{{short description|State highway in Washington, United States}} {{disambig-acronym|WA 6|{{ushr|Washington|6}}}} {{Use American English|date=May 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox road |state=WA |type=SR |route=6 |section=025 |map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=240|frame-lat=46.611|frame-long=-123.354|zoom=9|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Washington State Route 6}}}} |map_custom=yes |map_notes=SR 6 highlighted in red |length_mi=51.37 |length_ref=<ref name="log">{{WSDOT State Highway Log |year=2020 |pages=219–228 |link=yes |accessdate=September 23, 2021}}</ref> |established=1964<ref name="rcw">{{cite web |year=1970 |title=RCW 47.17.025: State route No. 6 |url=http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.17.025 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> |direction_a=West |terminus_a={{jct|state=WA|US|101}} in Raymond |direction_b=East |terminus_b={{jct|state=WA|I|5|US|12}} in Chehalis |counties=Pacific, Lewis |previous_type=I |previous_route=5 |next_type=SR |next_route=7 }}
'''State Route 6''' ('''SR 6''') is a {{convert|51.37|mi|km|2|adj=on}} long state highway in Pacific and Lewis counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway, which extends from U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in Raymond east to Interstate 5 (I-5), co-signed with US 12, in Chehalis. Major communities located on the highway include Raymond, Pe Ell, Adna and Chehalis. The first state highway that used the current route of SR 6 was State Road 19, established in 1913. State Road 19 became State Road 12 in 1923, which became Primary State Highway 12 (PSH 12) in 1937. In 1964, PSH 12 became SR 6 and since, three minor construction projects have been arranged, only two have been completed.
==Route description==
SR 6 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in Downtown Raymond as Henkle Street.<ref name="log"/> Paralleling the basic route of the Willapa River, the highway turns southeast to leave Raymond and become unnamed.<ref name="log"/> Continuing past Menlo, the roadway realigns directly south to Holcomb before curving back eastward to Lebam and Frances to exit Pacific County and enter Lewis County. Once in Lewis County, the Willapa River ends in the Willapa Hills, while the road turns northeast and later east into Pe Ell. In Pe Ell, SR 6 is named 4th Avenue and crosses the Chehalis River, while the highway is once again unnamed at the Main Street intersection.<ref name="log"/> At the Main Street intersection, the roadway is realigned north to Doty and east to Dryad and Rainbow Falls State Park, where the road goes south and curves northeast to Adna. In Adna, SR 6 starts to parallel a railroad owned by the Port of Chehalis and operated by the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad and then the highway crosses the Chehalis River again.<ref name="psap">{{cite map |url=http://www.railamerica.com/Files/PSAP/PSAP2.pdf |title=Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad |publisher=RailAmerica |author=Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref><ref name="rail">{{cite map |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |title=Washington State Railroad System |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/1DFCBFA0-1A9D-4838-A74F-7841BF22E9C3/0/Railmap_update_Sept2008.pdf |year=2008 |cartography=United States Geological Survey |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> The road leaves the community and continues thru Littell, then into Claquato, intersecting the former SR 603. After crossing the Chehalis River for the final time into Chehalis, the roadway ends at a diamond interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5), co-signed with US 12.<ref name="i5">{{cite web |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |title=SR 5 – Exit 77; Junction SR 6 / Main Street |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/interchange/pdfs/SR005/005X077.pdf |date=August 3, 1992 |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref><ref name="map">{{google maps |title=State Route 6 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/46.6822377,-123.7305063/46.6604905,-122.9784163/@46.6117674,-123.494538,49145m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e0 |accessdate=September 23, 2021}}</ref><ref name="WSDOT08">{{cite map |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |title=Washington State Highways, 2008–09 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/87105CAD-83A9-49A7-80F3-5719637C1E2D/0/FrontMapBig.pdf |edition=2008–2009 |year=2008 |cartography=United States Geological Survey |scale=1:842,000 |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> The busiest segment of SR 6 in 2007 was the I-5 / US 12 interchange in Chehalis, with an estimated daily average of 13,000 motorists.<ref name="2007atr">{{cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/Annual_Traffic_Report_2007.pdf |title=2007 Annual Traffic Report |year=2007 |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=July 15, 2009 |archive-date=March 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326014935/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/Annual_Traffic_Report_2007.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1970, the busiest segment was the US 101 intersection in Raymond, with an estimated daily average of 4,800 motorists.<ref name="1970atr">{{cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/1970_ATR.pdf |title=Annual Traffic Report, 1970 |year=1970 |author=Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |pages=52–54 |accessdate=July 15, 2009 |archive-date=June 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625093148/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/1970_ATR.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==History==
The first state highway to be designated on the modern corridor of SR 6 was State Road 19, which was designated in 1913.<ref name="map1913">{{cite map|publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |year=1913 |title=State Roads Established By Legislature of 1913 |page=9 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/History/stateroads1893-1935.pdf |accessdate=July 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051106090227/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/History/stateroads1893-1935.pdf |archivedate=November 6, 2005 }}</ref> A gravel road was built through the Willapa Hills in 1917, but had steep switchbacks and frequent damage from storms.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ott |first=Jennifer |date=September 28, 2010 |title=Raymond — Thumbnail History |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/9590 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=July 29, 2023}}</ref> During a 1923 renumbering of the state road system, State Road 19 became State Road 12, which ran from Megler north to Raymond and east to Chehalis.