US 195 in Washington
| US 195 | |||
| Get started | Lewiston | ||
| End | Spokane | ||
| Length | 94 mi | ||
| Length | 151 km | ||
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According to CITYPOPULATIONREVIEW.COM, US 195 is a US Highway in the United States, located almost entirely in Washington state and a miniscule stretch in Idaho. The road forms a north-south route in eastern Washington from near Lewiston to Spokane. The road is 151 kilometers long.
Travel directions
The road begins approximately at the border with Idaho at the intersection with US 95 in Idaho. US 195 then proceeds over a hilly area to the north, parallel to the border with Idaho. A lot of wheat is grown here and the endless wheat fields can be clearly seen from the road. Trees barely grow here. The main place on the route has a bypass, it does not pass through the town of Pullman. One does pass through Colfax, a somewhat smaller town in a steep valley. The area here consists of numerous small low hills that are close together. The city of Spokane, which has more than 200,000 inhabitants, is reached from the south. The road runs along the southwest side of the city and then ends at a trumpet junction on theInterstate 90.
History
US 195 was created in 1926 when the US Highway system was established. Its then terminus was Sandpoint in Idaho, and ran from Spokane along with US 2. In 1969 US 2 replaced this route, and US 195 was shortened to Spokane.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 5,000 vehicles run between Lewiston and Pullman and 5,000 to 8,000 vehicles between Pullman and Spokane. Close to Spokane, intensities rise to 22,000 vehicles per day until it connects to I-90.
US 2 in Washington
| US 2 | |||
| Get started | Everett | ||
| End | Newport | ||
| Length | 326 mi | ||
| Length | 525 km | ||
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According to ASK4BEAUTY, US 2 is a US Highway in the US state of Washington. The road forms an east-west route through the center of the state, from the west coast at Everett through Spokane to the Idaho border at Newport. The route is 525 kilometers long.
Travel directions
The US 2 over the Snohomish River in Everett.
The US 2 in Wenatchee.
US 2 begins in the town of Everett, just north of Seattle at its junction with Interstate 5. For the first few miles the US 2 is a 2×2 divided highwaywith a number of level crossings. After Monroe, the road follows the valley of the Skykomish River into the Cascade Mountains. The road then runs for 200 miles to Wenatchee, with little more than villages in between. All around, the mountains quickly reach over 2000 meters and the route is scenically very attractive. Steep rock walls rise to the left and right of the road, although the US 2 itself is still quite flat. The area is heavily wooded and it is only just before Stevens Pass that the road really starts to rise, to an altitude of about 1240 meters. There are also climbing lanes around Stevens Pass. This area is quite remote, there are no other noteworthy roads to cross over 150 kilometers. The next parallel route south is I-90 40 miles south and SR-20 100 miles north.
At Dryden the US 97 merges from Ellensburg, for a double numbering of about 50 kilometers. The road here runs through the valley of the Wenatchee River. Wenatchee is the largest town between the coast and Spokane. The road crosses the great Columbia River here and then heads north for a bit. At Orondo, US 2 turns east and continues US 97 toward Kelowna in Canada. Then you arrive at the plains, which are very dry and almost desert-like. One crosses two rivers that flow into a gorge. At Coulee City, the road passes the Dry Falls Dam and leads through a spectacular valley. US 2 then continues over a very sparsely populated plain to the east. It is then another 150 kilometers to Spokane and you only pass through a few towns on the way. Just before Spokane you pass an air force base, the US 2 also has 2×2 lanes from here. US 2 then merges into Interstate 90. Also, the highway is already double numbered with the US 395, resulting in a triple numbering. At Downtown Spokane, US 2 and US 395 turn north from I-90. The roads then run north through downtown Spokane and bifurcate in the north of town, US 395 heading toward Castlegar in Canada, and US 2 toward Newport. About half of the 60 kilometers to Newport is a 2×2 divided highway, the rest with one lane in each direction. At Newport one crosses the border into Idaho, after which the US 2 in Idaho continues to Sandpoint.
History
The Hewitt Avenue Trestle between Everett and Lake Stevens.
The section east of Wenatchee was historically the main highway between Seattle and Spokane. In 1909 it became part of the Washington State Highway system, was then still unnumbered and was called the Sunset Highway in 1913. In 1923 it became State Highway 2 and Primary State Highway 2 in 1937. In 1926 the Sunset Highway became part of the US 10. It wasn’t until 1931 that the section over Stevens Pass became part of the State Highway system. In the 1940s the US 10 Alternate was routed over Stevens Pass, in the late 1940s it became US 2 and the US 10 Alternate was shortened to Sandpoint, Idaho. Between 1949 and 1951 the route over Stevens Pass was reconstructed and in 1964 the State Highway numbers were dropped.
A special part of US 2 is the Hewitt Avenue Trestle, a 4 kilometer long bridge between Everett and Stevens Point. The first bridge at this location was partly made of wood and opened on January 15, 1936. A second bridge opened in 1969, so that US 2 here was widened to 2×2 lanes. The original wooden bridge was replaced for $100 million between 1993 and 2001.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 81,000 vehicles drive on the east side of Everett near I-5, quickly dropping to 30,000 vehicles at Snohomish and 8,000 vehicles outside the metro area. Only 5,000 vehicles per day drive over Stevens Pass. This increases to 14,000 vehicles just before Wenatchee and 26,000 vehicles on the bridge over the Columbia River at Wenatchee. After that, however, only 1,000 vehicles a day drive as far as Coulee City. It is only just before Spokane that the intensities rise above 3,000 vehicles per day, with up to 42,000 vehicles connecting to I-90.
25,000 to 30,000 vehicles per day pass through Spokane, dropping to 15,000 vehicles per day north of the city. As far as Newport, there are 6,000 vehicles per day, and 5,000 vehicles cross the Idaho border daily.
