Washington State Route 548

State Route 548 marker

State Route 548

SR 548 is highlighted in red.
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-5
Defined by RCW 47.17.807
Maintained by WSDOT
Length: 13.85 mi[1] (22.29 km)
Existed: 1991[2] – present
Major junctions
South end: I‑5 in Ferndale
North end: I‑5 in Blaine
Location
Counties: Whatcom
Highway system
← SR 546SR 599 →

State Route 548 (SR 548) is a 13.85-mile-long (22.29 km) state highway serving Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels northwest between two interchanges with Interstate 5 (I-5) north of Ferndale and in Blaine. SR 548 in Blaine, named Peace Portal Drive, follows the route of the Pacific Highway, later U.S. Route 99 (US 99) and Primary State Highway 1 (PSH 1). US 99 was decommissioned during the 1964 highway renumbering and the highway was maintained by Whatcom County until it was designated as SR 548 in 1991.

Route description

I-5 northbound approaching the northern terminus of SR 548 in Blaine.

SR 548 begins north of Ferndale as Grandview Road at a diamond interchange with I-5, signed as exit 266,[3] and travels west over California Creek into rural Whatcom County.[4] The highway crosses a BNSF rail line and continues west towards Birch Bay, passing north of Lake Terrell and its state game refuge.[5][6][7] SR 548 turns north onto Blaine Road at a roundabout and travels through Birch Bay before crossing Dakota Creek into Blaine.[8][9][10] The highway crosses over the BNSF rail line and turns northwest onto Peace Portal Drive northwest of an interchange with I-5.[5][11] Peace Portal Drive continues north along the rail line and Drayton Harbor into Downtown Blaine,[12] ending at a dumbbell interchange with I-5, signed as exit 276,[13] continuing east as D Street.[1][14]

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 2,100 and 9,100 vehicles per day used the highway, mostly near Birch Bay.[15]

History

SR 548 between Birch Bay and Blaine follows the route of a wagon road built in the 1900s parallel to a Great Northern rail line.[16] The wagon road was codified in 1913 as the northernmost segment of the Pacific Highway,[17] which later became State Road 1 during a 1923 restructuring of the highway system.[18] The United States Numbered Highways were created in 1926 and US 99 was assigned to the Pacific Highway,[19] becoming concurrent with the entire highway,[20] which was replaced by PSH 1 in 1937.[21] PSH 1 and US 99 were replaced during the 1964 highway renumbering by I-5 and Peace Portal Drive was removed from the highway system.[22][23] SR 548 was created in 1991 from Peace Portal Drive, Blaine Road, and Grandview Road between Ferndale and Blaine in the last major revision of the highway.[2][24] In 2010, WSDOT improved the I-5 interchange in Blaine at a cost of $13.2 million by converting it to a dogbone interchange using two new roundabouts.[25]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Whatcom County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Ferndale0.00–
0.09		0.00–
0.14		 I‑5 – Seattle, Vancouver, BCSouthern terminus, interchange
Blaine13.79–
13.85		22.19–
22.29		 I‑5 – Seattle, Vancouver, BCNorthern terminus, interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 3 Staff (2012), State Highway Log: Planning Report 2011, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, pp. 1722–1725, retrieved February 1, 2013
  2. 1 2 "47.17.807: State route No. 548", Revised Code of Washington (Washington State Legislature), 1991, retrieved February 1, 2013
  3. ↑ SR 5 - Exit 266: Junction SR 548/Grandview Road (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, May 14, 2012, retrieved February 1, 2013
  4. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: California Creek", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved February 1, 2013
  5. 1 2 2011 Washington State Rail System (PDF) (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. January 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Lake Terrell", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved February 1, 2013
  7. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Lake Terrell State Game Refuge", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved February 1, 2013
  8. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Birch Bay (Populated Place)", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved February 1, 2013
  9. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Dakota Creek", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved February 1, 2013
  10. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Blaine (Populated Place)", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), September 10, 1979, retrieved February 1, 2013
  11. ↑ SR 5 - Exit 274: Junction Peace Portal Drive (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, October 18, 2010, retrieved February 1, 2013
  12. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Drayton Harbor", Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey), March 1, 1993, retrieved February 1, 2013
  13. ↑ SR 5 - Exit 276: Junction SR 548/D St/Blaine City Center (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, May 14, 2012, retrieved February 1, 2013
  14. ↑ Google (February 1, 2013). "State Route 548" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  15. ↑ Staff (2011), 2011 Annual Traffic Report (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation, p. 209, retrieved February 1, 2013
  16. ↑ Washington (Whatcom County): Blaine Quadrangle (JPG) (Map). 1:250,000. United States Geological Survey. May 1907. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  17. ↑ Washington State Legislature (March 12, 1913), "Chapter 65: Classifying Public Highways", Session Laws of the State of Washington, Session Laws of the State of Washington (1913 ed.), Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature, p. 221, retrieved February 1, 2013, A highway starting at the international boundary line at Blaine, Washington; thence southerly by the most feasible route through the cities of Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, Seattle, Renton, along the easterly side of the White River Valley through Kent, Auburn, Tacoma, Olympia, Tenino, Centralia, Chehalis, to the southern boundary line at the city of Vancouver, Washington, to be known as The Pacific Highway.
  18. ↑ Washington State Legislature (March 19, 1923), "Chapter 185: Primary and Secondary State Highways", Session Laws of the State of Washington, Session Laws of the State of Washington (1923 ed.), Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature, pp. 627–628, retrieved February 1, 2013, SECTION 1. A primary state highway, to be known as State Road No. 1 or the Pacific Highway, is established as follows: Beginning at the international boundary line at Blaine in the County of Whatcom; thence by the most feasible route in a southerly direction to the interstate bridge over the Columbia River between Vancouver and Portland.
  19. ↑ Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: U.S. Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via University of North Texas Libraries.
  20. ↑ Rand McNally Junior Road Map of Washington (Map). Rand McNally. 1926. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  21. ↑ Washington State Legislature (March 17, 1937), "Chapter 190: Establishment of Primary State Highways", Session Laws of the State of Washington, Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.), Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature, p. 933, retrieved February 1, 2013, Beginning at the international boundary line in the vicinity of Blaine in Whatcom county, thence in a southerly direction by the most feasible route to the Washington-Oregon boundary line on the interstate bridge over the Columbia river.
  22. ↑ Prahl, C. G. (December 1, 1965), Identification of State Highways (PDF), Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways, retrieved February 1, 2013
  23. ↑ Victoria, 1966 (JPG) (Map). 1:250,000. United States Geological Survey. 1966. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  24. ↑ Washington State Highways, 2011–2012 (PDF) (Map). 1:842,000. Washington State Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  25. ↑ I-5 - Blaine Exit Interchange Improvements - Complete September 2010, Washington State Department of Transportation, September 2010, retrieved February 1, 2013

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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