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Washington State Route 24
State Route 24 (SR 24) is a state highway in the south-central region of Washington, in the United States. It travels 79 miles (127 km) from Yakima to Othello, across a portion of the Columbia Plateau. The highway crosses the Columbia River on the Vernita Bridge, located near the Hanford Site. SR 24 terminates to the west at an interchange with Interstate 82 (I-82) in Yakima and to the east at SR 26 in Othello.
The highway was added to the state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 11A (SSH 11A), composed of several county-built gravel roads from Yakima to Connell, with a ferry crossing at Hanford. The Hanford section of SSH 11A was closed in 1943 due to wartime activities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, forcing the state government to relocate the highway to the north side of the Columbia River. The new highway opened in 1961 and was supplanted by the new Vernita toll bridge in 1965. During the 1964 state highway renumbering, SR 24 replaced most of SSH 11A and was rerouted to a terminus in Othello.
SR 24 begins in eastern Yakima as an extension of Nob Hill Boulevard at a diamond interchange with I-82 and the concurrent US 12 and US 97. The interchange is located southeast of the Central Washington State Fairgrounds and the SunDome arena. SR 24 travels southeasterly from the interchange as a four-lane divided highway and crosses the Yakima River into unincorporated Yakima County near Yakima Sportsman State Park. The highway narrows to two lanes and continues southeast along the Central Washington Railroad, a branch of the BNSF Railway, changing course to bypass the city of Moxee on its south side. SR 24 continues beyond the railroad's terminus and runs deeper into the Moxee Valley, an irrigated area situated between the Yakima Ridge and Yakima Training Center to the north and the Rattlesnake Hills to the south.
At the east end of the valley, SR 24 turns northeast and crosses through a narrow pass in the hills before reaching the Black Rock Valley, which it continues across. Midway through the valley at the Silver Dollar Cafe, the highway intersects SR 241, an auxiliary route that travels south towards Sunnyside. SR 24 continues northeast from the junction and enters Benton County, where it climbs a section of the Yakima Ridge and exits the valley. The highway crosses part of the Fitzner–Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, a restricted wildlife preserve that forms part of the Hanford Reach National Monument. SR 24 meets SR 240, a major highway connecting to the Tri-Cities, at the northeast corner of the reserve. SR 24 turns north at the junction and travels along the northwest edge of the Hanford Site, flanked by fences on both sides of the road. The highway descends from the plateau by turning west and returning to its northerly course, eventually reaching a rest area on the south shore of the Columbia River.
SR 24 crosses the Columbia River on the Vernita Bridge, a 1,982-foot-long (604 m) steel truss bridge downriver from the Priest Rapids Dam. On the north side of the bridge in Grant County, the highway intersects SR 243, which travels along the Columbia River towards Mattawa and Vantage. SR 23 turns northeast and follows the south wall of the Wahluke Slope before traveling due east across the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and into Adams County. The highway leaves the Hanford Reach National Monument and forms the boundary between Adams and Franklin counties for several miles, briefly turning to cross a section of the Saddle Mountains. Near the former Othello Air Force Station, SR 24 turns north and follows Radar Road through farmland on the outskirts of Othello. After entering Othello, the highway becomes Broadway Avenue and continues through an industrial area before terminating at an underpass with SR 26. The two highways are connected via an extension of 1st Avenue on both sides of the underpass.
SR 24 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on the state's highways to measure traffic volume in terms of annual average daily traffic. The busiest section of the highway, at its interchange with I-82, carried a daily average of 23,000 vehicles in 2016; the least busiest section of the highway, northeast of the Vernita Bridge, carried only 1,100 vehicles. A short section between I-82 and Faucher Road in Moxee is designated as a MAP-21 arterial under the National Highway System, a network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility.
SR 24 was added to Washington's state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 11A (SSH 11A), which traveled from Primary State Highway 3 (PSH 3) and US 410 in Yakima to PSH 11 and US 395 in Connell. The highway was preceded by several unpaved roads built by county governments along the corridor by the 1910s, including a road across the Moxee and Black Rock valleys, a ferry across the Columbia River at White Bluffs, and a road continuing to Connell, bypassing Othello.
The state government did not improve the gravel county roads that encompassed SSH 11A, but did relocate its toll-free ferry from White Bluffs to Hanford in May 1938. The Hanford ferry was initially planned to use a cable-operated system, but costs forced it to be downgraded to a tug-and-barge ferry. During World War II, the U.S. military selected the Hanford area as the site of a major weapons development facility and a section of SSH 11A was acquired via a request of the Secretary of War filed on July 21, 1943. The 28-mile (45 km) section, located between Cold Creek and Hanford, was closed permanently to non-military traffic on November 15, 1943, and divided SSH 11A into two disconnected highways. The rest of the highway had been paved by the state government in the early 1940s, with the exception of a section west of Connell that remained gravel.
