Washington State Route 397

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Tri-Cities with SR 397 highlighted in red.
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 395
Maintained by WSDOT
Length22.31 mi[1] (35.90 km)
Existed1991–present
Major junctions
South end I-82 / US 395 near Finley
North end I-182 / US 12 / US 395 in Pasco
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountiesBenton, Franklin
Highway system
US 395 SR 401

State Route 397 (SR 397) is a

truck route through industrial areas in Finley, Kennewick, and Pasco, running 22 miles (35 km) between junctions with Interstate 82 (I-82) and I-182. The highway crosses the Columbia River on the Cable Bridge
, built in 1978 to replace an earlier bridge.

SR 397 was added to the state highway system in 1991, as a short route connecting Finley to Pasco. Two years later, the highway was extended further south into Finley. The remaining highway between I-82 and Finley in the Horse Heaven Hills was constructed by the state government and Benton County from 2004 to 2008 and was signed as part of SR 397 in 2009.

Route description

Looking eastbound on Ainsworth Street, which carries a section of SR 397 in Pasco

SR 397 begins at an interchange with

irrigation canal and a section of the Fallbridge Subdivision railroad operated by the BNSF Railway, which also carries Amtrak's Empire Builder service.[2][3] After passing several chemical plants and industrial facilities on the west bank of the Columbia River, the highway turns northwest onto Chemical Road and follows the railroad into Kennewick.[4]

The highway skirts the east side of downtown Kennewick, running along Gum Street through an

railyard and the city's Amtrak station.[6] SR 397 makes a gradual turn to the northeast before terminating at a cloverleaf interchange with I-182, US 12, and US 395 near the Tri-Cities Airport.[4]

SR 397 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on the state's highways to measure traffic volume in terms of annual average daily traffic. The highway's daily vehicle counts range from a minimum of 760 vehicles in Nine Canyon to a maximum of 18,000 on the north side of the Cable Bridge.[7]

History

The Cable Bridge carries SR 397 across the Columbia River

The

Inland Empire Highway (later part of US 410) until the opening of the Blue Bridge in 1954.[10][11][12]

Chemical Road was built in the early 1960s to serve a number of new industrial facilities in Finley, following the general path of the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway towards Kennewick.[13][14] The county government had previously considered paving nearby roads as early as the 1910s.[15] The first section of Chemical Road was completed in 1961 by Benton County, at a cost of $237,000.[16] Construction of a railroad underpass on Gum Street east of downtown Kennewick began the following year and was completed in September 1963, at a cost of $340,000.[17][18] Additional railroad crossings were completed by 1965 and the road was renamed to Chemical Drive to conform with Kennewick's city guidelines.[19]

The state legislature designated a state highway on Chemical Road and the Cable Bridge in 1991, numbering it SR 397. The road and bridge were transferred to state control in April 1992,[20] originally terminating at Game Farm Road in central Finley.[21][22] In 1993, SR 397 was extended south by one mile (1.6 km) to Piert Road following a request from WSDOT and Benton County that was endorsed by the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board and approved by the state legislature.[23][24]

An east–west road connecting Finley to I-82 in southern Benton County was first proposed by the county government in 1961 to allow truck traffic to bypass the Tri-Cities.

county route until it was transferred to the state by a legislative action in 2009 extended SR 397 to the Locust Road interchange.[21][31][32]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Benton0.000.00
I-82 / US 395 south – Pendleton, Yakima
Continues west as Locust Grove Road
Kennewick17.9028.81

To US 395 / SR 240 via Columbia Drive
Columbia River18.08–
18.56
29.10–
29.87
Cable Bridge
FranklinPasco22.3135.90

I-182 west / US 12 / US 395 north – Richland, Walla Walla, Lewiston, Spokane
Continues north as US 395
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ 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. 1339–1346. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  2. ^ a b BNSF Subdivisions (PDF) (Map). BNSF Railway. September 1, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b 2015 Washington State Rail System by Owner (PDF) (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. January 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Google (August 8, 2018). "State Route 397" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  5. ^ Dietrich, William (January 27, 2008). "Awesome Engineering". The Seattle Times. p. 10. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  6. ^ Lord, Kristina (June 2017). "Big Pasco Industrial Center offers blank slate of possibilities". Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  7. ^ 2016 Annual Traffic Report (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2017. p. 182. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  8. Gross Domestic Product deflator
    figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  9. ^ Trumbo, John (September 14, 2008). "Cable bridge celebrates 30 years of suspense". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  10. ^ Gibson, Elizabeth (October 31, 2005). "Pasco-Kennewick (Benton-Franklin Inter-County) Bridge spanning the Columbia River is dedicated on October 21, 1922". HistoryLink. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  11. ^ Pasco Quadrangle, Washington 15 Minute Series (Map). 1:62,500. United States Geological Survey. 1964. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  12. Historic American Engineering Record. National Park Service. p. 3. Retrieved August 8, 2018 – via Library of Congress
    .
  13. ^ "Industrial Access Highway Area Started; County Road to Connect With Kennewick Underpasses". Tri-City Herald. May 15, 1960. p. 45.
  14. ^ H. M. Gousha Company (1956). Highway Map of Washington (Map). 1 in ≈ 18 mi. Shell Oil Company. Retrieved August 9, 2018 – via David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
  15. ^ Fifth Biennial Report of the State Highway Department of Washington. Washington State Department of Highways. 1914. p. 98. Retrieved August 16, 2018 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ "Gum Street Job Starts; County To Build Connections". Tri-City Herald. June 26, 1962. p. 1.
  17. ^ Lamb, Charles (September 12, 1963). "$340,000 Gum Street Underpass Dates Back To 1945". Tri-City Herald. p. 23.
  18. ^ "Finley-Kennewick Bridge Will Help Speed Traffic". Tri-City Herald. December 6, 1962. p. 19.
  19. ^ "Chemical Road Renamed Drive; 'Finley Freeway' Loses Out". Tri-City Herald. September 22, 1965. p. 12.
  20. ^ Woehler, Robert (June 9, 1992). "Blue bridge closure causes detour maze". Tri-City Herald. p. A1.
  21. ^ a b "RCW 47.17.55: State Route No. 397". Washington State Legislature. 1991. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  22. ^ Pasco Quadrangle, Washington 7.5 Minute Series (Map). 1:24,000. United States Geological Survey. 1992. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  23. ^ "Senate Bill Report: SHB 2023" (PDF). Washington State Legislature. March 24, 1993. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  24. ^ "Final Finding for SR 397 Extension Transfer Request". Washington State Transportation Improvement Board. October 23, 1992. pp. 3–4. Retrieved October 4, 2021 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  25. ^ "Canyon Crossing Slated". Tri-City Herald. December 22, 1961. p. 3.
  26. ^ a b White, Franny (October 9, 2008). "Finley intertie project wraps up final phase". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  27. ^ a b "I-82 to SR 397 Intertie: Project Folio" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. August 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  28. ^ a b c "SR 397 - I-82 To SR 397 Intertie". Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on April 24, 2005. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  29. HighBeam
    .
  30. ^ "The Finley Intertie is Now Complete and Will Help Ease Traffic". KHQ. October 9, 2008. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  31. ^ "Final Bill Report: HB 1000" (PDF). Washington State Legislature. April 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  32. ^ "Preliminary Finding: Benton County CR 397 Route Jurisdiction Transfer Request". Washington State Transportation Improvement Board. June 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2018.

External links

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