Washington State Route 240

State Route 240 marker

State Route 240
Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 24
Defined by RCW 47.17.455
Maintained by WSDOT
Length: 41.34 mi[1] (66.53 km)
Existed: 1964 – present
Major junctions
West end: SR 24 near the Hanford Reservation
  SR 225 near West Richland
SR 224 in Richland
I-182/US 12 in Richland
East end: US 395 in Kennewick
Highway system
SR 231SR 241

State Route 240 is a busy state highway servicing the Tri-Cities of Washington and the Hanford Site.

Route description

Its eastern end begins at the southern end of the Blue Bridge in central Kennewick as an offshoot of U.S. Route 395. It continues as a freeway through northern Kennewick just south of the Columbia Riverpassing near the Columbia Center Mall on the wayall the way up to Richland, where it effectively enters into town as the heavily-traveled George Washington Way at the interchange with Interstate 182. However, it is possible to continue on the highway (though it is no longer a freeway after the Interstate 182 interchange) by taking an exit and traveling around the west side of townthe highway is known for that stretch of land as the "Bypass Highway". This name, given when the highway actually avoided most of the rush-hour gridlock and constant stoplights of George Washington Way, is somewhat ironic nowadays as the six stoplights on this section of the highway impede drivers just as the traffic-laden main street has for decades.

In any case, after traveling north for roughly five miles, the road itself continues northward as Stevens Drive, but the highway itself goes on as an offshoot, this time heading to the northwest. The highway enters the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and goes on for dozens of miles. Eventually, it ends in State Route 24. Going north onto Highway 24 leads to Interstate 90 and George, Washington; going west instead leads to Yakima, Washington.

SR 240 has two bike paths that run adjacent to it in Richland. The Sacagawea Heritage Trail parallels it from Columbia Park Trail to I-182, and another runs parallel to it from I-182 to Stevens Drive, where it continues north to Hanford.

History

Before Interstate 182 was built, SR 240 was known as US 12 from Columbia Park Trail to its junction with today's US 395 where US 12 continued across the Blue Bridge to Pasco. Even before this, the same portion was known as US 410 before US 12 was expanded from Lewiston to Aberdeen in 1967. Before the freeway was built in on the north side of Kennewick, US 410 and later US 12 followed Columbia Park Trail to the Green Bridge east of Downtown Kennewick (today's SR 397).

Due to the heavy traffic pressed upon the highway during rush hour, the road underwent significant construction from the Columbia Center Boulevard exit in Kennewick all the way up through the first mile or so of George Washington Way. This included demolition of the fifty-year-old four-lane bridge that spanned the Yakima River, where in its place two four-lane bridges were constructed. A more controversial change came at the eastbound exit to Columbia Park Trail, where a two-lane roundabout intersection - which connects the exit, Columbia Park Trail and Steptoe Avenue - was constructed. The work was completed in early June 2007, several months ahead of schedule.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Benton County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
0.000.00 SR 24 Othello, Vantage, Yakima
20.4832.96 SR 225 south Benton City
Richland28.8646.45Stevens Drive – Hanford, RichlandFormer SR 240 east
29.6647.73Richland Airport
30.2548.68 SR 224 west West Richland
32.9953.09Aaron Drive, Lawless Drive, Thayer Drive, Wellsian WayInterchange westbound; at-grade intersection eastbound
West end of freeway
33.1053.27 I182 west (US 12 west) to I82 Yakima, PendletonWest end of I-182/US 12 overlap, exit 4.
34.2255.07 I182 east (US 12 east) PascoEast end of I-182/US 12 overlap, exits 5A-B.
George Washington WayFormer SR 240 West
35.9157.79Columbia Park TrailFormer US 12 west
37.0759.66Columbia Center Boulevard - Toyota Center
Kennewick38.6562.20Edison Street
40.7465.56Columbia Park TrailWestbound exit and entrance only
41.3466.53 US 395 Pasco, Spokane, Umatilla
Columbia Drive
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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