State Route 539 marker

State Route 539

Guide Meridian
SR 539 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-5
Maintained by WSDOT
Length15.18 mi[1] (24.43 km)
Existed1969–present
Major junctions
South end I-5 in Bellingham
Major intersections SR 546 near Lynden
North end Hwy 13 at Canada–United States border near Lynden
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountiesWhatcom
Highway system
← SR 538→ SR 542

State Route 539 (SR 539, named the Guide Meridian) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels through northwestern Whatcom County and connects Interstate 5 (I-5) in Bellingham with Lynden and the Canadian border near Langley, British Columbia.

The Guide Meridian, named for the guide meridian that it follows while traveling due north–south, was originally a plank road constructed in the late 1880s. It was replaced with a gravel road in the 1910s and a paved highway later that decade by the Whatcom County government. The Guide Meridian was absorbed into the state highway system and designated as Secondary State Highway 1B (SSH 1B) in 1937, which was later supplemented with the creation of U.S. Route 99 Alternate in 1952. Both designations were replaced with SR 539 in 1969 following the completion of I-5 in Bellingham.

The majority of SR 539 between Bellingham and Lynden was expanded to a four-lane highway with turn lanes over two phases in the late 2000s. The project included construction of several roundabouts and a new bridge over the Nooksack River near Lynden on an accelerated schedule to accommodate traffic ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Route description

The southern terminus of SR 539, at an interchange with I-5 in Bellingham

SR 539 begins as a continuation of Meridian Street north of downtown Bellingham at an interchange with I-5 near the Bellis Fair Mall. The highway travels along the east side of the mall and through a retail and commercial district, passing near the Whatcom Community College campus and the Cordata business park.[2] After leaving Bellingham city limits near the residential areas of the Cordata neighborhood, SR 539 becomes the Guide Meridian Road,[3] so named because it follows the "guide meridian" plotted for surveying that runs 12 miles (19 km) east of the Willamette Meridian.[4]

The four-lane highway continues north through the rural Laurel area and passes the campus of Meridian High School. After crossing Fourmile Creek and passing through a roundabout with Ten Mile Road, SR 539 gains a grass median with a cable barrier as it heads north towards Lynden.[2][5] In the southern outskirts of the city, the highway reaches a roundabout with SR 544, which travels northeast to the towns of Everson and Nooksack.[3][6] SR 539 continues north and crosses over Wiser Lake on a causeway and the Nooksack River on a pair of steel truss bridges before reaching Lynden.[7][8]

The Guide Meridian travels through the western outskirts of Lynden and passes through an industrial area and near the Northwest Washington Fair and Events Center. The highway leaves Lynden and narrows to two lanes before reaching an intersection with SR 546.[2] After traversing another stretch of farmland, SR 539 reaches the Lynden–Aldergrove Border Crossing on the Canadian border, where it terminates. The highway widens to accommodate two separate lanes for trucks and NEXUS pass-holders and is split into two roads with a duty-free store in the middle.[3][9] The border crossing is open from 8 a.m. to midnight and is the fourth-busiest border crossing in the state, with 509,467 vehicles entering the United States in 2017.[10][11] Beyond the border, the road becomes British Columbia Highway 13, which continues north to Aldergrove and an interchange with the Trans-Canada Highway east of Langley.[6]

The entire route of SR 539 from Bellingham to the Canadian border is perfectly straight and runs due north–south. It serves as an alternate route between Bellingham and British Columbia, bypassing the busier Blaine border crossings.[2] 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;[12][13] it is also designated as a Highway of Statewide Significance by the state legislature.[14] SR 539 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on state highways to measure traffic volume in terms of annual average daily traffic. Average traffic volumes on the highway in 2016 ranged from a minimum of 1,400 vehicles at the Canadian border to a maximum of 37,000 vehicles near Bellis Fair Mall.[15] The Guide Meridian corridor is also served by several Whatcom Transportation Authority bus routes connecting Bellingham to Lynden, Everson, Nooksack, and Sumas.[2][16]

