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Washington State Route 292

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State Route 292 marker
State Route 292
Map
SR 292 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 395
Maintained by WSDOT
Length5.91 mi[1] (9.51 km)
Existed1964–present
Major junctions
West end SR 231 in Springdale
East end US 395 near Loon Lake
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyStevens
Highway system
← SR 291→ SR 300

State Route 292 (SR 292) is a state highway located entirely in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The east–west highway connects SR 231 in Springdale to U.S. Route 395 (US 395) at Loon Lake. It is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and follows Sheep Creek and a railroad.

The highway was built in the early 20th century along the Spokane Falls and Northern Railway and was incorporated into the Inland Empire Highway in 1913. It later became part of US 395 until it was realigned in 1959 to bypass Springdale. The former highway became a branch of Secondary State Highway 3J (SSH 3J), which was renumbered to SR 292 in 1964.

Route description

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SR 292 near its western terminus at SR 231 in Springdale

State Route 292 (SR 292) begins in Springdale at an intersection with SR 231, the town's main street and a major north–south highway through Stevens County.[2] The highway travels east from the town along the BNSF Railway's Kettle Falls Subdivision, a minor freight railroad, and Sheep Creek between Limekiln Hill and May Hill.[3][4] It continues east into rolling forestland and passes farmland before descending towards the unincorporated community of Loon Lake.[5] SR 292 crosses over Sheep Creek and under the railroad as it enters Loon Lake, where it passes north of the eponymous lake. The highway travels southeast through Loon Lake's small commercial district and terminates at a roundabout with US 395 and Garden Spot Road on the northeast shore of the lake.[5][6]

The six-mile-long (9.7 km), two-lane highway primarily connects Springdale to Loon Lake, along with serving recreational traffic in the area. It is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey of traffic volume that is expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic. Average traffic volumes on SR 292 in 2016 ranged from a minimum of 2,300 vehicles at SR 231 in Springdale to a maximum of 3,400 vehicles in Loon Lake.[7]

History

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The Spokane Falls and Northern Railway (later part of the Great Northern Railway) was completed between Spokane and Chewelah in 1889, providing a fixed overland link between Springdale and Loon Lake.[8] A parallel wagon road was completed by 1910 and later classified as suitable for automobile travel.[9][10] It was incorporated into the Inland Empire Highway, a state highway established in 1913 that connected the Palouse to Spokane and the Canadian border in Stevens County.[11][12][13]

The Inland Empire Highway was assigned the designation of State Road 3 (later Primary State Highway 3) in 1923.[12] It then became part of US 395, created in 1926 as part of the initial United States Numbered Highway System to connect Spokane to the Canadian border.[14] Paving of the highway between Spokane and Kettle Falls began in 1931 and was completed a year later.[15][16] The Springdale–Loon Lake section was rebuilt in 1951, including a new underpass under the Great Northern Railway.[17]

The state government approved plans to realign US 395 between Loon Lake and Chewelah onto a straighter highway in early 1957.[18] The new alignment would eliminate more than 45 curves and nearly 6 miles (9.7 km) between Spokane and Chewelah; it would cost $1.3 million to construct (equivalent to $10.8 million in 2023 dollars)[19] and use funding from the federal government.[20] Construction began in October 1957 and the new highway opened to traffic on November 10, 1959.[21][22] The former route from Loon Lake to Springdale was retained as a branch of SSH 3J by the state legislature in early 1959.[23][24]

SSH 3J was renumbered to SR 231 in 1964, while its east–west branch became SR 292.[25] In 1991, the state government proposed decommissioning SR 292 and transferring it to county maintenance, but were opposed by civic leaders from Springdale who feared that logging trucks would be unable to use the county-maintained road.[26] The proposal was rejected by the state legislature and resurfaced three years later, where it also failed to gain traction.[27] In response to safety concerns and 19 collisions from 2017 to 2022, WSDOT constructed a roundabout to replace the eastern terminus of SR 292 at US 395 in Loon Lake.[28] The roundabout was constructed beginning in September 2022 as part of a larger $12 million repaving project and opened to traffic in early October.[29][30]

