The nation's largest concrete arch at the time takes shape in 1971 to support the Fred Redmon Bridge on
I-82.
The Spokane joined the State fleet as its first "Jumbo Ferry" in 1972.
|
Under Governor Albert Rosellini and Highway Director William Bugge, work began in earnest on Interstates 5, 82, 90, 405, and on the longsought North Cascades Highway. New floating bridges opened across Hood Canal and Lake Washington in the early 1960s, along with fixed spans over the Columbia and other rivers.
The 1962 Century 21 Exposition in Seattle previewed new transportation technologies such as monorails, but the opening of I-5 was probably the most widely anticipated event. Its soaring Ship Canal bridge opened in 1962 and the last stop light between Vancouver and Blaine was removed in 1969. The 277-mile highway cost nearly $1 million per mile to build.
In the 1970s, public attitudes toward highways, especially in large cities, began to shift, and support for mass transit grew, leading to creation of King County’s all-bus “Metro Transit” system in 1972.
Federal and state mandates for preparation of “environmental impact statements” gave highway
opponents the means to delay and win changes to projects such as I-90.
Other work proceeded. Governor Dan Evans dedicated the last segment of the long-awaited
North Cascades Highway (SR 20) in 1972. The department also introduced its first High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on SR 520 and its first sound buffers on I-405 in Bellevue, and began working with Metro Transit to build Park and Ride lots for bus commuters in the early 1970s.
The OPEC oil embargo of 1973–1974 made it clear that an effective transportation system had to rely on more than just automobiles. Governor Dixy Lee Ray won passage of a new Washington State Transportation Commission, which first met on September 21, 1977. For the first time, the State would take an integrated and comprehensive approach to all modes of public movement — roads, ferries, aviation, rail, and transit.
| Timeline: 1961 - 1977 |
- Legislature adopts Highway Advertising Control Act to remove billboards in March 1961 (four years ahead of National Highway Beautification Act).
|
- Hood Canal Floating Bridge opens to traffic on August 12, 1961.
|
- Evergreen Point (now Albert D. Rosellini) Floating Bridge opens on August 28, 1963.
|
- W. E. McKibbon serves as acting Director of Highways from July to October 1963, when Charles G. Prahl becomes permanent Director.
|
- Interstate 5 opens to traffic between Seattle and Everett on February 3, 1965, and Seattle reversible lanes open in June.
|
- Interstate 405 opens between Renton and Tukwila on September 3, 1965.
|
- With Washington State participation, Oregon Highway Department completes Astoria Bridge over the Columbia River on August 27, 1966.
|
- First “superferry,” Hyak, is launched in San Diego on December 17, 1966.
|
- George Andrews becomes Director of Highways in May 1969.
|
- Spokane's 4th Avenue viaduct is completed in September 1969.
|
- Final portion of I-5 is completed on November 14, 1969.
|
- Department of Highways occupies its current headquarters in Olympia in 1970.
|
- Environmental lawsuits are filed to halt construction of Interstate 90 between I-405 and I-5 on May 28, 1970.
|
- Fred Redmon Memorial Bridge opens on I-82 over Selah Creek on November 2, 1971.
|
- Jumbo Ferries Spokane and Walla Walla are launched during 1972.
|
- North Cascades Highway (SR 20) opens between Newhalem and Winthrop on September 2, 1972.
|
- State's first acoustical freeway barriers and first “High Occupancy Vehicle” (HOV) lanes are introduced in 1973.
|
- OPEC oil embargo spurs Congress to pass National Mass Transportation Act, providing the first federal aid for transit operating costs, and to impose a 55 m.p.h. freeway speed limit in 1974 (lifted in 1996).
|
- Legislature grants local governments authority to create Public Transportation Benefit Areas to provide transit services in 1975.
|
- William A. Bulley becomes Director of Highways on November 1, 1975.
|
- Eleven-mile section of I-205 bypassing Vancouver opens to traffic on December 22, 1976.
|
- Linda Wheeler becomes the Washington State Ferries' first woman deck officer on July 3, 1977.
|
- New Washington State Transportation Commission holds its first meeting on September 21, 1977. William A. Bulley is named the first Secretary of Transportation.
|