# Washington State Route 515
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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Route_515
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{{Short description|State highway in King County, Washington, US}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox road
|state=WA
|type=SR
|route=515
|spur_type=I
|spur_of=5
|section=705
|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=310|frame-lat=47.427|frame-long=-122.203|zoom=11|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Washington State Route 515}}}}
|map_custom=yes
|map_notes=A map of Kent and Renton with SR 515 highlighted in red
|length_mi=7.86
|length_round=2
|length_ref=[{{WSDOT State Highway Log |year=2017 |pages=1507–1512 |link=yes |access-date=August 31, 2018}}]
|established=1964
|direction_a=South
|terminus_a={{jct|state=WA|SR|516}} in [Kent](/source/Kent%2C_Washington)
|junction={{jct|state=WA|I|405}} in [Renton](/source/Renton%2C_Washington)
|direction_b=North
|terminus_b={{jct|state=WA|SR|900}} in Renton
|county=King
|previous_type=SR
|previous_route=513
|next_type=SR
|next_route=516
}}
'''State Route 515''' ('''SR 515''') is a [state highway](/source/State_highways_in_Washington) in the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)) serving suburban [King County](/source/King_County%2C_Washington). The highway travels {{convert|8|mi|km|1}} north from [SR 516](/source/Washington_State_Route_516) in eastern [Kent](/source/Kent%2C_Washington) to [Renton](/source/Renton%2C_Washington), where it intersects [Interstate 405](/source/Interstate_405_(Washington)) (I-405) and [SR 900](/source/Washington_State_Route_900). It has carried the memorial designation of Martin Luther King Jr. Way since December 2025.[{{cite news |last=Hunter |first=Steve |date=December 28, 2025 |title=MLK Jr. Way street name to extend to Renton, Kent from Seattle |url=https://www.rentonreporter.com/news/mlk-jr-way-street-name-to-extend-to-renton-kent-from-seattle/ |work=[Renton Reporter](/source/Renton_Reporter) |access-date=December 29, 2025}}]
The highway was originally built by the county government in the 1910s as a winding gravel road connecting local [coal mine](/source/coal_mine)s. It was straightened and paved in the 1920s and was designated as Secondary State Highway 5C (SSH 5C) in 1937. SSH 5C was replaced by SR 515 in the [1964 state highway renumbering](/source/1964_state_highway_renumbering_(Washington)) and extended north into downtown Renton after the construction of I-405. A section of the highway on Talbot Highway was moved to a new [bypass road](/source/bypass_(road)) in 1982 and other sections in Kent were widened to four lanes in 1991. The I-405 underpass was rebuilt as a [half diamond interchange](/source/half_diamond_interchange) in 2010.
==Route description==
SR 515 begins at an intersection with [SR 516](/source/Washington_State_Route_516) east of downtown [Kent](/source/Kent%2C_Washington), in the business district of the East Hill neighborhood. The highway travels north on a four-lane section of 104th Avenue Southeast, passing [Kent-Meridian High School](/source/Kent-Meridian_High_School) and several suburban neighborhoods. SR 515 then diverts northeast onto 108th Avenue and crosses Harrison Creek, leaving Kent [city limit](/source/city_limit)s near [Panther Lake](/source/Panther_Lake_(Washington)).[{{cite map |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |year=2014 |title=Washington State Highways, 2014–2015 |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2006/06/13/TouristMapFront_withoutHillshade.pdf |inset=[https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2017/08/31/highway-map-PugetSound_Full.pdf Puget Sound] |location=Olympia |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=August 31, 2018 |archive-date=February 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221194441/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2D10703F-9ADF-4A95-A14E-2A36FEAF1C20/0/Statewide2014NoHillshade.pdf |url-status=dead }}] The highway enters [Renton](/source/Renton%2C_Washington) and continues north through suburban neighborhoods along the east edge of the [SR 167](/source/Washington_State_Route_167) freeway. It passes the [Valley Medical Center](/source/Valley_Medical_Center_(Washington)) at Carr Road and turns northwest onto Benson Road. SR 515 then descends from Talbot Hill and passes under a pedestrian overpass at Thomas Teasdale Park.[{{google maps |title=State Route 515 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.3725398,-122.202393/47.4812258,-122.2041839/@47.4268983,-122.2728197,12z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m11!4m10!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-122.2072458!2d47.4633165!3s0x54905d469d57b1cf:0xcca6d2f297d87d7b!1m0!2m1!1b1!3e0 |access-date=August 30, 2018}}]
