State Route 230 marker

State Route 230

Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 23
HistoryFirst proposed in 1943
Major junctions
West end I-90 / US 395 near Ritzville
East end SR 23 near Ewan
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountiesAdams, Whitman
Highway system
← SR 225→ SR 231

State Route 230 (SR 230) is a legislated, but unconstructed, state highway to be located in Adams and Whitman counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway would begin at a junction with concurrent highways Interstate 90 (I-90) and U.S. Route 395 (US 395) near Ritzville and travel east to an intersection with SR 23 near Ewan.

Plans for the first highway first emerged in 1943 as an extension of Primary State Highway 18 (PSH 18) to be studied after the conclusion of World War II. It was renumbered to SR 230 in 1964, but no further action was taken on constructing the highway.

Route description

The Revised Code of Washington describes SR 230 as an east–west route that begins at a junction with I-90 (concurrent with US 395) near Ritzville. The highway would travel east "by the most feasible route" to SR 23 near Ewan, a rural community in Whitman County.[1] A 1956 map showed an alignment that passed Finnell and Crane lakes before dipping south and turning northeast.[2] The Washington State Highway Commission estimated the total length of the corridor to be 27.82 miles (44.77 km) in a 1960 report.[3]

The two areas are generally connected by local roads, including Urquhart and Harder roads in Adams County, but they are not rated for all-weather use.[4][5] Ritzville and Ewan are connected by I-90 and SR 23, which intersect in Sprague.[6]

History

The Ritzville–Ewan highway was first proposed in a 1943 bill by state senator Elmer C. Huntley of St. John.[7] It was designated as a branch of Primary State Highway 18 (PSH 18) between Ritzville and Steptoe, connecting US 395 to US 195.[8][9] The highway would use several existing county roads from Ewan to Steptoe that ranged from oiled to graded gravel.[7] In 1945, Huntley lobbied for an earmark of over $1.5 million (equivalent to $19.4 million in 2022)[10] to be set aside for the project to be used after World War II. The new section would cut the driving distance from Ritzville to Colfax by 20 miles (32 km) and was anticipated to become "one of the principal, if not the principal" east–west highways in the region.[11][12]

A 1960 report from the Washington State Highway Commission estimated that it would cost $3.26 million (equivalent to $24.8 million in 2022)[10] to construct the highway within a 15-year timeframe.[3] During the 1964 state highway renumbering, the PSH 18 branch was replaced by two new state routes: SR 23 between Steptoe and Ewan, which continued north on Secondary State Highway 11C (SSH 11C) through Sprague; and SR 230 for the unbuilt section between Ritzville and Ewan.[13][14] An evaluation of unbuilt highway projects by the state government published in 1972 determined that constructing SR 230 would have a low cost–benefit ratio and serve little traffic.[15] The legal definition of SR 23, the highway's proposed eastern terminus, was amended during the 1987 legislative session to remove a reference to a junction with SR 230.[16]

Major intersections

CountyLocation[1]mikmDestinationsNotes
AdamsRitzville I-90 / US 395 – Seattle, SpokaneWestern terminus
WhitmanEwan SR 23 – Colfax, SpragueEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Unopened

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "RCW 47.17.440: State route No. 230". Washington State Legislature. 1970. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  2. ↑ H. M. Gousha Company (1956). Highway Map of Washington (Map). 1 inch ≈ 18 miles. Shell Oil Company. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
  3. 1 2 A Report on Needs of the State Highway System (Report). Washington State Highway Commission. July 1, 1960. p. 55. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  4. ↑ All-Weather Roads (PDF) (Map). Adams County Department of Public Works. 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ McGillic, Ruth M. (May 1, 2020). 2020 Road Map of Whitman County, Washington (Map). Whitman County Public Works. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (2014). Washington State Highways, 2014–2015 (PDF) (Map). 1:842,000. Olympia: Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "State Road Plan Waits For Funds". Spokane Daily Chronicle. February 1, 1943. p. 6. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Washington State Legislature (March 20, 1943). "Chapter 239: Public Highways" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1943. Washington State Legislature. p. 716. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ "A History of the Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways, 1889–1959". Washington State Highway Commission. May 31, 1960. pp. 21–22. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  10. 1 2 Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  11. ↑ Woodward, Walt (March 8, 1945). "Under the Capital Dome: Colfax Cut-Off Sought in Bill Before Solons". The Ritzville Journal-Times. p. 8. Retrieved February 16, 2011 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ↑ "Description of Items in the Suggested Post War Program of the Highway Advisory Commission". Washington State Department of Highways. 1945. p. 12. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  13. ↑ "Identification of State Highways". Washington State Highway Commission. December 1, 1965. pp. 14, 26. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  14. ↑ "Washington State Highway System Legislative Statutes". Washington State Department of Transportation. 1979. p. 11. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  15. ↑ Office of Management Services (May 1, 1972). Development of Project Priorities in the State of Washington (Report). Washington State Highway Commission, Washington State Department of Highways. p. E-4. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  16. ↑ "Chapter 199: State Highway Route Designations Revised" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1987. Washington State Legislature. April 25, 1987. p. 686. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
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