Washington State Route 538

State Route 538 (SR 538, alternatively named College Way) is a 3.62-mile (5.83 km) long state highway located within the northern area of Mount Vernon city limits and the urban growth boundary, located in Skagit County, a subdivision of the U.S. state of Washington. The highway, which has existed as a county road since 1911, travels from Interstate 5 (I-5) in the west, passing former U.S. Route 99 (US 99), now Riverside Drive, and Skagit Valley College's main Mount Vernon campus before terminating at a roundabout with SR 9.

State Route 538 marker

State Route 538

College Way
A map of western Skagit County that shows the current route SR 538 highlighted in red.
SR 538 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-5
Maintained by WSDOT
Length3.62 mi[1] (5.83 km)
Existed1964[2]–present
Major junctions
West end I-5 in Mount Vernon
East end SR 9 near Mount Vernon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
Highway system
← SR 536→ SR 539

Before being designated Secondary State Highway 1G (SSH 1G) in 1937, the current roadway that is now SR 538 was a county road through farmland for 26 years. SSH 1G traveled between Primary State Highway 1 (PSH 1), also known as US 99, and SSH 1A until 1964, when the current designation of SR 538 was created. US 99 was bypassed by I-5 after 1966 and became Riverside Drive. The roundabout at SR 9 was constructed in 2007 while the Riverside Drive intersection was widened in 2009.

Route description

State Route 538 (SR 538) begins at the Interstate 5 (I-5) interchange in northern Mount Vernon located south of the Skagit River.[3] The roadway, which handled a daily average of 27,000 motorists at the interchange in 2008,[4] is named College Way and travels east through a commercial zone, passing Riverside Drive, the former route of U.S. Route 99 (US 99),[5] and crossing a set of rail tracks used by BNSF Railway.[6] Transitioning from a commercial to residential area, the Mount Vernon campus of the Skagit Valley College, located on the north side of the highway, is passed and eventually SR 538 leaves Mount Vernon city limits.[1][7][8] The road turns southeast and ends at a roundabout with SR 9 within Mount Vernon's urban growth boundary.[9][10]

History

Originating as a county road by 1911,[11] SR 538 was designated Secondary State Highway 1G (SSH 1G) in 1937. SSH 1G ran from Primary State Highway 1 (PSH 1), co-signed as U.S. Route 99 (US 99), to SSH 1A.[12] During the 1964 highway renumbering, SR 538 was created to replace SSH 1G, PSH 1 and US 99 were replaced with Interstate 5 (I-5) and SR 9 replaced SSH 1A.[13] I-5 was not built until after 1966 and the western terminus of SR 538 was still US 99.[14] Between early June and late July 2007,[15][16] the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) constructed a roundabout at the SR 9 and Schopf Lane intersection,[17][18] the first in Skagit County.[15] The new roundabout reduced the length of SR 538 by 0.05-mile (0.08 km).[1]

In early 2009, between I-5 and 18th Street, WSDOT repaved the highway and expanded the Riverside Drive intersection.[19][20] A city-led project to widen the section of College Way that passes under I-5 at the western terminus of SR 538 began construction in December 2018 and was completed in 2020. The street was expanded to six lanes, including dedicated left turn lanes and two through lanes that are separated from the rest of traffic by the columns of the underpass.[21]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Skagit County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Mount Vernon0.000.00 I-5 – Seattle, Vancouver, BCWestern terminus, interchange; continues west as West College Way
0.270.43Riverside DriveFormer US 99
​3.625.83 SR 9 – Sedro-Woolley, ArlingtonEastern terminus, roundabout
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. Washington State Department of Transportation (2008). "State Highway Log: Planning Report, SR 2 to SR 971" (PDF). Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  2. Washington State Legislature (1970). "RCW 41.17.780: State route No. 538". Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  3. Washington State Department of Transportation (June 25, 2009). "SR 5– Exit 227; Junction SR 538/College Way" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  4. Washington State Department of Transportation (2008). "2008 Annual Traffic Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  5. TranTech Engineering, LLC (2008). "Old 99 (Riverside Drive) Improvements – Cities of Mount Vernon & Burlington". Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  6. Washington State Railroad System (PDF) (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 5, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  7. Skagit Valley College (2009). "Locations". Archived from the original on September 18, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  8. Mount Vernon Campus (PDF) (Map). Skagit Valley College. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  9. Google (October 3, 2009). "State Route 538" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  10. City of Mount Vernon 2007 (PDF) (Map). 1" = 1000'. City of Mount Vernon. 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  11. Mount Vernon (1911) (Map). 1:125,000. Washington 1;125,000 topographic quadrangles. Cartography by United States Geological Survey. Washington State University. 1911. Archived from the original on August 29, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  12. Washington State Legislature (March 18, 1937). "Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways". Session Laws of the State of Washington. Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 935. Retrieved October 3, 2009. (g) Secondary State Highway No. 1G; beginning at Mt. Vernon on Primary State Highway No. 1, thence in an easterly direction by the most feasible route to a junction with Secondary State Highway No. 1A.
  13. C. G. Prahl (December 1, 1965). "Identification of State Highways" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  14. Victoria, 1966 (Map). 1:250,000. Cartography by United States Geological Survey. University of Texas at Austin. 1966. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  15. "Roundabout Construction Begins near Mount Vernon" (Press release). Washington State Department of Transportation. June 1, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  16. "New Roundabout Open to Traffic East of Mount Vernon" (Press release). Washington State Department of Transportation. July 27, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  17. Washington State Department of Transportation (2007). "SR 9 – SR 538 Intersection Improvements – Complete August 2007". Archived from the original on September 29, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  18. SR 9 – SR 538 Intersection Improvements (Map). Cartography by Tele Atlas. Washington State Department of Transportation. 2005. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  19. Washington State Department of Transportation (2009). "SR 536/SR 538 – Paving". Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  20. Staff writer (January 24, 2009). "Construction to begin in spring on College Way/Riverside intersection". Skagit Valley Herald. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  21. Stone, Brandon (December 14, 2018). "Work begins on College Way widening project". Skagit Valley Herald. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
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