Major intersections

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The entire route is in Stevens County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Springdale0.000.00 SR 231 (Main Street) – Reardan, Chewelah
​5.919.51 US 395 – Colville, SpokaneRoundabout; continues as Garden Spot Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Multimodal Planning Division (January 4, 2021). State Highway Log Planning Report 2020, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 1283. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Washington State Department of Transportation (2014). Washington State Highways, 2014–2015 (PDF) (Map). 1:842,000. Olympia: Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  3. ^ 2015 Washington State Rail System by Owner (PDF) (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. January 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  4. ^ BNSF Subdivisions (PDF) (Map). BNSF Railway. September 1, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Corridor Sketch Summary – SR 292: SR 231 Jct. (Springdale) to US 395 Jct. (Loon Lake)" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. March 19, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  6. ^ "State Route 292" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  7. ^ 2016 Annual Traffic Report (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2017. pp. 197–198. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Driving of Spike to Mark Event". The Spokesman-Review. July 12, 1959. p. 18. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad and Connections (Map). 1 inch = 6 miles. Matthews-Northrup Works. 1910. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via WSU Libraries Digital Collections.
  10. ^ Washington State Highway Commission (1912). Road Map of Washington Showing Main Travelled Roads (Map). Olympia: Washington State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  11. ^ Washington State Highway Commission (1913). Map of Washington State Highways Authorized By Legislative Acts of 1913, with 1915 changes (Map). 1 inch = 18 miles. Olympia: Washington State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via WSU Libraries Digital Collections.
  12. ^ a b Kershner, Jim (October 9, 2013). "Inland Empire Highway". HistoryLink. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  13. ^ Road map of the Northwest (Map). State College of Washington Highway Department. 1918. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via WSU Libraries Digital Collections.
  14. ^ 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: United States Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  15. ^ "Thousand Men Find Work on Empire's Highways". Spokane Daily Chronicle. July 29, 1931. p. 14. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Washington State Department of Highways (January 1932). Highway Map, State of Washington (Map). Olympia: Washington State Department of Highways. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  17. ^ Woods, Dick (October 1951). "District No. 5". State of Washington Department of Highways News. Vol. 1, no. 4. Washington State Department of Highways. p. 14. OCLC 29654162. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  18. ^ "Highway 395 Change Topic Next Monday". Spokane Daily Chronicle. January 17, 1957. p. B3. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ 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 MeasuringWorth series.
  20. ^ "Hearing on Loon Lake Bypass On PSH 3 Held". Washington Highways. Vol. 6, no. 9. Washington State Department of Highways. March 1957. p. 5. OCLC 29654162. Retrieved September 12, 2018 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  21. ^ "Caravan of Cars Opens New Road". The Spokesman-Review. November 11, 1959. p. 6. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Work on Loon Lake-Chewelah Cut-off Route Progresses; More to Come". Washington Highway News. Vol. 8, no. 1. Washington State Department of Highways. July 1958. p. 19. OCLC 29654162. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  23. ^ "Chapter 319: Highways" (PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1959. Washington State Legislature. March 24, 1959. p. 1527. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  24. ^ Highway Planning Division (1969). "Washington State Highway System Legislative Changes". Washington State Highway Commission. p. 26. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
  25. ^ "Identification of State Highways: Legislative Highway Numbers With Corresponding Sign Route Numbers" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission. December 1, 1965. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  26. ^ Craig, John (August 12, 1991). "Springdale residents call for end to phone charges". The Spokesman-Review. pp. A6–A7. Retrieved April 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Craig, John (May 18, 1994). "Springdale fights again plan to give away road". The Spokesman-Review. p. B3. Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Perez, Vanessa (August 16, 2022). "'I think it's completely pointless': WSDOT to add new roundabout to busy intersection in Loon Lake". KXLY. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  29. ^ Corrin, Noah (September 19, 2022). "Roundabout construction begins at the intersection of US-395 and SR-292 in Loon Lake". Fox 28 Spokane. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  30. ^ Wixey, Will (October 3, 2022). "US 395 Loon Lake roundabout now fully open". KXLY. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
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