U.S. Route 97 Alternate
Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by WSDOT | ||||
Length | 39.95 mi[1] (64.29 km) | |||
Existed | 1987–present | |||
Tourist routes | Cascade Loop Scenic Byway | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | US 2 / US 97 in Sunnyslope | |||
North end | US 97 near Chelan | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Washington | |||
County | Chelan | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
U.S. Route 97 Alternate (US 97 Alt., also abbreviated as US 97A) is an alternate route of US 97 within the state of Washington. It runs for 40 miles (64 km) from Wenatchee to Chelan, following the west bank of the Columbia River opposite from US 2 and US 97. The highway travels through sparsely-populated areas along the river and passes near the Rocky Reach Dam and through the town of Entiat.
Route description
US 97A begins north of
The highway continues northeast alongside the Columbia River and
At the mouth of Navarre Coulee, the highway intersects the south end of
Woodin Avenue passes several resort hotels, a
US 97A uses
History
The first
The Wenatchee–
The development of
A "water-grade" route for US 97 along the east bank of the Columbia River was envisioned in the 1940s and was constructed in sections as part of improvements to SR 151.[45][46] These improvements included a new alignment for the highway during construction of the Rocky Reach Dam and a new bridge crossing at Chelan Falls.[47][48] The $14.6 million alignment (equivalent to $35.1 million in 2023 dollars)[20] following the river for 5.3 miles (8.5 km) between Chelan Falls and Azwell was opened in September 1985, completing the water-grade route along the Columbia River.[49][50][51] The state legislature moved US 97 to the east bank route in 1987 and designated the old highway on the west bank as US 97 Alternate.[52] The redesignation was controversial with Chelan and Entiat businessmen, who feared a loss of business and traffic along the alternate route, but the state government cited predicted traffic volumes as its main determinant for the signing of US 97 onto the eastern route.[50] The change was submitted to the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering, a group within the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) that coordinates the numbering of national highways, and was approved at their June 1988 meeting after being initially withheld.[53][54]
In May 1995, a major landslide near the Rocky Reach Dam covered a section of the highway with 30 feet (9.1 m) of debris and killed two people.[55][56] The alternate route was identified in the 1990s as a particularly dangerous highway for single-vehicle collisions, most involving drunk drivers or encounters with deer and elk. WSDOT tallied more than 400 deer killed in collisions with automobiles from 1991 to 1998 and dozens of sheep and elk, prompting plans to install a wildlife fence on US 97A near the Rocky Reach Dam to deter highway crossings.[57][58] The 9-mile (14 km) wildlife fence was installed between 2009 and 2011 after several years of delays while waiting for $2.8 million in funding from the federal and state government.[59][60]
A two-mile (3.2 km) section of US 97A in Sunnyslope was rebuilt and repaved by WSDOT in 2013 and included the construction of a roundabout at Ohme Garden Road to aid freight traffic.[3] The Wenatchee city government plans to construct an extension of the highway across the Wenatchee River and into the city as part of the Confluence Parkway project.[61]
Major intersections
The entire highway is in Chelan County.
Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seattle | Interchange; continues south as Euclid Avenue | ||||
| 23.35 | 37.58 | SR 971 north (Navarre Coulee Road) – Lake Chelan State Park, 25 Mile Creek | ||
| 30.60 | 49.25 | SR 971 south (South Lakeshore Road) – Lake Chelan State Park, 25 Mile Creek | ||
Chelan | 34.46 | 55.46 | SR 150 west (Sanders Street) – Manson | South end of SR 150 overlap | |
35.29 | 56.79 | SR 150 east | North end of SR 150 overlap | ||
| 39.95 | 64.29 | US 97 – Okanogan, Wenatchee | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
References
- ^ a b Multimodal Planning Division (January 3, 2018). State Highway Log Planning Report 2017, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. 752–758. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Corridor Sketch Summary – US 97A: US 2 Jct to US 97 Jct" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. April 5, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ a b Pratt, Christine (October 16, 2012). "Stemilt roundabout almost finished". The Wenatchee World. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Google (September 22, 2018). "U.S. Route 97 Alternate" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ Gilstrap, Kathleen (June 25, 2000). "Grads climb to make their mark; Numeral Mountain is a history". The Seattle Times. p. B1.
- Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ Riggs, Dee (June 24, 2012). "Air speed Entrepreneur starts zip line business near Chelan". The Wenatchee World.
- ^ Landers, Rich (May 29, 2011). "Lake Chelan Shoreline a classic early hike". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ Washington State Highway System Mileposts, 2016 (PDF) (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ a b "United States Route 97A Draft Route Development Plan". Washington State Department of Transportation. February 2005. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
- ^ "Washington State's Scenic Byways & Road Trips" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. July 2018. pp. 47–50. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ 2016 Annual Traffic Report (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2017. p. 125. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "2017 State Highway National Highway System Routes in Washington" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ "What is the National Highway System?". Federal Highway Administration. January 31, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
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- ^ "Chapter CXV: Providing For A State Road" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1897. Washington State Legislature. March 18, 1897. pp. 338–341. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
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- ^ "Harmony is Keynote Throughout Meeting of Good Roads Men". The Seattle Times. October 22, 1911. p. 8.
- ^ McClure, Horace (September 23, 1914). "Seattle Invites Trade Expansion". The Seattle Times. p. 7.
- ^ "Chapter 75: Appropriation for Primary and Secondary Highways" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1917. Washington State Legislature. March 10, 1917. p. 257. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Chapter 185: Primary and Secondary State Highways" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1923. Washington State Legislature. March 19, 1923. p. 630. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "State Highway Embroglio". The Wenatchee World. June 14, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ State of Washington Showing State Highways Selected For the Expenditure of Federal Aid (Map). Washington State Department of Highways. November 19, 1921. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Washington State Archives.
- .
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- ^ OCLC 921180471. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
- ^ Highway Map, State of Washington (Map). Washington State Department of Highways. April 1, 1933. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Washington State Archives.
- ^ "Chapter 190: Establishment of Primary State Highways" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1937. Washington State Legislature. March 17, 1937. p. 939. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- OCLC 5673231. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Washington State Archives.
- ^ "All roads lead from town". The Wenatchee World. August 30, 1992. p. A20.
- OCLC 29654162. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
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- ^ Prahl, C. G. (December 1, 1965). "Identification of State Highways" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
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- OCLC 29654162. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
- OCLC 29654162. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
- ^ Rea, Dave (June 17, 1982). "Plans for final Watergrade Highway link outlined". The Wenatchee World. p. 2.
- ^ a b Warner, Tracy (June 10, 1985). "Watergrade nearly finished". The Wenatchee World. p. 1.
- ^ Chelan Falls Quadrangle, Washington (Topographic map). 1:24,000. United States Geological Survey. 1968 [revised 1981]. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Chapter 199: State Highway Route Designations Revised" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1987. Washington State Legislature. April 25, 1987. p. 687. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (May 25, 1987). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 5. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (June 7, 1988). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 4. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ Foster, J. Todd (May 20, 1995). "Two missing in rock slide". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ "Body of second victim pulled from rock slide". The Seattle Times. May 22, 1995. p. B1.
- ^ "Rural road a deathtrap for deer". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. October 8, 2000. p. B7. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ Partridge, Michelle (May 21, 2004). "Not acting sheepish: Agency out to solve mystery of road killed bighorn sheep". The Wenatchee World. p. A1.
- ^ Mehaffey, K. C. (September 21, 2011). "New fence garners praise, even before it's finished". The Wenatchee World.
- ^ "US 97A - Wildlife Fence - Complete September 2011". Washington State Department of Transportation. September 2011. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ O'Cain, Pete (November 2, 2017). "Group seeking $152 million to revamp Wenatchee Valley transportation". The Wenatchee World. Retrieved September 23, 2018.