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Washington State Route 24
State Route 24 (SR 24) is a state highway in the south-central region of Washington, in the United States. It travels 79 miles (127 km) from Yakima to Othello, across a portion of the Columbia Plateau. The highway crosses the Columbia River on the Vernita Bridge, located near the Hanford Site. SR 24 terminates to the west at an interchange with Interstate 82 (I-82) in Yakima and to the east at SR 26 in Othello.
The highway was added to the state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 11A (SSH 11A), composed of several county-built gravel roads from Yakima to Connell, with a ferry crossing at Hanford. The Hanford section of SSH 11A was closed in 1943 due to wartime activities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, forcing the state government to relocate the highway to the north side of the Columbia River. The new highway opened in 1961 and was supplanted by the new Vernita toll bridge in 1965. During the 1964 state highway renumbering, SR 24 replaced most of SSH 11A and was rerouted to a terminus in Othello.
SR 24 begins in eastern Yakima as an extension of Nob Hill Boulevard at a diamond interchange with I-82 and the concurrent US 12 and US 97. The interchange is located southeast of the Central Washington State Fairgrounds and the SunDome arena. SR 24 travels southeasterly from the interchange as a four-lane divided highway and crosses the Yakima River into unincorporated Yakima County near Yakima Sportsman State Park. The highway narrows to two lanes and continues southeast along the Central Washington Railroad, a branch of the BNSF Railway, changing course to bypass the city of Moxee on its south side. SR 24 continues beyond the railroad's terminus and runs deeper into the Moxee Valley, an irrigated area situated between the Yakima Ridge and Yakima Training Center to the north and the Rattlesnake Hills to the south.
At the east end of the valley, SR 24 turns northeast and crosses through a narrow pass in the hills before reaching the Black Rock Valley, which it continues across. Midway through the valley at the Silver Dollar Cafe, the highway intersects SR 241, an auxiliary route that travels south towards Sunnyside. SR 24 continues northeast from the junction and enters Benton County, where it climbs a section of the Yakima Ridge and exits the valley. The highway crosses part of the Fitzner–Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, a restricted wildlife preserve that forms part of the Hanford Reach National Monument. SR 24 meets SR 240, a major highway connecting to the Tri-Cities, at the northeast corner of the reserve. SR 24 turns north at the junction and travels along the northwest edge of the Hanford Site, flanked by fences on both sides of the road. The highway descends from the plateau by turning west and returning to its northerly course, eventually reaching a rest area on the south shore of the Columbia River.
SR 24 crosses the Columbia River on the Vernita Bridge, a 1,982-foot-long (604 m) steel truss bridge downriver from the Priest Rapids Dam. On the north side of the bridge in Grant County, the highway intersects SR 243, which travels along the Columbia River towards Mattawa and Vantage. SR 23 turns northeast and follows the south wall of the Wahluke Slope before traveling due east across the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and into Adams County. The highway leaves the Hanford Reach National Monument and forms the boundary between Adams and Franklin counties for several miles, briefly turning to cross a section of the Saddle Mountains. Near the former Othello Air Force Station, SR 24 turns north and follows Radar Road through farmland on the outskirts of Othello. After entering Othello, the highway becomes Broadway Avenue and continues through an industrial area before terminating at an underpass with SR 26. The two highways are connected via an extension of 1st Avenue on both sides of the underpass.
SR 24 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on the state's highways to measure traffic volume in terms of annual average daily traffic. The busiest section of the highway, at its interchange with I-82, carried a daily average of 23,000 vehicles in 2016; the least busiest section of the highway, northeast of the Vernita Bridge, carried only 1,100 vehicles. A short section between I-82 and Faucher Road in Moxee is designated as a MAP-21 arterial under the National Highway System, a network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility.
SR 24 was added to Washington's state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 11A (SSH 11A), which traveled from Primary State Highway 3 (PSH 3) and US 410 in Yakima to PSH 11 and US 395 in Connell. The highway was preceded by several unpaved roads built by county governments along the corridor by the 1910s, including a road across the Moxee and Black Rock valleys, a ferry across the Columbia River at White Bluffs, and a road continuing to Connell, bypassing Othello.
The state government did not improve the gravel county roads that encompassed SSH 11A, but did relocate its toll-free ferry from White Bluffs to Hanford in May 1938. The Hanford ferry was initially planned to use a cable-operated system, but costs forced it to be downgraded to a tug-and-barge ferry. During World War II, the U.S. military selected the Hanford area as the site of a major weapons development facility and a section of SSH 11A was acquired via a request of the Secretary of War filed on July 21, 1943. The 28-mile (45 km) section, located between Cold Creek and Hanford, was closed permanently to non-military traffic on November 15, 1943, and divided SSH 11A into two disconnected highways. The rest of the highway had been paved by the state government in the early 1940s, with the exception of a section west of Connell that remained gravel.