tumwater (Exit 102) south ended here. Later Chamber Way represented the northern leg of Business Loop I-5.¹ Exit 79 provides access to the Chehalis city center via National Avenue south. Points of interest include the Lewis County Museum, a visitors information center, and the Fairgrounds.

09/02/06

Main Street stems west from the Chehalis city center to become SR 6 at the diamond interchange (Exit 77) with Interstate 5 & U.S. 12.

09/02/06

Exit 77 leaves I-5/U.S. 12 south after the West Street overpass. SR 6 takes a 51.37 mile drive west to Rainbow Falls State Park, Pe Ell, around P and E Ridge, to U.S. 101 at Raymond.

09/02/06

An older state-named shield for Interstate 5 lies south of SR 6. Empty brackets below the sign may have held a U.S. 12 shield.

09/02/06

Curving southeast, Interstate 5 & U.S. 12 approach the diamond interchange (Exit 76) with 13th Street in south Chehalis.

09/02/06

13th Street leads northeast from Exit 76 to Market Boulevard (old U.S. 99) and south as Rice Road to Stan Hedwall Park.

09/02/06

Castle Rock is the next control city of Interstate 5 south. Vancouver joins Portland on this distance sign at the LaBree Road overpass. A diamond interchange opened at LaBree Road on June 2, 2009 as part of a project to expand Interstate 5 to six overall lanes from the new Exit 74 to Rush Road (Exit 72).

09/02/06

I-5/U.S. 12 south approach the first of two Napavine exits. Rush Road travels south from Jackson Highway (Old U.S. 99) to the Exit 72 diamond interchange.

09/02/06

Rush Road continues south from Exit 72 to become 2nd Avenue in Napavine. Napavine was served by SR 603 until 1992. SR 603 traveled between Exit 63 of Interstate 5 to SR 6 near Littell.

09/02/06

Forest Napaville Road stems east from Stella Street in Napavine to become SR 508 at Exit 71.

09/02/06

SR 508 stretches 32.84 miles east from Interstate 5 & U.S. 12 at Napavine to Onalaska, Cinebar, and SR 7 at Morton.

09/02/06

The final set of shields posted along the I-5/U.S. 12 southbound overlap.

09/02/06

U.S. 12 east parts ways with Interstate 5 south at a parclo interchange (Exit 68) west of Marys Corner. U.S. 12 resumes an eastward course, crossing the Cascade Range via White Pass east of Morton.

09/02/06

The path of U.S. 12 takes the route north of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument at Randle and just south of Mount Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier can be accessed via SR 7 on the west end, or SR 123 on the east end. Additionally U.S. 12 serves interests to Lewis & Clark State Park and reaches Mossyrock in 23 miles.

09/02/06

Interstate 5 southbound at the ramp departure for U.S. 12 east (Exit 68). Morton is 30 miles distant; Yakima is 137. Once across the Cascade crest, U.S. 12 slowly descends into the dry side of Washington State, where annual rainfall totals are a fraction of those of the west side. U.S. 12 overtook the historic routing of U.S. 410 from near Naches east to Idaho in 1967.

09/02/06

Interstate 5 ventures south from the Napavine and Jackson Prairie area. Old U.S. 99 remains to the east along Jackson Highway south toward Toledo and SR 505.

09/02/06

Passing under Park Road near St. Urban on Interstate 5 south, 18 miles north of Castle Rock and 27 miles out from Kelso.

09/02/06

SR 505 crosses paths with Interstate 5 at Pikes Hill and Exit 63. A 19.29 mile route, SR 505 links Interstate 5 with Winlock to the west and SR 504 west of Kid Valley. SR 504 is the main route to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

09/02/06

Exit 63 consists of a diamond interchange between Interstate 5 and SR 505 (Toledo-Winlock Road). SR 505 replaced SR 603 from Interstate 5 northwest to Kerron Street in Winlock; SR 603 north from Winlock to SR 6 was dropped from the system in 1992.

09/02/06

Interstate 5 lowers onto Drews Prairie from Pikes Hill west of Toledo.

09/02/06

Toledo-Vader Road winds east from Interstate 5 (Exit 60) to Ash Street in the city of Toledo. This road was a part of the original SR 505 from Exit 60 east to Toledo. When SR 505 replaced SR 603 west from Exit 63, Toledo-Vader Road was dropped from the state highway system.

09/02/06

Heading south from the diamond interchange at Exit 60 is SR 506 (unsigned here). SR 506 parallels Interstate 5 closely to Exit 57.

09/02/06

SR 506 turns west from Exit 59 to Vader and Ryderwood. The state route totals 11.53 miles.

09/02/06

A folded diamond interchange (Exit 59) joins Interstate 5 south with SR 506. Cowlitz Loop Road provides access to the northbound frontage road (Cowlitz Ridge Road) back to Toledo-Vader Road and local Mulford Road east.

09/02/06

A pair of 1953-built truss bridges carry Interstate 5 across the Cowlitz River south of Exit 59. The bridges were constructed as a part of a U.S. 99 expressway from Chehalis south to near the Toutle River.¹

09/02/06

Old U.S. 99 (Jackson Highway) meanders southwest from Toledo and SR 505 and comes together with Interstate 5 at the Exit 57 diamond interchange.

09/02/06

Barnes Drive leads southwest from Exit 57 and continues Old U.S. 99 toward the Cowlitz River.

09/02/06

Interstate 5 enters Cowlitz County at the Barnes Drive on-ramp. 57.20 miles of the freeway remain within Washington state.

09/02/06

Interstate 5 south expands to three overall lanes from the Lewis County line to Interstate 205 (Exit 7). Rest areas line both sides of the freeway west of the Wilkes Hills.

