Washington State Route 21 - Route Description

Route Description

SR 21 originates at an intersection with SR 260, about 0.28 miles (0.45 km) east of the northern terminus of SR 263; both intersections are in the city of Kahlotus, which is located in a narrow valley near several coulees in Franklin County. After leaving Kahlotus as the Lind–Kahlotus Road, the highway turns northeast and later west as it passes over the Sand Hills Coulee four times. Curving due north, the roadway leaves Franklin County to enter Adams County. Passing farmland in the flat landscape, SR 21 intersects SR 26 and continues through an unnamed coulee to intersect Smart Road. Smart Road was the former alignment of SR 21 prior to the U.S. Route 395 (US 395) interchange being built. SR 21 intersects US 395 in a diamond interchange east of Downtown Lind. From the interchange, the highway travels west and intersects Smart Road again before crossing over the Centennial Trail and entering Downtown Lind. In Downtown, the roadway is named Second, I and First Streets and serves as the main connector to other areas. After turning north to leave Lind, the road encounters the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and more plains before intersecting the pre-interstate alignment of Interstate 90 (I-90) and interchanging with I-90 at exit 206, another diamond interchange. North of the interchange, SR 21 travels through more plains and a coulee to leave Adams County and enter Lincoln County.

In Lincoln County, the highway travels through farmland to encounter Odessa as Division Street, intersecting SR 28. The roadway turns northwest at Pacific Lake and reverts northwards into farmland. After temporarily turning east into more farmland, the road enters Wilbur, named Bruce Avenue. In Wilbur, SR 21 turns west, concurrent with US 2, for 0.65 miles (1.05 km) before branching off north to intersect SR 174 and leave Wilbur towards dense forests. North of Wilbur, the roadway approaches Speigle Canyon and makes several turns before exiting the canyon and nearing Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake; at 80,000 acres (323.75 km2), the lake is the largest in Washington. Paralleling the lake, the road then uses the Keller Ferry, a 80-foot (24.38 m) long boat used as a fare-free ferry across Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, part of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and its previous counterparts since 1930.

The ferry travels across the Lincoln County line to enter Ferry County, named after Elisha P. Ferry, the first Washington governor, southwest of Keller in the Colville Indian Reservation. Traveling northeast, between the Sanpoil River and the southern end of the Okanagan Highlands, SR 21 passes Keller and continues inland into the Columbia Mountains on the banks of the river. The river forms a canyon that the highway passes through and eventually both the river and road leave the Colville Indian Reservation. Shortly after leaving the reservation, the roadway enters Republic and becomes concurrent with SR 20 for 2.56 miles (4.12 km) before exiting the concurrency and Republic. Between Republic and the Canadian border, an estimated daily average of 1,600 motorists used this segment of SR 21, making this section the busiest. The daily average has declined since 2006 and 2007, when a daily average of 1,700 motorists utilized the segment. Northeast of Republic, the highway passes Curlew Lake, the 123-acre (0.50 km2) Curlew Lake State Park and the communities of Malo and Curlew. After passing through more dense forests, the roadway enters Danville, where SR 21 crosses the Canadian border into British Columbia as Highway 41 (BC 41). BC 41 continues 1.2 kilometres (0.7 mi) north to end at BC 3 southwest of Grand Forks, BC.