page_title: Interstate 5
section_title: Washington
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 5 / Route description / Washington
caption_attribution_description: English: The skyline of Seattle, Washington at dusk. Interstate 5 is the freeway that cuts through downtown and Puget Sound is visible to the left. Français&#160;: Le quartier d'affaire de Seattle (État de Washington, USA) au coucher du soleil. Le quartier est traversé par l'Interstate 5, qui est ici une autoroute. Sur la gauche de l'image, on aperçoit Puget Sound. Русский: Вид г. Сиэтла (штат Вашингтон, США) в сумерках. Шоссе "Интерстэйт 5" проходит через центр города, слева виден залив Пьюджет-Саунд. For more translations SEE BELOW
context_page_description: Interstate 5 is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, serving several large cities on the U.S. West Coast, including San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle. It is the only continuous Interstate highway to touch both the Mexican and the Canadian borders. Upon crossing the Mexican border at its southern terminus, I-5 continues to Tijuana, Baja California, as Mexico Federal Highway 1. Upon crossing the Canadian border at its northern terminus, it continues to Vancouver as British Columbia Highway 99.
  I-5 was originally created in 1956 as part of the Interstate Highway System, but it was predated by several auto trails and highways built in the early 20th century. The Pacific Highway auto trail was built in the 1910s and 1920s by the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, and was later incorporated into U.S. Route 99 in 1926. I-5 largely follows the route of US 99, with the exception of a portion in the Central Valley of California.
context_section_description: The highway continues over the Columbia River and drops down into the city of Vancouver. About seven miles (11 km) into the state, it reaches the northern terminus of I-205, which is on the eastern edge of the Portland–Vancouver metropolitan area. It then tracks north by northwest through Woodland to Kelso and Longview, at which point it ceases to parallel a large bend of the Columbia River. Continuing north between the Willapa Hills and the Cascade foothills, the freeway eventually reaches Olympia, where it bends sharply east. The highway passes through the northern end of Joint Base Lewis-McChord (formerly Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base) and Tacoma, where it bends sharply north again to reach Seattle. The Ship Canal Bridge carries it over Portage Bay in Seattle. The freeway continues north out of the Seattle–Tacoma–Everett metro area, crosses the floodplains of three rivers, through the Skagit Valley and the Mount Vernon–Burlington Metropolitan Area to the northern city of Bellingham, to arrive at the Peace Arch Canada–US border crossing between Blaine, Washington, and Surrey, British Columbia. Highway 99 continues northwest from the border into Vancouver, BC. I-5 covers 277 miles (446 km) in Washington.
caption: I-5 passing through downtown Seattle
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