page_title: U.S. Route 97 in Washington
section_title: Late 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: U.S. Route 97 in Washington / History / Late 20th century
caption_attribution_description: The Sam Hill Memorial Bridge seen from the northwest. Biggs Junction, Oregon is on the opposite side of the river. Taken by User:Cacophony on October 23, 2004.
context_page_description: U.S. Route 97 in the U.S. state of Washington is a 322-mile route which traverses from the Oregon state line at the northern end of the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge in Maryhill, north to the Canada–US border in Okanogan County near Oroville. The highway serves major cities such as Goldendale, Yakima, Ellensburg and Wenatchee before continuing towards the Alaska Highway at the Yukon border as British Columbia Highway 97. Along the length of the roadway, US 97 is concurrent with State Route 14 in Maryhill, Interstate 82 and US 12 between Union Gap and Ellensburg, I-90 briefly in Ellensburg, US 2 between Peshastin and rural Douglas County and SR 20 near Omak. An alternate route connects the highway with Chelan.
  The first segment of what is now US 97 in Washington to be included in the state highway system was a road extending from Wenatchee to Twisp, designated in 1897. Since, four early highways formed the modern route of the roadway: State Road 8, State Road 3, State Road 2 and State Road 10, all signed in 1923. The United States Numbered Highways were established in 1926 and US 97 was co-signed with all four state roads, including two concurrencies with US 410 and US 10.
context_section_description: On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law, establishing a system of freeways that would later become the Interstate Highway System. Included in the system were Interstate 82 (I-82) and I-90, which were to be concurrent with US 97. The Biggs Rapids Bridge (later renamed to the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge) was opened on November 1, 1962, replacing the ferry that had been operating on the route since the early 1920s. A new system of highways was introduced in 1964 and ultimately caused US 97 to replace the Primary state highways.
  US 410 was replaced by a western extension of US 12 in 1967, when the highway's western terminus was moved to Aberdeen. In 1973, a segment of US 97 between Selah and Ellensburg was realigned east away from the Yakima River and onto I-82, while the former route became SR 821. Between US 97 / US 10, which would later be decommissioned by 1970, near Thorp and US 97 in Virden, there was a SR 131. In 1975, to reduce the SR 10 concurrency, US 97 replaced SR 131 and the old route became SR 10 and SR 970. SR 131 would later be routed on another route in the Randle area in 1991. Within Selah, US 97 was also moved onto I-82 away from the city, so the old route became SR 823 in 1984. Prior to 1987, US 97 ran on the west side of the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Chelan, while SR 151 ran on the east side. US 97 was moved onto SR 151 in 1987 and the old US 97 became US 97 Alternate.
caption: A panoramic view of the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge, which carries US 97 over the Columbia River into Oregon. The bridge opened on November 1, 1962 as the Biggs Rapids Bridge and the deck was replaced between October 2007 and March 2009.
exif: {}