History

Early roads

The Guide Meridian was preceded by a plank road that was built by the Whatcom County government in stages between 1884 and 1885 and fully graded in 1890.[17][18] By November 1891, it stretched 12 miles (19 km) and cost an estimated $6,000 per mile to construct.[19][20] It was destroyed several times by forest fires, including a major fire in 1897 that required using 80,000 board feet of lumber to replace the burned sections.[21]

The Guide Meridian was later reconstructed as a gravel road from Bellingham to the Canadian border in the early 1910s and maintained by a local citizen named John C. Anderson, who received praise from local newspapers for the quality of the road.[22] The section of the Guide Meridian within Bellingham city limits, named Meridian Street, was paved by the city government in 1914.[23] The following year, the county government began a $68,800 improvement program, which included a new bridge over the Nooksack River near Lynden and 5 miles (8.0 km) of pavement between Bellingham and Laurel.[24] The paved Guide Meridian was opened on September 14, 1915, ahead of the Northwest Washington Fair, and the new Nooksack River bridge was completed the following month.[25] The new bridge measured 383 feet 3 inches (116.81 m) in length, the longest of any steel bridge in the Pacific Northwest at the time.[26]

The planked approaches to the Nooksack River bridge were deemed too narrow for automobile traffic and widened by 8 feet (2.4 m) in 1919.[27] Further paving projects on sections of the Guide Meridian were contracted by the county government between 1920 and 1932,[28][29] completing a paved highway from Bellingham to the Canadian border.[30][31] The British Columbia government announced plans in 1931 to link the improved Guide Meridian to the Fraser Highway via a new paved highway.[32]

State and national highway

Alt plate 1961.svg

U.S. Route 99 Alternate marker

U.S. Route 99 Alternate

LocationBellingham–Canadian border
Existed1952–1969

The Guide Meridian was added to the state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 1B (SSH 1B), connecting the Canadian border with Primary State Highway 1 (PSH 1), also signed as U.S. Route 99 (US 99) in Bellingham.[33][34] Several bills in the 1930s proposed elevating the Guide Meridian to a primary state highway, but they were not advanced by the state legislature.[35][36] In 1951, the Nooksack River bridge near Lynden was disassembled and moved 30 miles (48 km) upstream to Mosquito Lake Road as part of a widening project on the Guide Meridian.[37]

In 1952, the American Association of State Highway Officials approved the creation of US 99 Alternate, which would run concurrent to SSH 1B from Bellingham to the Canadian border.[38][39] The designation came shortly before the completion of the Aldergrove highway (signed as British Columbia Highway 13).[40][41]

After the completion of the Bellingham Freeway (part of I-5) in December 1960,[42] SSH 1B was truncated to a new interchange at the north end of Meridian Street.[43] During the 1964 state highway renumbering, SSH 1B was replaced by US 99 Alternate and PSH 1 was provisionally renumbered to US 99 before being replaced outright by I-5.[44] US 99 and its alternate routes were decommissioned in 1969,[45] leaving SR 539 to replace SSH 1B when the new state highway system was codified by the state legislature in 1970.[46][47]

Modern widening

SR 539 crosses the Nooksack River on a pair of truss bridges; the southbound (left) span was constructed in 2009.

The state government began planning a major expansion of SR 539 to a four-lane highway in the late 1980s to accommodate local population growth and increased cross-border freight traffic.[48][49] The corridor had been studied for widening in 1970 due to a high rate of fatalities compared to other rural highways in the state, but the projected traffic volumes did not justify expansion at the time.[50] In 1979, the state government funded a $1.4 million project to widen the southernmost section of SR 539 to four lanes with a turn lane between I-5 and Kellogg Road.[51]

The highway was later identified as among the state's most dangerous, with 714 collisions and nine deaths from 1988 to 1993 and 314 collisions and three deaths from 1999 to 2003.[52][53] The first major phase of the project, covering 4.62 miles (7.44 km) between Horton Road in Bellingham to Ten Mile Road near Laurel, was approved for design work in 1999.[48]

