U.S. Route 97 in Washington - Route Description

Route Description

US 97 is a major highway in Washington that spans 321.61-mile (517.581 km) and consists of mostly two lanes; it is undivided except for the sections that are in urban areas, such as Wenatchee and concurrent with Interstate 82 (I-82) and I-90. The entire route from the Oregon state line to the Canadian border is part of the National Highway System, a system of roadways considered important to the nation's economy, defense and mobility. At the southern terminus of the I-82 – US 12 concurrency in Union Gap, US 97 had an estimated daily average of 20,000 motorists in 2007, making it both the busiest segment of the highway in Washington and the fifth busiest segment of U.S. routes in Washington. The busiest segment of US 97 in 1970 was at Main Street in Selah, with a daily average of 17,100 motorists.

US 97 begins at the Oregon state line over the Columbia River on the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge. After exiting the bridge, the highway enters Maryhill, passes the Maryhill State Park and crosses railroad tracks on the Vancouver–Pasco route operated by BNSF Railway. From the crossing, the roadway becomes briefly concurrent with State Route 14 (SR 14) west for 0.42 miles (0.68 km) before turning north to intersect SR 14 Spur (via a couplet) and leaving the Maryhill area.

From Maryhill, the road curves northeast and later north to pass Centerville and bypass Goldendale to intersect SR 142. US 97 then turns northeast through Brooks Memorial State Park and entering the Yakama Indian Reservation passes over Satus Pass then coming out of the Cascades into the Yakima Valley passes the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge and Toppenish, where it intersects SR 22 and Fort Road, which was SR 220 until 1991. After leaving Toppenish in a northwestern direction, the highway parallels the Tacoma–Pasco route of the BNSF Railway and the Interstate 82 (I-82) – US 12 concurrency briefly past Wapato and some minor roads to also parallel the Yakima River and enter Union Gap, where the roadway joins the I-82 and US 12 concurrency.

From the interchange in which US 97 joins the I-82 / US 12, numbered exit 37, the freeway interchanges with many minor streets in Union Gap and some major highways, including a state route, in Yakima, including Valley Mall Boulevard at exit 36, SR 24 and Nob Hill Boulevard at exit 34, Terrace Heights Way and Yakima Avenue at exit 33; at exit 31, US 12 ends its 31.35-mile (50.45 km) long concurrency at the southern terminus of SR 823. After leaving Yakima, the highway enters Selah and interchanges with SR 823 and Rest Haven Road and then later leaves the city after interchanging Selah Road to cross Selah Creek on the Fred G. Redmon Bridge. Approaching Ellensburg, the roadway interchanges with SR 821 at exit 26, Military Road at exit 11 and the northern end of SR 821 at exit 3 before entering Ellensburg. I-82 later ends its 37.81-mile (60.85 km) concurrency and route at I-90, were a brief concurrency begins.

The I-90 concurrency begins at exit 110, which is a trumpet interchange. Then, I-90 / US 97 interchanges Canyon Road at exit 109 and then US 97 leaves the 19.73-mile (31.75 km) concurrency at exit 106. From I-90, the highway turns northwest, passing SR 10 southeast of Thorp, a railroad track owned by BNSF Railway, and SR 970 in Virden to Blewett Pass, where US 97 crosses the Cascades. At Peshastin, the roadway starts its 27.98-mile (45.03 km) concurrency with US 2 at a diamond interchange.

From Peshastin, US 2 / US 97 parallels another BNSF route and passes Dryden and Cashmere before entering Wenatchee and intersecting Washington State Route 285 and later US 97 Alternate. After the intersection with US 97 Alternate, which is actually a partial cloverleaf interchange, the roadway crosses the Columbia River on the Richard Odabashian Bridge into East Wenatchee, where it intersects SR 28, turns north and starts to parallel the Wenatchee—Oroville route of the Cascade and Columbia River Railroad. After paralleling the Columbia River, US 2 leaves the concurrency at Orondo. The road continues north and later east along the Columbia River from Orondo to Chelan Falls, where US 97 once again crosses the Columbia River, on the Beebe Bridge and then intersects SR 150. After leaving Chelan Falls, the highway follows the Columbia River and passes the northern terminus of US 97 Alternate, which goes west to Chelan, and continues north to intersect SR 153 south of Pateros. After leaving the city, the roadway travels northeast to Brewster, where it intersects SR 173.

After leaving Brewster, US 97 crosses the Okanogan River and passes Anderson Field to intersect SR 17 north of Fort Okanogan State Park. From SR 17, the highway parallels the Okanogan River north past Monse and Malott to Okanogan, where the roadway enters the Colville Indian Reservation and starts a 28.65-mile (46.11 km) long concurrency with SR 20. From the beginning of the concurrency, the road crosses a railroad and intersects SR 155. US 97 / SR 20 then crosses over SR 155 on a bridge and crosses the Okanogan River.

After the crossing, the roadway leaves Omak, along with the Colville Indian Reservation and intersects SR 215. From SR 215, the highway continues north past North Omak and Riverside to cross the Okanogan River again and enter Tonasket, where SR 20 leaves the concurrency. After leaving Tonasket, the road continues north along the Okanogan River to Oroville, the last major community on US 97 before the border. The Okanogan River becomes Osoyoos Lake at this point and the highway parallels the lake to the Canadian border, where the roadway becomes British Columbia Highway 97 (BC 97) and continues north towards Alaska.