Building the "North Trunk Highway" (later US 99) near Bothell, ca. 1910
The Sunset Highway (I-90) opened in 1915, ten years after the first automobile crossed the summit of Snoqualmie Pass
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When Washington gained statehood in 1889, paved roads were rare, even in the largest cities, and counties were chiefly responsible for road construction. Washington’s growing number of bicyclists founded the state’s Good Roads movement in 1899, and gained the support of early motorists in the 1900s. Legislation for a State Highway Board, with a $110,000 budget, was finally signed by Governor Albert Mead on March 13, 1905.
The new Highway Board, comprising the State Treasurer, State Auditor, and Highway Commissioner Joseph M. Snow met for the first time on April 17 and budgeted funds for 12 state highways. The State’s investment in and power over road construction expanded as motor vehicles began to challenge trains, streetcars, and steamships as the primary mode of transportation.
The biggest boost came on July 11, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Aid Road Act, offering the first significant national funding for highway construction. After World War I, road work accelerated, and the Highway Board established its first regional districts (now six) to manage a growing workload of road and bridge projects.
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Timeline: 1905 - 1920 |
- Governor Albert E. Mead signs law creating State Highway Board and post of Highway Commissioner, first filled by Joseph M. Snow, on March 13, 1905. The legislature appropriates $110,000 and designates 12 state roads.
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- Highway Board holds its first meeting on April 17, 1905.
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- First automobile makes it across Snoqualmie Pass in June 1905.
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- Electric interurban trains begin operating between Wenatchee and Selah, and nation's first gas station opens in Seattle in 1907.
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- Henry L. Bowlby becomes Highway Commissioner in August 1909.
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- First airplane to fly in Washington is demonstrated near Seattle in March 1910.
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- State engineers begin experimenting with concrete paving in 1912.
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- Governor Marion E. Hay signs “Permanent Highway Act,” imposing state control over major highways and levying a one-mill road tax, on March 8, 1911.
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- William R. White becomes acting Highway Commissioner in March 1911, until succeeded by William J. Roberts in June 1911.
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- State takes over private toll bridge between Clarkston and Lewiston, making it Washington's first public interstate bridge, on December 4, 1913.
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- William R. Roy becomes Highway Commissioner in December 1913.
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- Governor Ernest Lister dedicates Sunset Highway (now I-90) at Snoqualmie Pass on July 1, 1915.
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- James Allen becomes Highway Commissioner in March 1916.
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- President Woodrow Wilson signs Federal Aid Road Act on July 11, 1916.
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- Clark and Multnomah counties open Columbia River Interstate Bridge on February 14, 1917.
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- First State Highway Districts, each headed by a District Engineer, are established in 1918.
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