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Washington State Route 99
State Route 99 (SR 99), also known as the Pacific Highway, is a state highway in the Seattle metropolitan area, part of the U.S. state of Washington. It runs 49 miles (79 km) from Fife to Everett, passing through the cities of Federal Way, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, and Lynnwood. The route primarily follows arterial streets, including Aurora Avenue, and has several freeway segments, including the tolled SR 99 Tunnel in Downtown Seattle. SR 99 was officially named the William P. Stewart Memorial Highway by the state legislature in 2016, after a campaign to replace an unofficial moniker honoring Confederate president Jefferson Davis.
SR 99 was originally a section of U.S. Route 99 (US 99), which was once the state's primary north–south highway before the construction of I-5. US 99 was created in 1926 and replaced earlier local roads that date back to the 1890s and state roads designated as early as 1913. The highway was moved onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct in 1953, replacing a congested stretch through Downtown Seattle, and other sections were built to expressway standards in the 1950s.
US 99 was ultimately replaced by the Tacoma–Everett section of Interstate 5 (I-5), which opened in stages between 1965 and 1969. The route was decertified in 1969, and SR 99 was created to keep segments of the highway under state control. After decades of crime on some sections of SR 99, various city governments funded projects to beautify the highway and convert it into a boulevard. A section of the highway in Tukwila was transferred to city control in 2004, creating a two-mile (3.2 km) gap in the route between the interchanges of SR 518 and SR 599.
The Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed on January 11, 2019, and was replaced with a downtown bored tunnel that opened on February 4, 2019. The replacement project was spurred by the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, which damaged the viaduct and left it vulnerable to further damage, as well as city plans to revitalize the Seattle waterfront. The $3 billion megaproject was mired in planning delays for several years before construction began in 2011 with the partial demolition of the viaduct. The tunnel was constructed using Bertha, the world's largest tunnel boring machine at the time of its launch in 2013, which had a two-year halt and completed its bore in 2017. The viaduct was demolished in 2019, leaving room for an expanded park promenade on Alaskan Way that was completed in early 2025.
SR 99 follows a section of former U.S. Route 99 (US 99) within the Seattle metropolitan area, from Fife to southern Everett. It is officially designated as the William P. Stewart Memorial Highway, but is commonly known as the Pacific Highway or by one of its local names. The entire highway is listed as part of the National Highway System, a national network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility. A section of the highway from Tukwila to Shoreline is also designated as a Highway of Statewide Significance by the state legislature. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) estimates that average traffic volumes on SR 99, measured in terms of annual average daily traffic for 2016, range from a minimum of 17,000 vehicles on Everett Mall Way to a maximum of 97,000 at the First Avenue South Bridge in Seattle.
SR 99 begins in Fife as an extension of 54th Avenue East at a partial cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 5. Immediately north of the interchange, SR 99 turns east onto Pacific Highway and passes the Emerald Queen Casino, a gambling and hotel facility operated by the Puyallup Tribe, and a commercial district at the outskirts of Fife. The highway makes a gradual turn to the north, parallel to Interstate 5 and the West Fork of Hylebos Creek, and enters Milton. SR 99 travels north along a ridge and crosses into King County, turning northeast and entering the city of Federal Way. The road cuts through a forested part of the Hylebos basin near West Hylebos Wetlands Park and reaches a commercial district surrounding Kitts Corner.
At Kitts Corner, the highway intersects the western section of State Route 18, which continues east to an interchange with I-5 and onto a freeway traveling towards Auburn and Covington. SR 99 continues due north through Federal Way's main commercial strip and passing Celebration Park, The Commons at Federal Way, and Steel Lake. The highway gains a set of high-occupancy vehicle lanes that are also open to right turns into parking lots and side streets. From northern Federal Way to the Redondo area of Des Moines, SR 99 is concurrent with SR 509, which continues southwest to Dash Point State Park and northwest to downtown Des Moines, for four miles (6 km).
The two highways pass Saltwater State Park and the former Midway landfill before splitting near Highline College at an intersection with Kent Des Moines Road (SR 516). SR 99 then enters the city of SeaTac and continues north as International Boulevard, passing a federal detention center and light rail station on the southwest side of Angle Lake. The highway runs along the east side of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and its expressway, serving the airport's terminals, parking garage, light rail station, and nearby hotels. SR 99 terminates at an interchange with SR 518 in southern Tukwila, near the airport's consolidated rental car facility and the Tukwila light rail station. A 2.4-mile (3.9 km) section of International Boulevard in Tukwila forms the gap between the two segments of SR 99.
