U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from California to the inland regions of Oregon and Washington. It travels north–south through Washington, including long concurrencies with Interstate 82 (I-82) and I-90, and connects the Tri-Cities region to Spokane and the Canadian border at Laurier.
The non-concurrent sections of US 395 range from two-lane roads in northeastern Washington to a four-lane divided highway between Pasco and Ritzville. The highway generally travels along railroads built in the 19th century that were succeeded by early roads and auto trails. The Pasco–Ritzville section was upgraded to a divided highway in the 1990s and 2000s with funding from the state and federal governments.
The Spokane section of US 395, which is concurrent with US 2, is planned to be relocated to a new freeway bypass called the North Spokane Corridor. The freeway's first phase opened in 2009 and is scheduled to be completed in 2030. The entire highway was officially designated as the Thomas S. Foley Memorial Highway in 2018.
Route description
US 395 is one of Washington's major north–south highways and is listed as part of the National Highway System, a network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility. The state legislature also designated it as a Highway of Statewide Significance. The highway is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on state routes to measure traffic volume in terms of average annual daily traffic. Average 2016 traffic volumes on non-concurrent sections of the highway ranged from a minimum of 380 at the Laurier border crossing to 64,000 on the Blue Bridge between Kennewick and Pasco. US 395 is also a major international freight corridor, connecting the Inland Northwest to British Columbia and California. The Plymouth–Pasco section of the highway is signed as part of the Lewis and Clark Trail, a state scenic byway.
Tri-Cities to Ritzville
US 395 is concurrent with I-82 as it enters Washington on the Umatilla Bridge, a set of bridges that cross the Columbia River north of Umatilla, Oregon. The freeway carrying both highways travels north over the Fallbridge Subdivision of the BNSF Railway system and through an interchange with SR 14 east of Plymouth before traversing Fourmile Canyon. I-82 and US 395 turn north at Bofer Canyon and travel across irrigated farmland before crossing over the Horse Heaven Hills and intersecting SR 397. At its next exit in southwestern Kennewick, I-82 splits from US 395 in a trumpet interchange and heads northwest towards the Yakima River Valley. US 395 continues northeasterly into Kennewick, running as a four-lane divided highway with several signalized intersections.
The highway descends into suburban Kennewick, passing through retail areas and residential neighborhoods in the Southridge area. US 395 also passes the Southridge Sports Complex, which includes the city's September 11 memorial, and the Southridge Hospital complex. The highway continues north onto Ely Street and turns east near the Zintel Creek before crossing over the BNSF Yakima Valley Subdivision and intersecting SR 240 in a dogbone interchange northwest of downtown Kennewick. SR 240 continues west as a freeway along the Columbia River towards Richland, while US 395 merges with the freeway's eastbound lanes and travels over the Columbia River on the Pioneer Memorial Bridge, a four-lane truss bridge that spans and is popularly known as the "Blue Bridge" because of the blue paint used on its trusses.
At the north end of the bridge, US 395 enters Pasco and becomes a short freeway, with interchanges at Lewis Street and Court Street. US 395 then turns east and joins the concurrent I-182 and US 12 for . The freeway travels along the south side of Tri-Cities Airport and the Columbia Basin College campus and crosses over the BNSF Lakeside Subdivision near a major railyard. At a cloverleaf interchange with SR 397 in northeastern Pasco, US 395 splits from I-182 and travels north onto a divided highway that runs through an industrial area on the east side of the airport and railyard. The highway traverses an interchange at Kartchner Street before leaving Pasco, traveling northeast into the irrigated farmland of the Columbia Plateau along the BNSF Lakeside Subdivision, which also carries Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger trains. The divided highway travels through the area's farmland and rolling hills with un-signalized intersections at local roads and full interchanges at major state highways.