Washington State Route 9

Infobox WA State Route|route=9|sec=040
length_mi=97.61
length_ref=
length_round=2
formed=1964
dir1=South
dir2=North

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type=State|previous_route=8|previous_type=State|next_type=US|next_route=10

State Route 9 is a state highway in Washington, U.S.A. It extends from just north of Woodinville in the Puget Sound region to the United States-Canada border at Sumas, a distance of about 98 miles.

Route description

State Route 9 is a north-south highway, generally lying just east of Interstate 5, and extending from the Seattle metropolitan area in the south to the Canadian border near Sumas. The majority of the highway is a two-lane rural road. It begins in the south at State Route 522 near Woodinville. It then heads north through King and Snohomish Counties, intersecting U.S. Route 2 just north of the town of Snohomish. In the town of Arlington, State Route 9 has a short concurrency with State Route 530. After entering Skagit County and crossing the Skagit River, it winds through the town of Sedro Woolley, and has a concurrency with State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway.

In Whatcom County, SR 9 passes east of Lake Whatcom, bypassing the city of Bellingham. Before entering the town of Deming, it intersects State Route 542, Mt. Baker Highway, running concurrent with it westerly to Nugents Corner. It then turns north again, passing through the towns of Nooksack and Sumas, intersecting with State Route 547 less than a mile from the Canadian border.

For most of its distance, SR 9 largely parallels Interstate 5 to the west, crossing the Snohomish, Skagit, Stillaguamish and Nooksack rivers, and coming within about 17 miles of Mount Baker. The Sumas border crossing provides easy access to Abbotsford, British Columbia, and is usually a less busy alternative to the nearby I-5/Hwy 99 crossing at Blaine.

History

What is now State Route 9 was established as a state highway in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 1-A, a branch of Primary State Highway 1. (What is now State Route 544 was also part of SSH 1-A.) In the 1964 renumbering, the road received its current designation.

Future developments

In order to accommodate the massive suburban sprawl going on in Snohomish County, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is making headway on a multi-million dollar project to widen the highway from north of Woodinville all the way to Arlington. Ever since the 1990s when cities like Lake Stevens, Snohomish and Marysville experienced major population growth, the original two-lane road has suffered high traffic volume from commuters traveling to jobs in the Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond areas. The road is also notoriously dangerous, as the speed limit fluctuates between 40 and 55 mph with no center divider. Construction from SR 522 in Woodinville to SR 524 near Bothell to widen the road to four lanes with a center turn lane started in 2005, and is expected to finish in Spring 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR9/sr522_212thst/|title=SR 9 - SR 522 to 212th St. SE - SR 524 - Stage 1B and 2|accessdate=2008-03-13|publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation|month=March | year=2008] Construction between 176th Street and Marsh Road in Snohomish is expected to start in Spring 2008 and complete in 2010. [cite web|url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR9/176thtoMarsh/|title=SR 9 - 176th to Marsh Road|accessdate=2008-03-13|publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation|month=March | year=2008]

Major intersections

References

External links

* [http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/sr009.html Highways of Washington State]
* [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/border/sumas.htm Traffic camera - SR 9 border crossing at Sumas]