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Washington State Route 99
State Route 99 (SR 99), also known as the Pacific Highway, is a state highway in the Seattle metropolitan area, part of the U.S. state of Washington. It runs 49 miles (79 km) from Fife to Everett, passing through the cities of Federal Way, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, and Lynnwood. The route primarily follows arterial streets, including Aurora Avenue, and has several freeway segments, including the tolled SR 99 Tunnel in Downtown Seattle. SR 99 was officially named the William P. Stewart Memorial Highway by the state legislature in 2016, after a campaign to replace an unofficial moniker honoring Confederate president Jefferson Davis.
SR 99 was originally a section of U.S. Route 99 (US 99), which was once the state's primary north–south highway before the construction of I-5. US 99 was created in 1926 and replaced earlier local roads that date back to the 1890s and state roads designated as early as 1913. The highway was moved onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct in 1953, replacing a congested stretch through Downtown Seattle, and other sections were built to expressway standards in the 1950s.
US 99 was ultimately replaced by the Tacoma–Everett section of Interstate 5 (I-5), which opened in stages between 1965 and 1969. The route was decertified in 1969, and SR 99 was created to keep segments of the highway under state control. After decades of crime on some sections of SR 99, various city governments funded projects to beautify the highway and convert it into a boulevard. A section of the highway in Tukwila was transferred to city control in 2004, creating a two-mile (3.2 km) gap in the route between the interchanges of SR 518 and SR 599.
The Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed on January 11, 2019, and was replaced with a downtown bored tunnel that opened on February 4, 2019. The replacement project was spurred by the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, which damaged the viaduct and left it vulnerable to further damage, as well as city plans to revitalize the Seattle waterfront. The $3 billion megaproject was mired in planning delays for several years before construction began in 2011 with the partial demolition of the viaduct. The tunnel was constructed using Bertha, the world's largest tunnel boring machine at the time of its launch in 2013, which had a two-year halt and completed its bore in 2017. The viaduct was demolished in 2019, leaving room for an expanded park promenade on Alaskan Way that was completed in early 2025.
SR 99 follows a section of former U.S. Route 99 (US 99) within the Seattle metropolitan area, from Fife to southern Everett. It is officially designated as the William P. Stewart Memorial Highway, but is commonly known as the Pacific Highway or by one of its local names. The entire highway is listed as part of the National Highway System, a national network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility. A section of the highway from Tukwila to Shoreline is also designated as a Highway of Statewide Significance by the state legislature. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) estimates that average traffic volumes on SR 99, measured in terms of annual average daily traffic for 2016, range from a minimum of 17,000 vehicles on Everett Mall Way to a maximum of 97,000 at the First Avenue South Bridge in Seattle.
SR 99 begins in Fife as an extension of 54th Avenue East at a partial cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 5. Immediately north of the interchange, SR 99 turns east onto Pacific Highway and passes the Emerald Queen Casino, a gambling and hotel facility operated by the Puyallup Tribe, and a commercial district at the outskirts of Fife. The highway makes a gradual turn to the north, parallel to Interstate 5 and the West Fork of Hylebos Creek, and enters Milton. SR 99 travels north along a ridge and crosses into King County, turning northeast and entering the city of Federal Way. The road cuts through a forested part of the Hylebos basin near West Hylebos Wetlands Park and reaches a commercial district surrounding Kitts Corner.
At Kitts Corner, the highway intersects the western section of State Route 18, which continues east to an interchange with I-5 and onto a freeway traveling towards Auburn and Covington. SR 99 continues due north through Federal Way's main commercial strip and passing Celebration Park, The Commons at Federal Way, and Steel Lake. The highway gains a set of high-occupancy vehicle lanes that are also open to right turns into parking lots and side streets. From northern Federal Way to the Redondo area of Des Moines, SR 99 is concurrent with SR 509, which continues southwest to Dash Point State Park and northwest to downtown Des Moines, for four miles (6 km).
The two highways pass Saltwater State Park and the former Midway landfill before splitting near Highline College at an intersection with Kent Des Moines Road (SR 516). SR 99 then enters the city of SeaTac and continues north as International Boulevard, passing a federal detention center and light rail station on the southwest side of Angle Lake. The highway runs along the east side of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and its expressway, serving the airport's terminals, parking garage, light rail station, and nearby hotels. SR 99 terminates at an interchange with SR 518 in southern Tukwila, near the airport's consolidated rental car facility and the Tukwila light rail station. A 2.4-mile (3.9 km) section of International Boulevard in Tukwila forms the gap between the two segments of SR 99.