Primary State Highways were major

state highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

used in the early 20th century. They were created as the first organized road numbering system in the state in stages between 1905 and 1937 and used until the 1964 state highway renumbering. These highways had named branch routes as well as secondary state highways with lettered suffixes. The system of primary and secondary state highways were replaced by sign routes (now state routes) to consolidate and create a more organized and systematic method of numbering the highways within the state.

History

The first state road, running across the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

roughly where State Route 20 now crosses it, was designated by the legislature in 1893 (However, this road wasn't actually opened until 1972). Two other roads—a Cascade crossing at present State Route 410 and a branch of the first road to

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. Located in the north-central part of the stat ...

—were added in 1897. The

Washington Highway Department The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington. Established in 1905, it is ...

was established in 1905, and a set of twelve ''State Roads'', numbered from 1 to 12, were assigned. A thirteenth was added in 1907, and State Roads 14 to 18 in 1909.State Roads As Established by Legislature, 1893 to 1935 -
/ref> However, it was not until 1913 that a connected system was laid out—earlier state roads had been disconnected segments of road needing improvements. The seven ''primary roads'' were only assigned names, while the older state roads kept their numbers as ''secondary roads''. In 1923, most state roads were assigned new numbers, though the primary and secondary split remained, and several roads remained named only. The

United States Numbered Highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

were assigned in late 1926, overlapping some of the State Roads. The first major reworking of the system was passed in 1937, including a complete renumbering. A number of ''Primary State Highways'' were designated, while ''Secondary State Highways'' were suffixed spurs off those. For instance, Primary State Highway 1 was the Pacific Highway (present

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

), and Secondary State Highway 1B was a spur from Bellingham to the

Canadian border The borders of Canada include: * To the south and west: An international boundary with the United States, forming the Canada–United States border, longest shared border in the world, ; (Informally referred as the 49th parallel north which make ...

(now State Route 539). U.S. Routes kept dual designations with State Highways. By 1952, the present highway shield, in the shape of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's head, had been adopted. The primary/secondary state highway systems were replaced by the current numbering system in the 1960s, at the behest of the state legislature following the

1962 World's Fair The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States. The signs for the new highway numbers, which would be organized based on their general direction and—for secondary routes—a leading digit, first were posted in late 1963 and took effect in January 1964. The new numbers also coincided with existing U.S. Routes and new

Interstate Highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

to reduce confusion and eliminate duplicate numbers. The PSH/SSH signs were removed by 1970.

Secondary State Highways

Secondary State Highways (SSH) were

branches A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includi ...

of Primary State Highways with lettered suffixes used from 1937 to 1964. * Branches of PSH 1 * Branches of PSH 2 * Branches of PSH 3 * Branches of PSH 4 * Branches of PSH 5 * Branches of PSH 6 * Branches of PSH 7 * Branches of PSH 8 * Branches of PSH 9 * Branches of PSH 10 * Branches of PSH 11 * Branches of PSH 12 * Branches of PSH 13 * Branches of PSH 14 * Branches of PSH 15 * Branches of PSH 16 * Branches of PSH 17 * Branches of PSH 21 * Branches of PSH 22

Primary State Highway 1

PSH 1 followed the route of

U.S. Route 99 U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the Mexican border to Blaine, Washington, on the Canadian border. It w ...

(replaced by

) from Vancouver to Blaine. It also served U.S. Route 99 Alternate (now SR 11) in Skagit and Whatcom counties.