The highway then supersedes a section of Talbot Road and crosses under [I-405](/source/Interstate_405_(Washington)), which it intersects in a [half diamond interchange](/source/half_diamond_interchange) at the south edge of downtown Renton.[{{cite web |date=April 21, 2016 |title=SR 405 – Exit 3: Junction SR 515 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR405/405x003.pdf |access-date=August 31, 2018}}] Talbot Road continues into downtown Renton, passing several [big-box store](/source/big-box_store)s and SR 515 turns northeast onto Grady Way near the [city hall](/source/city_hall). Grady Way turns into Main Street and travels north along an [embanked](/source/embankment_(transportation)) section of I-405 towards the center of downtown Renton. SR 515 terminates at two intersections with [SR 900](/source/Washington_State_Route_900), which is split between a pair of [one-way streets](/source/one-way_pair): Houser Way, which also carries a [street running](/source/street_running) railroad, and Bronson Way one block from the [Cedar River](/source/Cedar_River_(Washington)) and the [Renton Public Library](/source/Renton_Public_Library).[{{cite web |date=July 25, 2018 |title=SR 900: Junction SR 900 CO 2nd Street |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR900/900X010.pdf |access-date=August 31, 2018}}]
SR 515 is used by [King County Metro](/source/King_County_Metro) route 160, which provides bus connections to areas between [Kent's train station](/source/Kent_station_(Sound_Transit)) and Downtown Renton.[{{cite map |date=March 2021 |title=Route 160 |url=https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/metro/schedules-maps/route/160.aspx#route-map |publisher=[King County Metro](/source/King_County_Metro) |access-date=March 27, 2021}}] The [Washington State Department of Transportation](/source/Washington_State_Department_of_Transportation) (WSDOT) conducts an annual survey of traffic volumes on state highways measured in terms of [annual average daily traffic](/source/annual_average_daily_traffic). Traffic volumes on SR 515 range from a minimum of 7,900 vehicles in downtown Renton to a maximum of 31,000 vehicles in northern Kent.[{{cite report |year=2017 |title=2016 Annual Traffic Report |pages=198–199 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/Annual_Traffic_Report_2016.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=August 31, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109083720/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/Annual_Traffic_Report_2016.pdf |url-status=dead }}]
==History==
Benson Road, connecting Kent to Renton over the Benson and Talbot hills, was constructed in the 1910s as a gravel road serving local [coal mine](/source/coal_mine)s.[{{cite web |date=January 2014 |title=Washington State's Historic State Roads: Historic Context for Island, Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Kitsap Counties |pages=184–185 |url=https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/Roads%20Historic%20Context.pdf |publisher=[Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation](/source/Washington_State_Department_of_Archaeology_and_Historic_Preservation) |access-date=August 30, 2018}}] The road was straightened and paved by the county government in the mid-1920s, with all but {{convert|1|mi|km|1|spell=in}} completed by 1928.[{{cite news |date=June 3, 1928 |title=Evans Makes Fight To Straighten Road |page=2 |work=[The Seattle Times](/source/The_Seattle_Times)}}] Benson Road was added to the state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 5C (SSH 5C), which connected [Primary State Highway 2](/source/Primary_State_Highway_2_(Washington)) (PSH 2) in Renton to SSH 5A east of Kent.[{{cite book |date=March 18, 1937 |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1937 |chapter=Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways |pages=1004–1005 |chapter-url=http://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/documents/sessionlaw/1937c207.pdf |publisher=[Washington State Legislature](/source/Washington_State_Legislature) |access-date=August 31, 2018}}]