09/02/06

Barnes Drive (Old U.S. 99) returns to Interstate 5 at the Exit 52 diamond interchange opposite Toutle Park Road.

09/02/06

Exit 52 departs Interstate 5 south for Barnes Drive north and Old Pacific Highway south. Toutle Park Road spurs east along the Toutle River.

09/02/06

Continuing south, Interstate 5 reaches Castle Rock in three miles, Kalama in 23 miles, and Portland, Oregon in 60 miles.

09/02/06

Interstate 5 converges with the Cowlitz River again after the diamond interchange with Barnes Drive.

09/02/06

Approaching the Toutle River along Interstate 5 south. A truss bridge along the adjacent BNSF Railroad appears as well.

09/02/06

Tied arch bridges carry Interstate 5 over the Toutle River. These spans opened in 1969 when Interstate 5 extended the U.S. 99 expressway south from Exit 57.

09/02/06

SR 411 north and SR 504 west come together at the Exit 49 diamond interchange in Castle Rock. SR 504 constitutes a 51.76 mile spur east to Silver Lake, Kid Valley and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. SR 411 travels 13.48 miles south from Castle Rock to SR 432 at Longview.

09/02/06

SR 504 ranges east from Exit 49 into the heart of the volcanic monument, terminating at the Johnston Ridge Observatory five miles north of the volcano's crater. Mount Saint Helens is currently active, and delights visitors with periodic small eruptions of steam and ash. Other visitors' centers and attractions are also found along the drive, as is the small town of Toutle, ten miles east of Castle Rock.

09/02/06

SR 411 follows Huntington Avenue (Old U.S. 99) to the Castle Rock city center where it turns west to cross the Cowlitz River. From there, the state route roughly follows the western banks of the Cowlitz south to Kelso.
Historically, SR 411 continued north from Castle Rock west of the Cowlitz River to SR 506 in Vader. The truncation of the route north of Castle Rock occurred in 1991.²

09/02/06

Staying east of Castle Rock, Interstate 5 continues the ten mile drive to Kelso.

09/02/06

Huntington Avenue (Old U.S. 99) returns to Interstate 5 at a diamond interchange (Exit 48) on the south side of Castle Rock. The loop of Huntington Avenue west of I-5 is considered Business Loop I-5, but signs only appear at the south end interchange.

09/02/06

Exit 48 departs Interstate 5 south for Huntington Avenue (Business Loop I-5) north back into Castle Rock. Pleasant Hill Road (Old U.S. 99) travels south alongside I-5 from Huntington Avenue to Pleasant Hill and Ostrander.

09/02/06

Interstate 5, Pleasant Hill Road (Old U.S. 99) and a BNSF Railroad bend southwest toward Pleasant Hill from Business Loop I-5 (Huntington Avenue).

09/02/06

One mile north of the diamond interchange (Exit 46) with Headquarters Road on Interstate 5 south.

09/02/06

Headquarters Road connects Interstate 5 with Pleasant Hill Road (Old U.S. 99) to the west and meanders eastward to Silver Lake Road, west of the settlement of Headquarters.

09/02/06

Taking the Exit 46 off-ramp to Headquarters Road. Pleasant Hill Road travels nearby and loops south to Pleasant Hill before crossing under Interstate 5 near Exit 42.

09/02/06

A southbound side weigh station facility lies along Interstate 5 near Pleasant Hill.

09/02/06

Interstate 5 overtook the original path of U.S. 99 from Ostander south to Rocky Point. Exit 42 connects with Pacific Avenue, which becomes old U.S. 99 west of Interstate 5 into Rocky Point, Sparks Drive west to Lexington, and Ostrander Road east into the hills.

09/02/06

Exit 42 connects Interstate 5 with Sparks Drive via a diamond interchange. Sparks Drive spans the Cowlitz River en route to SR 411 (Westside Highway). SR 411 ventures south from Lexington to Beacon Hill and West Kelso.

09/02/06

The next three interchanges serve the cities of Kelso and Longview. Exit 40 joins Interstate 5 with Kelso Avenue (former SR 431) and Holcomb Road (northbound side frontage road). SR 431 followed Kelso Avenue south to Pacific Avenue and SR 4 (Cowlitz Way) at the Kelso city center. The state route was dropped in 1992.

09/02/06

Industrial areas of Kelso and Longbeach lie south of the cities along the Columbia and Cowlitz Rivers. SR 432 provides direct access to these areas and a bypass route to the Lewis and Clark bridge to U.S. 30 (Lower Columbia River Highway) in Oregon.

09/02/06

Southbound at the diamond interchange (Exit 40) with Kelso Avenue south and Holcomb Road north. Kelso Avenue provides a more direct route to SR 4 west to Longview. SR 4 is a 62.27 mile route stretching west from Kelso/Longview to U.S. 101 east of Long Beach.

09/02/06

SR 4 exits the Kelso city center via Allen Street to end at Interstate 5 near Three Rivers Mall at Exit 39.

09/02/06

Entering the diamond interchange (Exit 39) with SR 4 (Allen Street) west. Allen Street east shadows the Cowerman River to the base of Mount Brynion. SR 4 spans the Cowlitz River from downtown Kelso to West Kelso on the two mile drive into Longview.
Historically, SR 4 represents original U.S. 830 from Kelso west to U.S. 101 at Johnsons Landing. U.S. 830 joined U.S. 99 south from Kelso to Vancouver. The original alignment through Kelso used Pacific Avenue south to Ash Street east to Grade Street south. U.S. 830 was decommissioned in 1968.¹

09/02/06