Map of Yakima, Washington

An overview of the Interstate and U.S. Highways serving the city of Yakima, Washington.

Interstates

Interstate 82

Guides:

Interstate 82

Interstate 82 opened between Ellensburg and Yakima in 1971 and between Union Gap and Zillah by November 1981.1 The freeway replaced the routing of U.S. 97 northward to I-90 and southward to Union Gap. U.S. 12 follows the freeway from Berglund eastward to the Tri-Cities and Interstate 182.

Business Loop I-82

Former Business Loop I-82

Business Loop I-82 was a short lived route joining the Yakima City Center with the freeway to the east. Signs for the route were posted until 1999, with one remaining as of 2016.

Beginning at Exit 33 of Interstate 82, the loop followed Yakima Avenue west to N 6th Street and the couplet of E Lincoln Avenue (westbound) and E B Street (eastbound). The route turned northward along original U.S. 97 / North 1st Street for the return to Interstate 82 at Exit 31.

U.S. Highways

U.S. 12

Guides:

U.S. 12

U.S. 12 parallels the Naches River southeast from the census designated places of Eschbach and Gleed. Heading east into the city of Yakima, U.S. 12 upgrades into a limited access highway with exits for N 40th Avenue / Fruitvale Boulevard, N 16th Avenue and N 1st Street. The remainder of U.S. 12 overlaps with Interstate 82 southward to Union Gap.

U.S. 97

Guides:

U.S. 97

U.S. 97 overlaps with Interstate 82 from Union Gap northward to I-90 near Ellensburg. The highway is a four lane divided highway southeast from the separation with I-82 at Union Gap to Toppenish.

Former U.S. 97

Former U.S. 97

U.S. 97 originally followed 1st Street through the Yakima City Center from Berglund to Union Gap. When Interstate 82 was completed through Yakima in 1971, U.S. 97 shifted onto an overlap with the freeway. The steel truss bridges over the Naches and Yakima Rivers for I-82 are the original spans for U.S. 97 converted for use on the limited access highway.

Former U.S. 410

Former U.S. 410

U.S. 410 was replaced wholly by an extension of U.S. 12 westward from Clarkston to Grays Harbor in 1967 at the urging of a delegation of residents from the Tri-Cities area, Sunnyside, Yakima, Walla Walla and Grays Harbor. The effort was undertaken to provide South Washington with another national highway.2 The choice won out over an Oregon led proposal to have U.S. 12 follow the Columbia River west from Wallula.3

