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R.H. Thomson Expressway (formerly Empire Expressway, cancelled in 1972): Empire Way and 23rd Avenue from Tukwila through Rainier Valley and Central District to U-District
50th Street Expressway?
By 1973, the following were dropped from regional PSGOC plans:
Cross-Sound Bridge
I-605
Hannah Pierce Freeway "south of Tacoma"
Tacoma industrial area freeway (SR 509?)
West Seattle Freeway's 8-lane configuration
Source: Seattle Times (September 16, 1973)
Future and proposed freeways
Interstate 605: eastern bypass of metro area, proposed along SR 18
The Airport Expressway begins on the southeast side of the main terminal of
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, fed by traffic from the segregated arrivals and departures roadways. The northbound lanes travel between the elevated tracks carrying
Link light rail to the west and
SR 99 to the east as they pass the airport's central
parking garage. After passing under a pedestrian overpass connecting
SeaTac/Airport station to SR 99, the expressway is joined by its southbound lanes. The expressway travels northwest with its wide median occupied by the light rail guideway, a cell phone lot, and abandoned ramps. After traveling through an interchange with South 170th Street and Air Cargo Road, the expressway passes a return-to-airport ramp on the north side of a cemetery. The expressway ends at an interchange with
SR 518 adjacent to the airport's consolidated
rental car facility and
Tukwila International Boulevard station.[1]
The Fauntleroy Expressway begins as a continuation of Fauntleroy Way Southwest, a major arterial street that connects to the
Fauntleroyferry terminal serving
Vashon Island,[2][3] at an intersection with 35th Avenue Southwest located on the border between the
West Seattle neighborhoods of
Fairmount Park and
Genesee.[4][5] The four-lane, shoulder-less expressway travels northeast, passing under a
pedestrian overpass at Southwest Andover Street. It turns
cardinal east over Southwest Avalon Way and Southwest Admiral Way, intersecting both arterial streets with westbound offramps and eastbound onramps from its at-grade
collector lanes on Southwest Spokane Street. The freeway then intersects Delridge Way Southwest north of Pigeon Point, gaining an additional westbound lane and three eastbound lanes (including a
bus lane) as it crosses over the
Duwamish Waterway and
Harbor Island on the
West Seattle Bridge.
1941: Construction on Spokane Street Viaduct begins, after demolition of wooden trolley viaduct
1944-01-25: First segment of Spokane Street Viaduct, between 6th Avenue South and East Marginal Way, dedicated by Mayor William F. Devin and opens to traffic[9]
1997-03-03: Seattle City Council adopts resolution requesting WSDOT to remove the word "freeway" from signage on entrances to Spokane Street Viaduct/West Seattle Bridge[11]
1978-06-11 –
West Seattle Bridge collision: North span of the western bridge damaged by a freighter, closing its four westbound lanes to traffic;[12] south span reduced to two lanes in each direction, motorists advised to use bridges upstream at 1st and 14th avenues[13][14][15]
1980-11: Construction on high-level bridge begins[16]
1983-11-13: Ribbon-cutting ceremony held on unfinished bridge[17]
1983-11-15: Eastbound lanes open to temporary one-way traffic[18]
1984-07-07: High-level West Seattle Bridge opened to traffic[19]
The proposal originated in the 1950s as an expansion of the recently constructed Empire Way and was later named for former city engineer
Reginald H. Thomson. The freeway's path through the Central District and
Washington Park Arboretum sparked major public outcry, culminating in lawsuits against the city government by civic groups in the 1960s.
Various proposals also extended the expressway to intersect the
Bothell Freeway (SR 522) near Lake City, or continue to
Lynnwood to complete its connection with I-5.