Primary State Highway 2

PSH 2 originally followed the Sunset Highway, which was the first continuous east–west highway in Washington when it was designated in 1915. The Sunset Highway was numbered as State Road 2 in 1923 and later PSH 2 in 1937. Its route was adopted by

U.S. Route 10 U.S. Route 10 or U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway located in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. Despite the "0" as the last digit in the number, US 10 is no longer a cross- ...

in 1926 (replaced by

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

) from Seattle to near Ellensburg, then U.S. Route 97 to Peshastin, then

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

to Spokane, then US 10/I-90 from Spokane to the Idaho state line. A southern branch of PSH 2 followed the route of Washington State Route 18 from Snoqualmie to

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

. The highway originally traveled through Fall City and Snoqualmie until the completion of a more direct alignment through the

Issaquah Alps The Issaquah Alps is the unofficial name for the highlands near Issaquah, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, including Cougar Mountain, Squak Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Taylor Mountain, Rattlesnake Ridge, Rattlesnake Mountain, and Grand Ridge. Th ...

between Issaquah and North Bend. Prior to the construction of the first floating bridge across

Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...

in 1940, the route from Seattle to Issaquah followed what would later become SR 900.

Primary State Highway 3

This route followed

Interstate 82 Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States that travels through parts of Washington (state), Washington and Oregon. It runs from its northwestern terminus at I ...

from Ellensburg to the Oregon State line (concurrent with U.S. Route 97 from Ellensburg to Union Gap and U.S. Route 410/12 from Union Gap to the Tri-Cities), U.S. Route 410 (now

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90 ...

) from the Tri-Cities to Clarkston, U.S. Route 195 from Clarkston to Pullman, SR 27 from Pullman to Oaksedale, US 195 from Oakesdale to Spokane, U.S. Route 2 from Spokane to Mead and U.S. Route 395 from Mead to the U.S.-Canada border. Spurs extended along I-82/, SR 125 and SR 129 from Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and Clarkston to the Oregon State Line This route was also known as the "Inland Empire Highway" and crossed the first, and for a time, the only highway bridge over the middle Columbia River. That bridge was located between the towns of Kennewick, WA and Pasco, WA.

Primary State Highway 4

This route followed State Route 30 (now part of State Route 20) from

Tonasket Tonasket is a city in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,103 at the 2020 census. History Tonasket was officially incorporated on December 16, 1927. It is named after Chief Tonasket of the Okanogan people, a loc ...

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and State Route 21 from Republic to Wilbur.

Primary State Highway 5

PSH 5 began at PSH 2 in Seattle and traveled south along the Green River Valley and across the Cascade Range to a junction with PSH 3 in

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

. The section from Enumclaw to Yakima was co-signed with US 410. PSH 5 had several branch routes that connected to Renton,

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

, and Cayuse Pass. Two branches, the White Pass Highway and

Naches Pass Highway Primary State Highways were major state highways in the U.S. state of Washington used in the early 20th century. They were created as the first organized road numbering system in the state in stages between 1905 and 1937 and used until the 1964 ...

, were fully not built at the time. During the 1964 renumbering, the trunk route of PSH 5 was divided between SR 167 from Seattle to Enumclaw and US 410 (now SR 410) from Enumclaw to Yakima. SR 167 was later rerouted away at Auburn, leaving the former highway to Enumclaw signed as SR 164. Its branches became various highways, including SR 7 from Tacoma to Morton, the former SR 14 (now US 12) from Morton to Yakima, SR 165, SR 169, and SR 706. ;Branches *PSH 5 AT (Auburn–Tacoma): Traveled southeast from Tacoma to Puyallup and north to Auburn. Now part of SR 167. *PSH 5 CP (Cayuse Pass): Connected PSH 5 to the White Pass Highway via Cayuse Pass. It became SR 143 and was renumbered to SR 123. *PSH 5 EF (Enumclaw–Fairfax): Connected the northwest entrance of Mount Rainier National Park to Enumclaw. Most of the highway became SR 165. *PSH 5 EK (Elbe–Kosmos): Connected the now-defunct town of

Kosmos Cosmos generally refers to an orderly or harmonious system. Cosmos or Kosmos may also refer to: Space * ''Cosmos 1'', a privately funded solar sail spacecraft project * Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), a Hubble Space Telescope Treasury Project ...

