Washington State Route 276

State Route 276 (SR 276) was a legislated, but not constructed, state highway located in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway was meant to serve as a northern bypass of Pullman in Whitman County, traveling east from U.S. Route 195 (US 195) west of the city to SR 270 east of the city. Proposals were first drawn in 1969 for a complete ring road around Pullman, with the west side built and signed as US 195 in 1975. The northern segment of the ring road was codified in law in 1973 as SR 276, but was never constructed. In 2016, the highway was removed by the state legislature.

State Route 276 marker

State Route 276

Proposed SR 276 corridor from 2007 RDP
Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 27
HistoryProposed since 1969[1]: 16 
Codified from 1973 to 2016[2]
Major junctions
West end US 195 near Pullman
Major intersections SR 27 near Pullman
East end SR 270 near Pullman
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountiesWhitman
Highway system
← SR 274→ SR 278

Route description

SR 276 was legislated to begin at an intersection with US 195 west of Pullman in rural Whitman County. The highway would continue east through the Palouse as a divided limited-access highway, intersecting Brayton Road at an at-grade intersection and SR 27 at a diamond interchange. SR 276 would have turned southeast and intersect the future Coliseum Road at a diamond interchange before ending at SR 270 east of Pullman.[1]: 25–27 

The highway was proposed primarily to relieve traffic on SR 27 and SR 270 through downtown Pullman, measured in surveys conducted by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) using average annual daily traffic (AADT). WSDOT determined the intersection between SR 27 and SR 270 in downtown Pullman as the busiest highway in the region. SR 270 averaged 19,000 vehicles east of the intersection and SR 27 averaged 16,000 vehicles south of the intersection in 2011, while WSDOT predicted that average traffic could rise to 26,000 vehicles by 2025.[1]: 84 [3]

History

A ring road around Pullman was first proposed by the Washington State Highway Commission in 1966 and surveyed in 1970.[4][5] Right-of-way acquisition by WSDOT began in 1972 and the corridor was designated and codified into law as SR 276 the following year.[2][6][7] 2.8 miles (4.51 km) of the ring road was completed west of the city as part of US 195 in 1974 while a public survey in 1975 recommended a southern bypass for SR 270 instead of SR 276.[8][9] Several property owners along the proposed route of the bypass filed a lawsuit against the Washington State Highway Commission and argued the selected alignment would disturb wildlife. The Washington Supreme Court ruled in favor of the highway commission in January 1975.[10]

The bypass project was canceled by 1978 and the WSDOT right-of-way was leased to farmers for agricultural purposes. The project was restarted with a transportation study from the Spokane Regional Council in 1993 and funded by the Pullman municipal government as part of their comprehensive plan.[1]: 16 [11] A route development plan in 2007, funded by WSDOT, recommended the construction of a 6.89-mile-long (11.09 km) divided limited-access highway with a single at-grade intersection at Brayton Road.[1]: 1, 40–42  WSDOT also allowed construction of a road crossing the protected right-of-way for the bypass.[12]

In early 2016, a bill was introduced in the Washington State Legislature to decommission the unbuilt highway by removing its designation, primarily to facilitate the expansion of the Pullman–Moscow Regional Airport runway per an agreement signed four years earlier.[13][14] The bill was passed out of the legislature and was signed by the Governor of Washington on April 1, 2016.[15] The following year, the Pullman city government proposed the construction of a southerly bypass connecting US 195 to SR 270 near Mary's Park.[16]

References
  1. SR 276 Route Development Plan (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. February 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 3, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
  2. "47.17.502: State route No. 276". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. 1973. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  3. Staff (2011). "2011 Annual Traffic Report" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. 105, 164–165. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  4. "Highway Expert To Discuss Pullman Bypass". Lewiston Morning Tribune. July 15, 1966. p. 15. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  5. "Pullman Bypass Routes Viewed". Spokane Daily Chronicle. February 21, 1970. p. 25. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  6. "Pullman couple loses appeal against highway bypass route". Lewiston Morning Tribune. January 10, 1975. p. 14. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  7. Hamm, Hillary (October 19, 2007). "Park-and-ride concept is on the table in Pullman". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. pp. 1–2. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  8. "Pullman bypass nearly complete". Lewiston Morning Tribune. November 19, 1974. p. 11. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  9. Tribune Palouse Bureau (April 14, 1975). "Pullman bypass league claims support". Lewiston Morning Tribune. p. 10. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  10. Bunning, Paul (January 10, 1975). "Disputed Pullman Bypass Plan Upheld". The Spokesman-Review. p. 6. Retrieved July 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Sorem, Ron (November 13, 1992). "Pullman bypass planning open for citizen input". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 19. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  12. Hamm, Hillary (January 8, 2007). "WSDOT allows Pullman to cross right of way". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  13. Johnson, David (May 20, 2012). "Moscow-Pullman Regional Airport expansion clears hurdle". KLEW-TV. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  14. Embree, Chelsea (December 21, 2016). "Washington lawmakers, Pullman council talk transportation". Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  15. "SB 6607: Removing state route number 276 from the state highway system". Washington State Legislature. January 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  16. Nadauld, Taylor (October 6, 2017). "New Pullman south bypass route is in city's sights". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
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