Washington State Route 203

State Route 203 marker

State Route 203

A map of Washington's highway system in the
Seattle metropolitan area with SR 203 highlighted in red.
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 2
Defined by RCW 47.17.390
Maintained by WSDOT
Length: 24.26 mi[1] (39.04 km)
Existed: 1964[2] – present
Major junctions
South end: SR 202 in Fall City
North end: US 2 in Monroe
Highway system
← SR 202SR 204 →

State Route 203 (SR 203) is a Washington state highway in King and Snohomish counties. The 24.26-mile (39.04 km) route begins at an intersection with SR 202 in Fall City. The highway extends north past Carnation and Duvall to end at U.S. Route 2 (US 2) in Monroe. The roadway connects Fall City, Carnation, Duvall and Monroe, all located along the Snoqualmie River, which SR 203 roughly parallels.

The route originally was divided into four separate roads, Fall City–Carnation, Carnation–Duvall, Duvall–Monroe and Lewis Street. The first road to be paved, Lewis Street in Monroe, was completed in 1912; the roads were later combined to form Secondary State Highway 15B (SSH 15B) in 1937. SSH 15B was later renumbered to SR 203 in 1964 during the highway renumbering. The routing of SR 203 was suggested as a new freeway in the 1990s and 2000s.

Route description

SR 203 northbound (Carnation–Duvall Road) in Carnation

State Route 203 (SR 203) begins its 24.26 miles (39.04 km) of highway at an intersection with SR 202, a primarily west–east route, in Fall City.[1][3] There, the road is named the Fall City–Carnation Road and travels northwest, paralleling the former route of the Monroe–Tanner route operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.[4] After bridging the Rutherford Slough twice, the route travels closer to the shoreline of the Snoqualmie River.[5] SR 203 runs north past Northeast Tolt Hill Road to cross the Tolt River into Carnation. Leaving Carnation, the highway becomes the Carnation–Duvall Road and intersects Carnation Farm Road before curving west to intersect Stillwater Hill Road. Eventually, the roadway continues the original northern route past the 124th Street roundabout into Duvall.[6] In Duvall, SR 203 intersects the Woodinville–Duvall Road and Cherry Valley Road before curving along the Snoqualmie River shoreline into Snohomish County. After leaving Duvall and King County, SR 203 becomes the Duvall–Monroe Road and travels north to cross the Skykomish River and enter Monroe as Lewis Street. In Monroe, the highway parallels Woods Creek and intersects Main Street near the Monroe Greyhound Lines station. After Main Street, the road crosses the BNSF Railway Everett–Spokane line and ends at an intersection with U.S. Route 2 (US 2) and Chain Lake Road.[3][5] South of the US 2 intersection, an estimated 15,000 motorists used Lewis Street daily in 2007 based on average annual daily traffic (AADT) data collected by the Washington State Department of Transportation.[7]

Despite running parallel to Interstate 5 relatively close to Seattle, the highway is rural in nature and only two lanes wide for its entire length. Failed proposals to build a bypass freeway called Interstate 605 would have changed it to a freeway.

History

The shield of Secondary State Highway 15B (SSH 15B)

SR 203 was originally four roads that linked each other and their communities, Fall City, Carnation, Duvall and Monroe, named Fall City–Carnation Road, Carnation–Duvall Road, Duvall–Monroe Road and Lewis Street, respectively; these names are still used to identify the route.[3] Lewis Street became the first portion of the highway to be paved when the City of Monroe improved it in 1912.[8] The roads paralleled the former Monroe–Tanner route of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.[4] All four roadways were later combined to form Secondary State Highway 15B (SSH 15B) in 1937, during the creation of the Primary and secondary highway system.[9] The Washington State Legislature renumbered and changed the system in 1964 and SSH 15B became SR 203.[10] The highway has changed very little since then.

In 1998, the Washington State Legislature ordered a $500,000 study to investigate the benefits of constructing the proposed Interstate 605 north to Everett through the Snoqualmie Valley.[11] The plan was dropped as the study found that on average only five minutes would be saved over current routes.[12] In 2002, Bellevue Square owner Kemper Freeman, Jr. made his support known for a new freeway linking Snohomish County via the Snoqualmie Valley.[13] Another $500,000 study was ordered in 2003 by the legislature, creating a new commerce corridor to link Lewis County in the south to the Canada–US border in the north.[14] However the study showed that a highway existing north of I-90 was not economically feasible. Had either proposal been built, it would have essentially replaced highway 203 with an interstate highway.[15]

Recently, smaller projects arranged by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) have helped improve traffic on SR 203. Completed in 2004, a roundabout was constructed at the NE 124th Street intersection, located south of Duvall.[16][17]

Major intersections

SR 203 (Duvall–Monroe Road) between Duvall and Monroe.
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
KingFall City0.000.00 SR 202 (SE Fall City–Snoqualmie Road) – Woodinville, Redmond, North Bend
SnohomishMonroe24.2639.04 US 2 (Stevens Pass Highway) – Everett, Wenatchee, Spokane
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 3 Washington State Department of Transportation (2006). "State Highway Log: Planning Report, SR 2 to SR 971" (PDF). Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  2. ↑ Washington State Legislature. "RCW 47.17.390: State Route 203". Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 Thomas Guide (2008). King, Pierce & Snohomish Counties Street Guide (Map). 1:24,000. Rand McNally. § 438; 458; 478; 509; 538–539; 569; 599. ISBN 0-528-86671-0.
  4. 1 2 United States Geological Survey (1948). Wenatchee, 1948 (Map). 1:250,000. Cartography by United States Geological Survey. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  5. 1 2 Google (May 24, 2009). "State Route 203" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  6. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (2009). SR 203 – Tolt Hill Road NE Vincity (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  7. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (2007). "2007 Annual Traffic Report" (PDF). Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  8. ↑ Nellie E. Robertson (November 23, 2007). "Monroe – Thumbnail History". HistoryLink. Retrieved May 23, 2009. Autos and Roads: The push for paving Monroe streets hit high gear in 1912. The council adopted a resolution ordering the pavement of Main and Lewis streets. The resolution provided for parking strips in the center.
  9. ↑ Washington State Legislature (March 18, 1937). "Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways". Session Laws of the State of Washington. Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 1010. Retrieved May 23, 2009. (b) Secondary State Highway No. 15B; beginning at Monroe on Primary State Highway No. 15, thence in a southerly direction by the most feasible route by way of Duvall to Falls City on Primary State Highway No. 2.
  10. ↑ C. G. Prahl (December 1, 1965). "Identification of State Highways" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  11. ↑ Herrinton, Gregg (April 28, 1998). "Interstate 605 Could Help Ease Traffic Mess". The Columbian. p. 1. Retrieved December 14, 2013 – via ProQuest. (subscription required (help)).
  12. ↑ Singer, Natalie (July 15, 2004). "State study revives idea of new Western Washington highway". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  13. ↑ Gilmore, Susan (August 24, 2003). "Some freeway plans never went anywhere". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  14. ↑ Singer, Natalie (July 15, 2004). "State study revives idea of new Western Washington highway". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Valley will not see proposed foothills highway". Snoqualmie Valley Record. Sound Publishing Inc. October 28, 2004. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  16. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (2004). "SR 203 – NE 124th/Novelty Road Vicinity – Complete September 2004". Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  17. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (2004). SR 203 – NE 124th/Novelty Hill Road Vicinity (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 24, 2009.

Route map: Bing / Google

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