Construction of the first phase was originally planned to begin in 2003, but funding issues and negotiations with property owners for expanded right-of-way slowed progress.[49][48] The project began construction in June 2007 after it was allocated additional funding from the state legislature's transportation package.[54][55] The widened, four-lane roadway with center turn lanes was completed in November 2008, including new traffic signals at three intersections, several detention ponds, and two bridge replacements, at a total cost of $66.3 million.[56][57]

The second phase, covering 6.54 miles (10.53 km) of SR 539 between Ten Mile Road and Badger Road (SR 546) in Lynden at a cost of $89.2 million, was included in the 2003 Nickel Funding Package passed by the state legislature.[58] It was originally scheduled to be completed in 2013, but a supplemental legislative package approved in 2004 advanced $60.4 million in funding for the project so it would be completed in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics to be held in nearby Vancouver.[59] While several alternative options were considered for the SR 539 corridor, including carpool lanes and improving parallel roads, WSDOT chose to largely re-use the four-lane roadway configuration with turn lanes already planned for the first phase.[60] The section would, however, include five roundabouts at existing intersections to improve safety and prevent long backups at signals near Lynden.[53][61]

The project was later scaled back to remove the roundabout at Badger Road and the widened roadway beyond southern Lynden due to a projected increase in land and construction costs.[62][63] Construction of the second phase began in March 2008 under a $54 million contract awarded by WSDOT that included a new bridge over the Nooksack River and widening of four other bridges.[64][65] The new Nooksack River span, a 300-foot (91 m) steel truss bridge carrying two lanes of southbound traffic, began construction in April 2009. To avoid placing piers in the river, each half of the bridge was built from the shore and joined together in September.[66][67] It was the first truss bridge to be built in Washington state since the completion of a span over the Snake River on U.S. Route 12 east of Pasco in 1986.[66] The bridge opened to traffic on February 9, 2010, days before the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics.[68]

The first roundabout on SR 539, located at Ten Mile Road, began construction in March 2009 and opened on May 16, 2009, after several delays due to rainy weather.[69][70] A second roundabout was opened at Pole Road (SR 544) on August 17, ahead of the Northwest Washington Fair, and was followed by a third at Wiser Lake Road in October.[71][72] The final roundabout was opened on December 7 at River Road on the north side of the Nooksack River bridge.[73] Construction on the second phase was completed in July 2010 with the installation of cable median barriers to prevent head-on and crossover collisions.[5][74] Since the installation of roundabouts and cable median barriers, collisions on SR 539 have increased but injuries have declined from 96 between 2000 and 2010 to 23 between 2010 and 2018.[61] Plans to widen the remainder of the highway to the Canadian border were adopted by the county government in 2013, but remain unfunded.[2][75]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Whatcom County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Bellingham0.000.00 I-5 – Seattle, Vancouver BCInterchange
​7.5112.09
 SR 544 east (East Pole Road) – Everson, Nooksack		Roundabout
​12.5420.18
 SR 546 east (Badger Road) – Sumas
Canada–United States border15.1824.43 Hwy 13 at Lynden–Aldergrove Border Crossing
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Route transition

