Washington State Route 9 - Route Description

Route Description

State Route 9 (SR 9) originates as the Snohomish–Woodinville Road at a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 522 north of Woodinville. Temporarily paralleling a BNSF rail line, the highway intersects SR 524 in Maltby. After SR 524, the roadway passes several residential communities in Clearview and Cathcart. Shortly after leaving Cathcart, SR 96 terminates at the road. SR 9 passes Harvey Airfield and crosses another BNSF rail line and the Snohomish River to enter Snohomish. North of the Snohomish River Bridge, the highway encounters a diamond interchange with 2nd Street and Riverview Road and turns northeast to intersect Bickford Avenue, which once was U.S. Route 2 (US 2). Curving north out of Snohomish, the route interchanges with US 2 in a modified diamond interchange, with a westbound US 2 offramp routed onto New Bunk Foss Road.

In suburban West Lake Stevens near the Lake Stevens shoreline, SR 204 ends at the highway. After the intersection, the roadway had an estimated daily average of 25,000 motorists in 2007, making this stretch of road the busiest on the whole highway. SR 9 also forms the western boundary of Lake Stevens and the eastern boundary of Marysville while passing a weigh station and the SR 92 junction. After Lake Cassidy, the road intersects SR 528 and continues into North Marysville, where the roadway passes over the Snohomish County Centennial Trail. After passing SR 531, several residential subdivisions, Pioneer Elementary and Arlington High School, the highway enters downtown Arlington as Hazel Street. After a brief concurrency with SR 530, SR 9 crosses the Stillaguamish River and passes Bryant to enter a heavily forested area and leave Snohomish County.

Entering Skagit County, the highway continues northwest through a large forest to Lake McMurray, where it intersects SR 534 and encounters the Lake McMurray Store, established in 1889. Passing Big Lake and its community of the same name, the roadway serves Big Lake Elementary before intersecting SR 538 at a roundabout. Turning northeast to Clear Lake and Clear Lake Elementary, the route crosses the Skagit River into Sedro-Woolley. In Sedro-Woolley, the street becomes concurrent with SR 20 and is named Moore Street. At the end of the concurrency, the road turns north as Township Street, paralleling another BNSF rail line, at Cascade Middle School. Continuing north out of the city and into rural areas, SR 9 passes Samish Elementary, crosses the Samish River and exits rural Skagit County.

The highway enters Whatcom County in a valley located east of Lake Whatcom. Passing Acme and crossing the Nooksack River, the roadway becomes concurrent with SR 542 in Deming. Traveling west with SR 542 along the Nooksack River, the road splits in Cedarville and continues north through a series of 90-degree turns in a plain located near the Sumas River. In Nooksack, the route becomes Nooksack Avenue and encounters SR 544, named Main Street, which travels west to Everson. North of Nooksack, SR 9 intersects SR 546 in a rural area and travels northeast along the Sumas River to Sumas. In Sumas, SR 547 ends at SR 9 and a spur route that serves trucks branches off and SR 9 terminates at the Canadian border. The road continues north from the Canadian border, through Abbotsford, BC to Highway 1 (BC 1), as BC 11.