History
Earlier proposals
1912-03-05: Seattle voters reject the "Plan for Seattle" proposed by
Virgil Bogue, which included Highway No. 62 from Renton to Bothell via the Rainier Valley and Central District[4][5]
1926: Seattle Planning Commission recommends extending Empire Way northward across
Montlake Bridge to Bothell Way
1953: Empire Way extended north from Rainier Avenue to Dearborn Street for $300,000, "designed to eventually furnish a new by-pass of downtown Seattle for north-south traffic"[6]
1954-11-02: Seattle and King County approve $10 million bond issue for arterial roadway improvements,[7] including $1.4 million to extend Empire Way from Dearborn to the Montlake Cut[8][9]
Empire Expressway
1953: "27th Avenue Expressway" proposed to distribute traffic from Evergreen Point Bridge[10]
1957: City of Seattle adopts Comprehensive Plan, including Empire Expressway from Renton to Laurelhurst via Empire Way and 23rd Avenue[11]
1957-04-15: Seattle City Council passes resolution that adopts City Planning Commission plan for the Empire Expressway, from the city limits to Lake Washington Ship Canal via Empire Way[12]
1957: Seattle City Council deems greenbelt on Empire Way Expressway to be too expensive[13]
1957-10: Bond measure to fund engineering and early construction passed by voters[citation needed]
1958-06-30: City Council approves study into extension from Rainier Avenue to Bothell Way
1959: Empire Expressway added to state highway system under funding agreement[citation needed]
1959-12-14: Seattle City Council approves special municipal election to finance comprehensive highway improvements, to take place March 8th[14]
1959: Empire Way Expressway plans detailed; 6-lane limited-access roadway through Arboretum for $5 million[15]
1960-03-08: King County Proposition 1 passes (70,762 in favor, 38,522 against),[16] approving $26.628 million to finance 12 projects from the City of Seattle Comprehensive Plan of 1957 with additional $31 million from state and federal sources;[17][18] including $13.336 million for Empire Way Expressway[19]
1961: First public hearings per Interstate Act requirements; objections from local homeowners
1971-01-11: Seattle City Council passes resolution removing R.H. Thomson Parkway from The Comprehensive Plan of Seattle[3][27]
1972-02-08: Special election held on Bay Freeway approval (Referendum 1, defeated 45-55) and revoking previous approval on the R.H. Thomson Expressway (Referendum 2, approved 71-29)[28][29]
Post-cancellation
1972: Properties acquired for right of way sold[30]
1981: Arboretum Foundation proposes bypass road around gardens to relieve traffic from 520 ramps[31]
1982-07-19: Seattle City Council renames Empire Way to Martin Luther King Jr. Way[32][33]
1991: SR 900 truncated to I-5, removing corridor from state highway system[34]
2009-07-18: Light rail service on MLK Way begins[35]
Ghost ramps
(Copy from SR 520 article)
2014-10-15: Demolition of ghost ramps at SR 520 begins[36]
^Scayela, Josef (February 23, 1953). "Empire Way Extension". The Seattle Times. p. 20.
^"Street-Bond Issue Is Only One to Win". The Seattle Times. November 3, 1954. p. 5.
^Cunningham, Ross (October 24, 1954). "Bond Issue Would Provide Funds For Huge Traffic Project". The Seattle Times. p. 14.
^"New Empire Way". The Seattle Times. October 26, 1954. p. 21.
^Cunningham, Ross (April 26, 1953). "Traffic Integration Is Knotty Problem Faced in Placing New Lake Bridge". The Seattle Times.
^Willix, Douglas (August 25, 1957). "Seattle's Plan For Tomorrow". The Seattle Sunday Times Magazine. pp. 12–13.
^Seattle City Council (April 15, 1957).
"City of Seattle Resolution 17478". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk.
^"City Council: Green Belt for Empire Way Extension Is Found Too Expensive". The Seattle Times. March 26, 1957. p. 24.
^Seattle City Council (December 14, 1959).
"City of Seattle Ordinance 88825". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk.
^"Plan for Arboretum-Montlake Expressway". The Seattle Times. October 4, 1959. p. 18.
^"Mrs. Edwards Gains Most In Official Tally". The Seattle Times. March 19, 1960. p. 4.
^"Arterial, Park Bonds Are Vital Issues". The Seattle Sunday Times. March 6, 1960. p. 22.
^City of Seattle (March 7, 1960). "Proposition 1 is Key to 6-Year Traffic Improvement Program". The Seattle Times. pp. C2–C3.
^"Funds For Expressway Links Asked". The Seattle Times. June 8, 1959. p. 5.
^Willix, Douglas (September 3, 1963). "Four Routes Considered For Empire Expressway in North". The Seattle Times. p. 7.
^Seattle City Council (April 12, 1967).
"City of Seattle Ordinance 95703". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk.
^Coffman, Larry (March 7, 1968). "R.H. Thomson 'Parkway' Proposals Unveiled". The Seattle Times. p. 7.
^"Protest Rally: Route Opponents Bloom in Arboretum". The Seattle Times. May 5, 1969. p. 25.
^"Freeways rejected: Absentees to decide Seattle school levy". The Seattle Times. February 9, 1972. p. A1.
^Sperry, Sam R. (March 19, 1972). "Thomson project: It's dead, but a hundred properties remain". The Seattle Times. p. G12.
^Robinson, Herb (February 22, 1981). "Shelve the East Central Transportation Plan". The Seattle Times. p. A22.
^Seattle City Council (July 29, 1982).
"City of Seattle Ordinance 110692". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk.
^Moriwaki, Lee (July 30, 1982). "It's now Martin Luther King Jr. Way: Royer approves new name for Empire Way despite protests". The Seattle Times. p. A1.
^Cooper, Dennis W., ed. (May 21, 1991). "Chapter 342 (Engrossed Senate Bill 5801): State Highway Routes—Revisions To".
1991 Session Laws of the State of Washington - Regular Session, Fifty-Second Legislature(PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington (1991 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 1908.
OCLC42336168. Sec. 47. RCW 47.17.825 and 1979 ex.s. c 33 s 16 are each amended to read as follows: A state highway to be known as state route number 900 is established as follows: Beginning at a junction with state route number ((99)) 5 in Seattle near the Duwamish River, thence ((easterly-and)) southerly by way of Renton to a junction with state route number 90 in the vicinity of Issaquah.