Skip to main content

2017 Washington State Trip Part 2; Washington State Route 16 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridges

After leaving SeaTac my destination was on the Kitsap Peninsula which required a crossing of Tacoma Narrows on Washington State Route 16.  Back in 2015 I failed to obtain the pictures I wanted due to seven hours of flight delays, so in a sense it was a long overdue stop.






WA 16 is a 27.2 mile state route from I-5 northwest to WA 3.  I pulled off of I-5 and headed northwest towards the Tacoma Narrows.   WA 16 junctions WA 163 at Pearl Street just before the Tacoma Narrows.






The Tacoma Narrows is a straight in Puget Sound which separates Tacoma from the Kitsap Peninsula.  The Tacoma Narrows is spanned by the 1950 Bridge carrying westbound traffic and the 2007 Bridge Carrying eastbound traffic.  The 1950 Bridge is free to cross but the 2007 bridge has a $6 dollar toll to cross.




I pulled off of WA 16 and took this picture from Stone Drive Northwest.





Followed by a trip down to the Tacoma Narrows Park for a better look at the 1950 and 2007 Bridges.  The 1950 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a replacement for the 1940 Bridge which famously shook to collapse the year it opened.  The 1950 Bridge is a suspension design that is 5,979 feet in length.  The 2007 Bridge is apparently only 5,400 feet in length.





Westbound WA 16 has junctions with WA 302, WA 160, and WA 166 before terminating at WA 3 in Gorst.  I missed getting the WA 166 shield but managed to catch the others.  WA 16 is largely freeway grade but has an increasing amount of at-grade junctions before becoming a full fledged expressway near WA 3.














The WA 16 route number was part of the 1964 Washington State Highway renumbering which is why many of the three digit routes that junction it are 16X in format.  Previously most of the current alignment of WA 16 was Primary State Highway 14 before the state highway system was renumbered.  Primary State Highway 14 apparently dates back to 1937 and can be seen on the following map.

1956 Washington State Highway Map 

Interestingly I was able to find a map from 1938 showing the roads in Washington just as construction on the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was beginning.

1938 Washington State Highway Map

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Patterson Pass Road

Recently on a day trip to the San Francisco Bay Area I traversed the Diablo Range eastbound via Patterson Pass Road. Patterson Pass Road is an approximately 13 mile roadway which starts at Mines Road in Livermore of Alameda County.  Patterson Pass Road eastward ascends over the approximately 1,600 foot namesake Patterson Pass into San Joaquin County where it ends at Interstate 580 near Tracy.  Patterson Pass Road has an infamous reputation as being a dangerous roadway due to the lengthy one-lane section and heavy rush-hour commute traffic. Patterson Pass is one of the earliest documented European paths of travel over the Diablo Range as it was explored during the 1775-1776 Spanish Expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza.  The 1775-1776 Spanish expedition charted out much of San Francisco Bay which led to the founding of the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis.  Patterson Pass Road between Cross Road east to Midway Road is part of the Juan Bautista de Anza

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held