References

  1. 1 2 Multimodal Planning Division (January 3, 2018). State Highway Log Planning Report 2017, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. 1629–1635. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Corridor Sketch Summary – SR 539: I-5 Jct (Bellingham) to Canadian Border" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. March 27, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Google (September 15, 2018). "State Route 539" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  4. ↑ Kahn, Dean (October 21, 2007). "Ideas for Fountain Park bubbling from community". The Bellingham Herald. p. B1. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 Paben, Jared (October 28, 2009). "Cable barrier divides Guide". The Bellingham Herald. p. A2. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Washington State Department of Transportation (2014). Washington State Highways, 2014–2015 (PDF) (Map). Olympia: Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  7. ↑ Mittendorf, Robert (September 13, 2016). "Nooksack River bridge safe to drive over the Guide; repair slated". The Bellingham Herald. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  8. ↑ Paben, Jared (September 3, 2009). "Crews connect new Guide Meridian bridge over Nooksack River". The Bellingham Herald.
  9. ↑ "SR 539 – Lynden-Aldergrove Port of Entry Improvements – Complete November 2015". Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  10. ↑ Rasbach, David (August 1, 2018). "Work begins to improve Lynden-Aldergrove border crossing". The Bellingham Herald. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Border Crossing Information". Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  12. ↑ "State Highway National Highway System Routes in Washington" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ "What is the National Highway System?". Federal Highway Administration. January 31, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Transportation Commission List of Highways of Statewide Significance" (PDF). Washington State Transportation Commission. July 26, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  15. ↑ 2016 Annual Traffic Report (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2017. pp. 209–210. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  16. ↑ WTA Map: Transit Routes, Bike Trails, Walking Trails (PDF) (Map). Whatcom Transportation Authority. September 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Nooksack Valley Scene". The Seattle Times. July 28, 1957. p. 6.
  18. ↑ Dougherty, Phil (January 20, 2008). "Lynden — Thumbnail History". HistoryLink. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Whatcom News". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. November 15, 1891. p. 7. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "The Bay Cities". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. September 6, 1890. p. 2. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Clark, Donald (September 23, 1951). "Planks Were Paving Material for N.W. Roads Century Ago". The Seattle Times. p. 2.
  22. ↑ "Townships Should Purchase Tractors". Lynden Tribune. March 20, 1919. p. 5. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Local and Personal". Lynden Tribune. May 28, 1914. p. 3. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Paved Guide Will Be Ready Nov. 1". Lynden Tribune. April 8, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Local and Personal". Lynden Tribune. September 16, 1915. p. 3. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "New Bridge Longest in State". Lynden Tribune. October 7, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Automobilists Complain of Narrow Planking on Guide". Lynden Tribune. June 5, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "May Open Up Guide Paving Next Sunday". Lynden Tribune. June 10, 1920. p. 2. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Road Program for Whatcom is Extensive". The Seattle Times. September 6, 1931. p. 24.
  30. ↑ "Meridian Paving Section Is Opened". The Seattle Times. September 27, 1931. p. 11.
  31. ↑ State of Washington Department of Highways Official Map (Map). Washington State Department of Highways. June 1, 1935. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Washington State Archives.
  32. ↑ "B. C. to Build Highway Link at U.S. Line". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. September 4, 1931. p. 10.
  33. ↑ "Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1937. Washington State Legislature. March 18, 1937. p. 994. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  34. ↑ Rand McNally (1939). "Washington" (Map). State Farm Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico. 1 inch ≈ 18 miles. Bloomington, Illinois: State Farm Insurance Companies Travel Bureau. pp. 82–83. OCLC 9587280. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
  35. ↑ "New House Bills". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. February 22, 1933. p. 4.
  36. ↑ "New House Bills". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. March 2, 1935. p. 3.
  37. ↑ Paben, Jared (April 21, 2011). "County bridge work lauded". The Bellingham Herald. p. A2. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ U.S. Route Numbering Committee (1952). [Report of the U.S. Route Numbering Committee to the Executive Committee] (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 229. Retrieved April 2, 2022 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  39. ↑ "Correspondence from Hal H. Hale to W. A. Bugge". American Association of State Highway Officials. July 25, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  40. ↑ Bellingham North Quadrangle, Washington—Whatcom Co (Topographic map). 1:62,500. United States Geological Survey. 1954. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  41. ↑ H. M. Gousha Company (1956). Highway Map of Washington (Map). 1 inch ≈ 18 miles. Shell Oil Company. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
