Washington State Route 172

State Route 172
SR 172 is highlighted in red.
Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 17
Defined by RCW 47.17.355
Maintained by WSDOT
Length:	35.01 mi[1] (56.34 km)
Existed:	1964[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 2 at Farmer
East end:	SR 17 near Mansfield
Location
Counties:	Douglas
Highway system
State Highways in Washington Interstate US State Scenic Former PSH 1964 renumbering Former ← SR 171 SR 173 →

State Route 172 (SR 172) is a 35.01-mile (56.34 km) long state highway serving rural Douglas County in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels north from U.S. Route 2 (US 2) at Farmer through Withrow and east through Mansfield before ending at SR 17 at Sims Corner. The highway follows the route of a county road built in the 1930s and signed as Secondary State Highway 10B (SSH 10B) in 1955. SSH 10B became SR 172 during the 1964 highway renumbering and served a daily average of less than 700 vehicles in 2011.

Route description

SR 172 passing through Mansfield as Main Street

SR 172 begins as Road C NW at an intersection with US 2 at the unincorporated community of Farmer, between Waterville and Coulee City.^[3] The highway travels north through farmland and serves Withrow before climbing Lone Butte and turning east into 14th Road NW.^[1][4][5] SR 172 continues east into Mansfield,^[6] where it becomes Main Street and turns southeast into Downtown at Mansfield High School.^[7] The roadway turns northeast onto Railroad Avenue, serving the Mansfield Airport.^[8] SR 172 leaves Mansfield and continues east as 14th Road NE until it ends at SR 17 at Sims Corner, north of Coulee City.^[9][10][11]

Every year the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. This is expressed in terms of average annual daily traffic (AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. In 2011, WSDOT calculated that between 200 and 690 vehicles per day used the highway, mostly in Mansfield.^[12]

History

A gravel county road extending from Lone Butte through Mansfield to Sims Corner first appeared in a 1933 Department of Highways map of Washington.^[13] The road was paved and used temporarily by Primary State Highway 10 (PSH 10) until a Bridgeport–Leahy road was built to the northeast in the 1950s.^[14][15] A paved road from Mansfield to Withrow and Farmer was built by 1950 and was signed as an extension of Secondary State Highway 10B (SSH 10B) in 1955.^[16][17] SSH 11B was split into SR 172 and SR 174 in the 1964 highway renumbering,^[2][18][19] and no major revisions to the highway has occurred since.^[20]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Douglas County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Farmer	0.00	0.00	US 2 – Coulee City, Waterville	Western terminus
	35.01	56.34	SR 17 – Coulee City, Bridgeport, Grand Coulee Dam	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. Staff (2012), State Highway Log: Planning Report 2011, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, pp. 1164–1167, retrieved January 15, 2013
2. "47.17.355: State route No. 172", Revised Code of Washington (Washington State Legislature), 1970, retrieved January 15, 2013
3. "Feature Detail Report for: Farmer", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 15, 2013
4. "Feature Detail Report for: Withrow", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 15, 2013
5. "Feature Detail Report for: Lone Butte", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 15, 2013
6. "Feature Detail Report for: Mansfield", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 15, 2013
7. "Feature Detail Report for: Mansfield High School", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), March 1, 1993, retrieved January 15, 2013
8. "Feature Detail Report for: Mansfield Airport", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), March 1, 1990, retrieved January 15, 2013
9. "Feature Detail Report for: Sims Corner", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved January 15, 2013
10. Google (January 15, 2013). "State Route 172" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
11. Douglas County 2010 Road Atlas (PDF) (Map) (2010 ed.). 1:16,000. East Wenatchee, Washington: Douglas County Transportation & Land Services. April 2010. pp. 111, 119. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
12. Staff (2011), 2011 Annual Traffic Report (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, p. 152, retrieved January 15, 2013
13. Highway Map of the State of Washington (DJVU) (Map). Department of Highways. April 1, 1933. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
14. Highways of the State of Washington (DJVU) (Map). Department of Highways. 1939. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
15. "Chamber Session Broad in Scope", Spokane Daily Chronicle (Spokane, Washington), April 2, 1949, retrieved January 15, 2013
16. Washington State Legislature (1955), Session Laws of the State of Washington, Session Laws of the State of Washington (1955 ed.), Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature
17. Ritzville, 1953 (JPG) (Map). 1:250,000. United States Geological Survey. 1953. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
18. Prahl, C. G. (December 1, 1965), Identification of State Highways (PDF), Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways, retrieved January 15, 2013
19. Ritzville, 1965 (JPG) (Map). 1:250,000. United States Geological Survey. 1965. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
20. Washington State Highways, 2011–2012 (PDF) (Map). 1:842,000. Washington State Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2013.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Highways of Washington State