Washington State Route 544

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State Route 544 marker

State Route 544

A map of northern Whatcom County with SR 544 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-5
Maintained by WSDOT
Length8.94 mi[1] (14.39 km)
Existed1964–present
Major junctions
West end SR 539 near Lynden
East end SR 9 in Nooksack
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountiesWhatcom
Highway system
←
SR 543
→ SR 546

State Route 544 is a state highway in northern Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It runs east–west for 9 miles (14 km) near the Canadian border, connecting SR 539 near Lynden to Everson and a junction with SR 9 in Nooksack.

The Lynden–Everson highway was built in the 1880s as a

Secondary State Highway 1A. During the 1964 state highway renumbering
, the branch became SR 544. The Nooksack River bridge between Everson and Nooksack was replaced in 1994 after a major flood damaged the old structure.

Route description

Main Street (SR 544) in Everson

SR 544 begins at a

city hall, and a branch of the Whatcom County Library System.[4] SR 544 continues across a small patch of farmland to neighboring Nooksack, where it becomes Columbia Street and runs for several blocks on the southern outskirts of the town.[5] SR 544 terminates at a junction with SR 9, which uses a block Columbia Street to cross over the BNSF Railway's Sumas Subdivision before continuing north towards Sumas and south towards Sedro-Woolley.[6][7]

SR 544 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on state highways to measure traffic volume in terms of annual average daily traffic. Average traffic volumes on the highway in 2016 ranged from a minimum of 6,700 vehicles at the SR 539 roundabout to a maximum of 9,800 vehicles on the Nooksack River Bridge.[8] The entire length of SR 544 is also served by Whatcom Transportation Authority bus route 71X, which connects Bellingham to Everson, Nooksack, and Sumas.[9]

History

The route from

wagon road.[14][15] The east–west road connecting Everson and Nooksack to the Guide Meridian was paved in the early 1930s by the county government.[16]

The Everson road was designated as a branch of

Secondary State Highway 1A (SSH 1A) by the state legislature in 1951.[17] SR 544 was created during the 1964 renumbering to replace the Everson branch, while the rest of SSH 1A became SR 9.[18] After suffering damage during a major flood in November 1990,[19] the original truss bridge over the Nooksack River was replaced with a longer span, which opened in 1994.[11][20] The entire highway was repaved by WSDOT in summer 2005, requiring the three-month closure of sections near Everson. The project cost $2.6 million to complete and was delayed by the discovery of gasoline-contaminated soil under Everson's Main Street.[21][22]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Whatcom County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
​0.000.00 SR 539 (Guide Meridian Road) – Bellingham, Border CrossingRoundabout
Nooksack8.9414.39 SR 9 – Sumas, Sedro-Woolley
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. 1651–1653. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  2. ^ Dills, Isabelle (April 5, 2010). "Longtime employees take ownership of Raspberry Ridge Golf Course & Grill". The Bellingham Herald.
  3. ^ Johannes, Katie N. (November 18, 2006). "Bay-Baker trail still alive; Backers remain optimistic for pathway linking mountains, shore". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1.
  4. ^ Gambrell, Jon (March 14, 2005). "Growing Everson wrestles with signs". The Bellingham Herald. p. A3.
  5. ^ Taylor, Sam (March 4, 2009). "Everson and Nooksack residents discuss merging". The Bellingham Herald.
  6. ^ Google (September 13, 2018). "State Route 544" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  7. Washington State Transportation Commission
    . May 2006. pp. 11–12. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  8. ^ 2016 Annual Traffic Report (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2017. p. 211. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  9. ^ "Route 71X" (PDF). Whatcom Transportation Authority. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Lower Nooksack River Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan: Nooksack River Flood History (Report). Whatcom County Transportation Services Department. June 1995. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  11. Newspapers.com
    .
  12. OCLC 13456066
    . Retrieved September 14, 2018 – via Google Books.
  13. Newspapers.com
    .
  14. OCLC 29654162
    . Retrieved September 14, 2018 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  15. ^ State of Washington Highway Map (Map). Washington State Department of Highways. April 1, 1933. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Washington State Archives.
  16. ^ "Chapter 273: Establishing Primary and Secondary Highways" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1951. Washington State Legislature. March 20, 1951. p. 637. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  17. Washington State Highway Commission. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on February 17, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  18. ^ "Floods ease, but impact is long-lasting". The Seattle Times. November 11, 1990. p. A1.
  19. ^ "City of Everson Draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update" (PDF). City of Everson. March 2016. p. 7-4. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  20. ^ Lei, Serena (August 10, 2005). "Highway 544 gets $2.6M in improvements". The Bellingham Herald. p. A3.
  21. ^ "Main Street closure extended in Everson". The Bellingham Herald. August 26, 2005. p. B1.

External links

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