Route Description
SR 16 originates at Interstate 5, runs through the city of Tacoma, and crosses the Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to Gig Harbor on the Kitsap Peninsula. From there, it continues northwest past Burley, Bethel, and Port Orchard, and ends at State Route 3 in Gorst, at the western end of Sinclair Inlet.
SR 16 is a freeway for its entire length with the exception of two local driveway access north of Gig Harbor, for which several options to improve safety are being considered, and several at-grade crossings at the northern endpoint in Gorst. A previous at-grade crossing at Burley-Olalla Road was converted to a diamond interchange in 2009.
Although the route of SR 16 geographically runs north–south, its even number indicates an east–west route, and is usually signed as such, with the western terminus in at State Route 3 in Gorst near Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula and the eastern terminus at Interstate 5 in Tacoma. The mileposts on SR 16 increase from east to west, instead of the usual practice of west to east. There is also a 3-mile (4.8 km) gap in the mileposts at the Tacoma Narrows bridge. This is due to the pre-freeway routing which began at Interstate 5 at Pacific Ave. SR 16 followed Pacific Ave north into downtown Tacoma, turned west onto 6th St, continued under the current SR 16 freeway, and then turned northwest onto Olympic Boulevard which led to the Narrows Bridge. The once 4-lane Olympic Boulevard has been converted to a city park.
Read more about this topic: Washington State Route 16
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