| Washington State Route 16 |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE ROUTE 16 | |
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| 016 | |
State Route 16 is a State Highway in Washington , U.S.A. It extends just over 27 miles (43 km) from Tacoma in the southeast to Gorst in the northwest. ROUTE DESCRIPTION SR-16 originates at Interstate 5 , runs through the city of Tacoma, and crosses the Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to Gig Harbor on the Kitsap Peninsula . From there, it continues northwest past Burley , Bethel , and Port Orchard , and ends at State Route 3 in Gorst, at the western end of Sinclair Inlet . SR-16 is a Freeway for its entire length with the exception of a single remaining At-grade Intersection with Burley-Olalla Road two miles north of the Pierce-Kitsap county line. The Washington State Department Of Transportation has initiated a project to transform the intersection to a grade-separated Diamond Interchange , with construction scheduled to begin in 2008 . {Link without Title} There are also two driveways for a cemetary and a local business accessible only in the westbound direction at approximately milepost 13. WSDOT has considered various options at this location to improve safety. Although the route of SR-16 is geographically runs north-south, its even number indicates an east-west route, and is usually signed as such, with the western terminus in at State Route 3 in a town called Gorst which is near Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula and the eastern terminus at Interstate 5 in Tacoma . The mileposts on SR-16 are also said by some individuals to be 'backwards'. Typically an east-west highway starts its mileposts from the western terminus and get larger eastbound. SR-16 mileposts begin at Interstate 5 and get larger westbound. There is also a 3 mile gap in the mileposts at the Tacoma Narrows bridge. This is due to the pre-freeway routing which began at Interstate 5 at Pacific Ave. SR 16 followed Pacific Ave north into downtown Tacoma, then turned west onto 6th St. SR 16 followed 6th St west under the current SR-16 freeway, and then turned northwest onto Olympic Boulevard which led to the Narrows Bridge. The once 4 lane Olympic Blvd has been converted to a city park. In 2002, WSDOT began a project to build a second parallel Tacoma Narrows Bridge crossing. The new bridge is being designed to resemble the existing Suspension Bridge . The old bridge will carry westbound traffic without a toll, while it's sister structure will carry eastbound traffic and have a $3.00 toll. The new eastbound bridge was officially opened to traffic on July 16, 2007. At the eastern Terminus, SR-16 crosses the Nalley Valley Viaduct . The viaduct's unique Tetrapod Structure prevents widening, as well as the close proximity of the Interstate 5 and Sprague Ave interchanges. The viaduct will be completely rebuilt in stages beginning in 2009 and be completed in 2013. SR-16 has also become the second state highway in Washington State to have exit numbers posted at interchanges. The only other state highway that has numbered exits is SR-14 in the Vancouver area. EXIT LIST IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS Along with the twinning of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, several expansion projects are underway as part of a revitalization of freeways in the Tacoma/Pierce County area. Completed projects include the twinning of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, widening between Gig Harbor and I-5 to include HOV Lanes and auxiliary lanes, and redesigning several interchanges to improve traffic flow. The last project to be completed on SR 16 is rebuilding the Nalley Valley viaduct for a new, expanded interchange with I-5 {Link without Title} {Link without Title} . RELATED ROUTES EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES |
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