SR 515 was created during the [1964 state highway renumbering](/source/1964_state_highway_renumbering_(Washington)) to replace SSH 5C, while PSH 2 became [SR 900](/source/Washington_State_Route_900) and SSH 5A became [SR 516](/source/Washington_State_Route_516).[{{cite web |last=Prahl |first=C. G. |title=Identification of State Highways |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/Identification-of-state-highways.pdf |publisher=[Washington State Highway Commission](/source/Washington_State_Highway_Commission) |date=December 1, 1965 |access-date=February 5, 2013 |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217112902/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6836215D-E301-43F3-895A-472BD2FDE86A/0/Identification.pdf |url-status=dead }}] The Renton Freeway ([I-405](/source/Interstate_405_(Washington))) opened to traffic in 1965 and crossed under SR 515 without intersecting it.[{{cite news |date=August 31, 1965 |title=3 Miles Of Renton Freeway Opened |page=6 |work=The Seattle Times}}] SR 515 was subsequently extended further north into downtown Renton over the former alignment of SR 405.[{{cite map |year=1949 |orig-year=revised 1968 |title=Renton Quadrangle, Washington—King Co. |type=Topographic map |scale=1:24,000 |publisher=[United States Geological Survey](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey) |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/WA/WA_Renton_243421_1949_24000.jpg |access-date=October 5, 2018}}] Suburban development of the Kent and Renton areas in the 1960s and 1970s brought higher traffic volumes to the highway, necessitating an expansion project.[{{cite book |date=April 1971 |title=SR 515, SE 196th St to Grady Way: Draft Environmental Impact Statement |pages=1–6 |publisher=Washington State Highway Commission |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57Y2AQAAMAAJ |via=Google Books |access-date=October 6, 2018}}] The project, which would construct a {{convert|1.5|mi|km|adj=mid}} [bypass](/source/bypass_(road)) of Benson Road between Carr Road and I-405, was opposed by local residents and was frequently cut and revived due to limited availability of state funds.[{{cite news |last=Pryne |first=Eric |date=June 29, 1977 |title=Victoria Park residents fight proposed highway |page=H3 |work=The Seattle Times}}][{{cite news |last=Pryne |first=Eric |date=May 24, 1978 |title=Roadblocks still loom for highway |page=H7 |work=The Seattle Times}}] The $4.5 million, four-lane road was approved by the state government in 1981 as part of a new [gas tax](/source/gas_tax) and was completed the following year.[{{cite news |date=September 9, 1981 |title=State OK's road projects for Renton and Kent |page=F8 |work=The Seattle Times}}][{{cite news |last=Corsaletti |first=Louis T. |date=August 18, 1982 |title=Road progress frustrates south Renton residents |page=F1 |work=The Seattle Times}}] The remaining section of SR 515 in eastern Kent was widened by the city government in 1991 using funds approved by the state legislature.[{{cite news |date=April 29, 1991 |title=Two stretches of road to be widened or fixed |page=E3 |work=The Seattle Times}}][{{cite news |last=Hatch |first=Walter |date=May 8, 1987 |title=Senate OK's road budget, boosts fees, taxes |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}]
As part of a $84 million project to widen I-405 through Renton, a new interchange with SR 515 was constructed and opened to traffic in December 2010.[{{cite news |last=Radford |first=Dean |date=December 22, 2010 |title=New I-405 onramp, offramp at Talbot Road in Renton to open Tuesday afternoon |url=http://www.rentonreporter.com/news/new-i-405-onramp-offramp-at-talbot-road-in-renton-to-open-tuesday-afternoon/ |work=[Renton Reporter](/source/Renton_Reporter) |access-date=October 6, 2018}}] The half diamond interchange consists of an onramp to northbound I-405 and an offramp from southbound I-405 and was intended to siphon traffic from the nearby SR 167 interchange.[{{cite press release |date=December 21, 2010 |title=WSDOT opens new interchange in Renton ahead of schedule |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2010/12/21_405NewInterchangeOpens.htm |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005175303/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2010/12/21_405NewInterchangeOpens.htm |archive-date=October 5, 2011 |access-date=October 6, 2018}}]
==Major intersections==
{{WAinttop|county=King|length_ref=