| US 97 | |||
| Get started | Maryhill | ||
| End | Oroville | ||
| Length | 322 mi | ||
| Length | 518 km | ||
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According to citypopulationreview.com, US 97 is a US Highway in the US state of Washington. The road forms a north-south link through the center of the state, from the Oregon border at the Columbia River through Yakima and Wenatchee to the border with the Canadian province of British Columbia at Oroville. The route is 518 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 97 in Wenatchee.
At Maryhill, US 97 in Oregon crosses the Columbia River from Bend and enters Washington State. One then quickly ascends about 500 meters to get out of the deep valley and the road then runs over a deserted plateau to Yakima, 130 kilometers to the north. To the west, the highest peaks of the Cascades can be seen and the road crosses the low Satus Pass. One then enters the valley of the Yakima River, where limited agriculture takes place. At Toppenish, the road turns northwest and continues in 2×2 lanes to Yakima, a regional city of 84,000, one of the state’s larger towns outside the metropolitan area of Seattle. The road merges into Interstate 82. on the south side of townand is then double -numbered with I-82 to the start at Ellensburg, 60 kilometers north. The US 12 is also crossed in Yakima. US 97 and I-82 pass through a desolate area with no towns or cities, or even exits. At the town of Ellensburg, US 97 becomes Interstate 90 toward Seattle, which takes a few miles before US 97 turns north and follows an individual route to Wenatchee.
Because of the mountain ranges present, US 97 does not follow a direct route, but winds through the mountains and over the Blewett Pass to US 2, where it turns east and continues in 2×2 lanes to Wenatchee. Wenatchee is a regional town on the Columbia River. US 2 and US 97 run on the east bank, the US 97 Alternate runs on the west bank to Chelan. A little way north of Wenatchee, US 2. strikeseast to Spokane and US 97 continues north on its own. After more than 40 kilometers, at Chelan, the US 97 Alternate ends again at US 97 and US 97 then follows the course of the Columbia River to Brewster. The valley is quite narrow here, and after Brewster, US 97 turns north to walk along the Okanogan River toward the Canadian border, which is still 120 kilometers north. This area consists of barren mountains and is quite dry. The peaks around are not really high with 1300 meters, the higher mountains are further west or east. Beyond Oroville then follows the border with Canada, the province of British Columbia. Highway 97 in British Columbia then continues to Kelowna in the north.
US 97 Alternate
Between Wenatchee and Chelan is the 63 kilometer long alternate route of the US 97. The US 97 splits into two routes here, the main route runs on the east bank of the Columbia River, the US 97 Alternate runs on the west bank. The Columbia River flows through a canyon here, with a barren mountain landscape all around. Closer to Chelan, US 97 Alternate rises out of the canyon and continues for a bit via Lake Chelan through the town of Chelan, before US 97 Alternate terminates at US 97 again.
History
Before US 97 existed, the current route ran over four state highways of the former Washington State Highway System created in 1923. In 1926 the US Highway system was introduced and US 97 took over these four routes.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 5,000 vehicles cross the Columbia River on the Oregon border, after which some 4,000 vehicles drive across the plateau to Yakima. At Ellensburg there are 3,000 vehicles, rising to some 6,000 on the Wenatchee intersection. The bridge over the Columbia River in Wenatchee runs 26,000 vehicles per day, then the intensities quickly drop to about 5,000 vehicles per day until Chelan. About 6,000 vehicles use the US 97 Alternate every day. Further north, 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles drive from Brewster to the Canadian border.
Battery Street Tunnel
| Battery Street Tunnel | |
| crosses | Seattle |
| Length | 650 meters |
| Opening | 24-07-1954 |
| Intensity | 43,000 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
The Battery Street Tunnel is a disused tunnel in the United States, located in Seattle. The tunnel is 650 meters long and was previously part of State Route 99.
Characteristics
The Battery Street Tunnel is an extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and is a two-tube tunnel of 650 meters in length. The tunnel, as the name implies, is located under Battery Street in the north of Downtown Seattle and is located on an S-turn. The south portal is at 1st Avenue, the north portal at Denny Way. The tunnel has 2×2 lanes. The tunnel has two lanes of 7.6 meters in width. The passage height is 4.4 meters.
History
During planning, the tunnel was referred to as a “subway” or “depressed roadway” in the 1940s. Original plans from 1947 foresaw a deepened construction instead of a tunnel. In 1949, however, a tunnel was chosen.
The Battery Street Tunnel was constructed at the same time as the connecting Alaskan Way Viaduct and opened to traffic on July 24, 1954, although the tunnel was not fully completed until September 20, 1954. The construction cost $2.8 million and was split 50/50 between the city of Seattle and Washington state.
The tunnel has been replaced by the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel. After the opening of the new drilling tunnel in 2019, the Battery Street Tunnel was closed and decommissioned. All installations were first removed and the tunnel was then filled with rubble from the demolished Alaskan Way Viaduct and partly with concrete. The old tunnel mouths have been filled with soil. On the north side a city road has been built over this, on the south side only a slope with grass is visible.
Traffic intensities
In 2012, 43,000 vehicles drove through the tunnel every day.