Yakima Streets

Former U.S. 97 Main Street - North
U.S. 97 joins I-82/U.S. 12 west via a wye interchangee beyond a loop ramp for Main Street (old U.S. 97) north. A freeway ramp connects Interstate 82 west directly with Main Street ahead of Wide Hollow Creek. From there northbound motorists pass under a freeway-style sign bridge hosting a welcome sign foro Union Gap. The assembly likely dates to when Interstate 82 was incomplete south of Union Gap. 08/28/06
Yakima Ridge rises as the backdrop on the North 1st Street approach to U.S. 12 west and I-82/U.S. 97. A parclo interchange joins the former Business Loop I-82 and U.S. 97 with the U.S. 12 freeway. 08/28/06
Wye interchanges connect North 1st Street (old U.S. 97) and the U.S. 12 freeway with adjacent I-82/U.S. 97. Interstate 82 links Yakima with Prosser and Richland to the southeast. 08/28/06
A loop ramp joins U.S. 12 west as the route leaves Yakima for Naches Valley and the town of Naches. SR 823 appears as the state route begins ahead and continues the original alignment of U.S. 97 into Selah. 08/28/06
U.S. 12 provides one of six routes across the Cascade Range in the state of Washington. The US route splits with the former U.S. 410 at Upper Naches Valley for a path westward through Rimrock and White Pass to Interstate 5 near Napavine. SR 410 follows a more northerly course through Chinook Pass and Greenwater to Enumclaw.
SR 823 constitutes a 5.62 mile loop from Twin Bridges and U.S. 12 northward through Selah to SR 821 near Exit 26 of Interstate 82. 08/28/06
SR 823 follows a two lane roadway between the east and westbound roadways of I-82/U.S. 97 across the Naches and Yakima Rivers to Selah Road. Drivers may use either the state route or the freeway north to Exit 26 for Selah. 08/28/06
Business Loop I-82 originally merged onto the left side of I-82/U.S. 97 north ahead of the steel truss bridge over the Naches River. I-82/U.S. 97 overlap to Interstate 90 near Ellensburg. 08/28/06
Former U.S. 97 1st Street - South
North 1st Street continues south from a cloverleaf-interchange with U.S. 12 and the south end of SR 823 to become a four lane boulevard en route to the Yakima city center. A sign bridge welcomes motorists into the city from the days of the road as U.S. 97. 08/28/06
The Yakima street grid consists of east-west alphabet streets from the U.S. 12 freeway southward to the city center. Pictured here is the approach to I Street. 08/28/06
A railroad spur follows H Street east from the parallel BNSF Railroad line to an industrial site at North 7th Street. Several motels and fast food chains line the former U.S. 97 (North 1st Street) southward to the city center. 08/28/06
D Street meets Main Street at the next southbound traffic light. 08/28/06
Lincoln Way flows westward from Fair Avenue to N 6th Avenue. The one way street was a part of Business Loop I-82 between N 1st Street and N B Street until 1999. 08/28/06
Business Loop I-82 followed N 1st Street south from Exit 31 to B Street (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) east. The couplet of B and Lincoln carried the route to N 6th Street south to Yakima Avenue east on the return to I-82. 08/28/06
A Street travels one block west from North 1st Street to end at Front Street in downtown Yakima. 08/28/06
One of Yakima's tallest structures, the A.E. Larson Building, was built in 1931 and stands 188 feet tall. The high rise resides at the corner of Yakima Avenue and South 2nd Street. 08/28/06
Yakima Avenue comprises the main east-west route through the city center. The four lane arterial joins 1st Street with I-82/U.S. 12-97 to the east via Terrace Heights Way. 08/28/06
Chestnut Avenue mirrors A Street in function from Front Street east to Fair Avenue. 08/28/06
Walnut Street crosses old U.S. 97 (South 1st Street) as a four lane boulevard between South 6th Avenue and South 6th Street. 08/28/06
South 1st Street expands into a conventional commercial arterial on the exit of downtown Yakima. Arlington Street and South 3rd Street meet the original U.S. 97 at this signalized intersection. 08/28/06
Trailblazers posted for Interstate 82 and SR 24 direct motorists from South 1st Street onto Nob Hill Boulevard east. SR 24 begins at the diamond interchange with I-82/U.S. 12-97, 1.1 miles to the east. 08/28/06
Nob Hill Boulevard stretches 5.6 miles west to South 80th Avenue through residential areas of west Yakima. Eastward the arterial becomes SR 24 en route to Birchfield and Moxee. 08/28/06
Mead Avenue lines the north end of an industrial area between South 1st Street and Rudkin Boulevard, the southbound side frontage road to Interstate 82. 08/28/06
Washington Avenue meets South 1st Street at this traffic light near the retail heavy area centered by Valley Mall. Washington Avenue ventures west to Yakima Air Terminal - McAllister Field (YKM). 08/28/06
Southbound drivers on old U.S. 97 enter the city limits of Union Gap at the intersection with Old Town Road. South 1st Street becomes Main Street at the city line. 08/28/06
Former U.S. 97 Main Street - South
Passing by Valley Mall, Main Street (former U.S. 97) approaches Valley Mall Boulevard. The east-west arterial ends nearby at the Exit 36 diamond interchange of Interstate 82. 08/28/06
The first sign alluding to U.S. 97 on the former alignment directs motorists southward on Main Street beyond Valley Mall Boulevard. 08/28/06
Valley Mall Boulevard continues west from Main Street onto a 2009-completed extension to South 16th Avenue and Yakima Air Terminal. 08/28/06
Main Street leaves the city of Union Gap at a wye interchange with a connector ramp to I-82/U.S. 12 east. Main Street otherwise spans a Washington Central Railroad line and merges with U.S. 97 en route to Parker. 08/28/06
A 1941-built bridge retrofitted with metal guard rails spans a Washington Central Railroad beyond the ramp split to Interstate 82. Union Gap, the cut between Ahtanum Ridge and Rattlesnake Hills, lies in the background. 08/28/06
A viaduct carries U.S. 97 away from Interstate 82 to Main Street at Union Gap. 08/28/06
A second 1941-span crosses Ahtanum Creek ahead of the Main Street merge with U.S. 97. Southbound motorists enter Yakima Indian Reservation. 08/28/06
A pair of freeway entrance signs herald the ramp onto U.S. 97.U.S. 97 technically is a freeway through Union Gap only because the steep hill side and parallel Yakima River prevent access points. 08/28/06
Valley Mall Boulevard - East
Valley Mall Boulevard travels a short distance from Main Street (old U.S. 97) to Interstate 82. 08/28/06
Interstate 82 travels south through Union Gap into Yakima Valley on the 70 mile drive to Richland (via Interstate 182). 08/28/06
The Interstate 82 westbound control point switches from Yakima to Ellensburg on the sign attached to the freeway overpass. Interstate 82 travels north into Yakima on the 40 mile drive to Ellensburg (via Interstate 90). 08/28/06
Valley Mall Boulevard ends at a park on the Yakima River adjacent to the diamond interchange with I-82/U.S. 12-97. 08/28/06
Other Yakima area roads
Powerhouse Road travels alongside U.S. 12 from Brace to Ramblers Park in south Naches Valley. The road represents a portion of the original alignment of U.S. 410. Pictured here is the intersection with the U.S. 12 divided highway and Old Naches Highway north to Lower Naches Grange. 08/28/06
Yakima Avenue bisects downtown Yakima to I-82/U.S. 12-97 (Exit 33). The four lane boulevard passes by the A.E. Larson Building and The Tower, in this scene beyond 1st Street (former U.S. 97). 08/28/06

Sources:

  1. “2 more miles of I-82 opened.” Tri city Herald, October 15, 1981.
  2. “Group Asks U.S. 12 Change.” Ellensburg Daily Record, April 21, 1966.
  3. “410 Redesignated U.S. 12.” Tri city Herald, June 22, 1967.

Page updated September 23, 2011.