to Morton and

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

. It was renumbered as part of SR 7. *PSH 5 ER (Enumclaw–Renton): Traveled north from Enumclaw to Renton, where it connected to a branch of PSH 1. It was renumbered to SR 169. *PSH 5 SB (Sumner–Buckley): An east–west route connecting Sumner to Buckley. It was renumbered to be part of US 410 and later SR 410. *PSH 5 TR (Tacoma–Rainier): Traveled south from Tacoma to

and east to the Nisqually Entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. The north–south section became SR 7, while the remainder to the national park is now SR 706. *PSH 5 WP (White Pass): A connector between PSH 1 and PSH 5 in Naches. Now part of US 12. *An additional branch, the

, was not given a separate designation. It became SR 168.

Primary State Highway 6

The route followed present-day

from

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

to Newport, and State Route 31 (a portion of which is now State Route 20) from Newport to the Canada-United States border

Primary State Highway 7

This route followed U.S. Route 10/Interstate 90 from

Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, State Route 281 from George to Quincy, and State Route 28 from Quincy to

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

Primary State Highway 8

Known as the Evergreen Highway, the route followed State Route 14 (designated as Washington State Route 12 from 1964–67) from

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...

, U.S. Route 97 from Maryhill to Toppenish and State Route 22 from Toppenish to Buena.

Primary State Highway 9

This route followed

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

from Olympia to Aberdeen.

Primary State Highway 10

This route ran on U.S. Route 97 from the U.S.-Canada border to Wenatchee, and State Route 28 from Wenatchee to Quincy. A spur extended along State Route 17 from

Brewster Brewster may refer to: People *Brewster (surname) *Brewster Kahle (born 1960), American computer technologist * Brewster H. Shaw (born 1945), American astronaut * Grace Brewster Hopper (born 1906), American computer scientist, mathematician, and ...

to Coulee City

Primary State Highway 11

This route followed U.S. Route 395 from Pasco to Ritzville and

from Ritzville to

Primary State Highway 12

This route followed

State Route 6 Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH6 (highway), Asian Highway 6 * European route E6 * European route E006 Albania * :de:Nationalstraße 6 (Albanien), National Road SH6 Argentina * P ...

from Chehalis to Raymond, and

from Raymond to Johnsons Landing, and State Route 4 from Johnsons Landing to Kelso.

Primary State Highway 13

This route followed U.S. Route 101 in Washington from Aberdeen to Raymond.

Primary State Highway 14

This route followed State Route 16 from Hoodsport to Tacoma

Primary State Highway 15

This route followed

from Everett to Peshastin

Primary State Highway 16

This route followed State Route 20 from Fredonia to

Pateros Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros (; ), is the lone municipality of the Philippines, municipality of Metropolitan Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,227 people. This munic ...

, and State Route 153 from Pateros to Twisp

Primary State Highway 17

Primary State Highway 18

The route followed the route of

(now

) from

to Ritzville

Primary State Highway 19

The provisional designation of a proposed outer bypass of the Seattle metropolitan area between Auburn and

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington in the Eastside region. It had a population of 48,161 residen ...

, also known unofficially as

Interstate 605 Interstate 605 (abbreviated I-605, officially known as the San Gabriel River Freeway and locally referred to as The 605) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Greater Los Angeles urban area of Southern California. I ...

Primary State Highway 21

View shows in foreground rock fill slope protection at about Sta

The route followed present-day State Route 104 from the Kingston Ferry to the

Hood Canal Bridge The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal in Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap ...

, then

State Route 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3 (disambiguation)#Roads, M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3 (disambiguation)#Roads, N3. For roads numbered 3A, see ...

from the Hood Canal Bridge to Belfair, then State Route 106 from Belfair to Skokomish

Primary State Highway 22

The route followed present-day

Washington State Route 25 State Route 25 (SR 25), named the Coulee Reservoir Highway, is a state highway serving communities in Lincoln and Stevens counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway begins at an intersection with (US 2) east of Dave ...

References

;General * ;Notes {{reflist Primary State Highways