  42. ↑ "Bellingham's 5-Mile Freeway Dedicated". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. December 6, 1960. p. 22.
  43. ↑ Washington State Department of Highways (1961). Washington State Official Highway Map and Tourist Guide (Map). Olympia: Washington State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 26, 2019 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  44. ↑ C. G. Prahl (December 1, 1965). "Identification of State Highways" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  45. ↑ U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (June 24, 1969). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 8. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via Wikisource.
  46. ↑ "Chapter 51: State Highways—Route Numbers" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1970 1st extraordinary session. Washington State Legislature. February 24, 1970. p. 382. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  47. ↑ Washington State Department of Highways (1970). Washington State Highways (Map). Olympia: Washington State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 26, 2019 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  48. 1 2 3 "SR 539: Horton Road to Tenmile Road Widening (Guide Meridian Road)". Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on November 23, 2001. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  49. 1 2 Michael, Sharon (August 1, 2002). "Guide widening in the slow lane". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1.
  50. ↑ "A Legislative Study: Widening Guide Meridian Rd. (SR539) from FAI5 to Pole Rd. (SR544)". Washington State Highway Commission. August 1970. p. 2. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  51. ↑ "Work on the Guide". The Bellingham Herald. August 25, 1979. p. A2. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  52. ↑ Pynn, Larry (December 6, 1993). "Guide Meridian identified as dangerous highway". The Vancouver Sun. p. C12. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. 1 2 Cohen, Aubrey (February 4, 2005). "State proposes 4 Guide roundabouts". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1.
  54. ↑ "IMCO prepares to start Guide widening". The Bellingham Herald. May 24, 2007.
  55. ↑ Walters, Anna (September 18, 2008). "Section of Guide closing tonight". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  56. ↑ Walters, Anna (November 19, 2008). "Guide Meridian lanes to open". The Bellingham Herald. p. A3. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  57. ↑ "SR 539 – Horton Road to Ten Mile Road Widening". Washington State Department of Transportation. November 2008. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  58. ↑ "SR 539 – Ten Mile Road to Badger Road Widening Quarterly Project Report Update for Quarter Ending December 2003". Washington State Department of Transportation. December 2003. Archived from the original on September 30, 2006. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  59. ↑ Cohen, Aubrey (March 13, 2004). "Widening of Guide Meridian put on fast track to handle Olympic traffic". The Bellingham Herald. p. A3.
  60. ↑ Cohen, Aubrey (November 5, 2004). "Fix won't be cheap, DOT says; State offers 13 ideas for easing Guide traffic". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1.
  61. 1 2 Mittendorf, Robert (June 28, 2018). "Roundabouts: Love 'em, hate 'em ... but are they safer and easier to drive?". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  62. ↑ Paben, Jared (December 13, 2006). "Meridian upgrade proceeds; Hannegan projects put on fast track". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1.
  63. ↑ Paben, Jared (April 24, 2007). "Hannegan work slated for summer; Project will be coordinated with work on Guide". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1.
  64. ↑ Paben, Jared (March 1, 2008). "Contractor specializes in bridges". The Bellingham Herald. p. B1. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  65. ↑ Paben, Jared (June 10, 2008). "New Boulder Creek bridge to open by July". The Bellingham Herald.
  66. 1 2 Paben, Jared (April 23, 2009). "Construction to start Monday on rare type of bridge on Guide". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  67. ↑ Paben, Jared (September 4, 2009). "Halves of Guide bridge joined". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  68. ↑ Paben, Jared (February 10, 2010). "Guide bridge over Nooksack River opens". The Bellingham Herald. p. A2. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  69. ↑ Paben, Jared (March 8, 2009). "Work beginning on Guide roundabouts". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  70. ↑ Dills, Isabelle (May 19, 2009). "Roundabout opens on Guide". The Bellingham Herald. p. A1. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  71. ↑ Paben, Jared (August 18, 2009). "Last-minute work completed on time; Crews finish new Pole Road roundabout". The Bellingham Herald. p. A2. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  72. ↑ Bostwick, Hannah (October 23, 2009). "Roundabout open at Wiser Lake". The Bellingham Herald. p. A2. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  73. ↑ Fraley, Zoe (December 6, 2009). "Guide roundabout to open Monday". The Bellingham Herald. p. A2. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  74. ↑ Terpening, Dustin (July 28, 2010). "Work is complete". SR 539 – Guide Meridian Widening Blog. Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  75. ↑ "Chapter Six: Transportation". Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan. Whatcom County. February 2013. p. 6-22. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
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