<ref name="law1923">{{cite book |author=Washington State Legislature |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G784AAAAIAAJ |accessdate=July 15, 2009 |edition=1923 |date=March 19, 1923 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |page=630 |chapter=Chapter 185: Primary and Secondary State Highways}}</ref> Primary State Highway 12 (PSH 12) replaced State Road 12 when the Primary state highways were created in 1937; PSH 12 didn't begin in Megler, but began in Kelso.<ref name="law1937">{{cite book |author=Washington State Legislature |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington |url=http://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/documents/sessionlaw/1937pam1.pdf |accessdate=July 15, 2009 |edition=1937 |date=March 17, 1937 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |page=939 |chapter=Chapter 190: Establishment of Primary State Highways}}</ref> Between Raymond and Chehalis, PSH 12 was paralleled by numerous railroads that have changed over time. In 1951, the Northern Pacific Railway followed the route from Raymond to Chehalis,<ref name="map1951">{{cite map |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |title=Hoquiam, 1951 |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-hoquiam-1951.jpg |cartography=United States Geological Survey |year=1951 |scale=1:250,000 |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> but by 1958, the Pe Ell Prairie Railroad replaced Northern Pacific from Pe Ell to Dryad and the Chehalis Western Railroad, now the Chehalis Western Trail,<ref name="chehaliswesterntrail">{{cite web |author=Thurston County Parks and Recreation |title=Chehalis Western Trail |url=http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/parks/Trails/cw-trail.htm |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> replaced Northern Pacific between Adna and Chehalis.<ref name="map1958">{{cite map |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |title=Hoquiam, 1958 |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-hoquiam-1958.jpg |cartography=United States Geological Survey |year=1958 |scale=1:250,000 |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> In 1968, the Chehalis Western Railroad no longer operated in the Adna area and the last railroad to parallel current SR 6 was the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad,<ref name="psap"/> which runs from Adna to Chehalis.<ref name="rail"/><ref name="map1968">{{cite map |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |title=Hoquiam, 1968 |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-hoquiam-1968.jpg |cartography=United States Geological Survey |year=1968 |scale=1:250,000 |accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> During the 1964 highway renumbering, PSH 12 was split into US 830, US 101 and SR 6.<ref name="rcw"/><ref name="sr">{{cite web |title=Identification of State Highways |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/Identification-of-state-highways.pdf |author=C. G. Prahl |author2=Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=December 1, 1965 |accessdate=July 15, 2009 |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 }}</ref> The only other highway to intersect SR 6 was SR 603, the only auxiliary route of the highway, which was established in 1964 and decommissioned in 1991.<ref name="sr"/>
[[File:I5LewisFlooding.jpg|thumb|right|During the Great Coastal Gale of 2007, the I-5 interchange in Chehalis was flooded.]]
Following a major winter storm in December 2007, an {{convert|8|mi|km|adj=mid}} section of SR 6 near Pe Ell was closed due to landslides and an unstable slope above the highway.<ref name="slope3">{{cite press release |title=Weather Conditions and Unstable Slope Prolong Closure of SR 6 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=December 19, 2007 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2007/12/19_SR6Closure.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705170719/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2007/12/19_SR6Closure.htm |archivedate=July 5, 2008 |accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref> The roadway was reopened for limited access by the end of the month while work began on clearing debris on the unstable slope.<ref name="slope4">{{cite press release |title=WSDOT to Reopen SR 6 during Daylight Hours, on Limited Basis |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=December 27, 2007 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2007/12/27_SR6Closure.htm |accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref><ref name="slope5">{{cite press release |title=WSDOT to Begin Repair Work on SR 6 West of Pe Ell Next Week |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=January 25, 2008 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2008/01/25_SR6SlideRepairs.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015183303/http://wsdot.wa.gov/News/2008/01/25_SR6SlideRepairs.htm |archivedate=October 15, 2010 |accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref> The section fully reopened to traffic on March 16, 2008.<ref name="slope8">{{cite press release |title=SR 6 near Pe Ell Reopens Fully as Crews Complete Repairs, March 16 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=March 13, 2008 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2008/03/13_SR6_Reopens.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830061907/http://wsdot.wa.gov/News/2008/03/13_SR6_Reopens.htm |archivedate=August 30, 2010 |accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref> During the stabilization of the slope near Pe Ell, similar work started in February on another slope located near Frances that was finished in late April.<ref name="elkprairie">{{cite press release |title=Crews Begin Repair Work on SR 6 near Elk Prairie (milepost 20.60) Early Next Week |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=February 15, 2008 |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2008/02/15_SR6MP20.6Repairs.htm |accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref>
The highway's {{convert|22|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} bridge over the South Fork of the Chehalis River west of Chehalis was originally built in 1925 and was replaced by the state government in 2009.<ref name="sf-chehalisriver1">{{cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr6/chehalisriverbridge/ |title=SR 6 – South Fork Chehalis River Bridge Replacement |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |year=2008 |accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=August 21, 2008 |title=Replacement of Highway 6 Chehalis River Bridge to Begin Next Week |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/replacement-of-highway-6-chehalis-river-bridge-to-begin-next-week,197877 |work=The Chronicle |accessdate=September 23, 2021}}</ref> The new bridge, measuring {{convert|40|ft|m}} wide, was constructed to the north of the existing structure and was opened to traffic in September 2009.<ref name="WSDOT-Bridge2009">{{cite press release |date=September 1, 2009 |title=WSDOT delivers first of four bridge replacements on SR 6 |url=http://wsdot.wa.gov/News/2009/09/01_WSDOTDeliversSR6Bridge.htm |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802135324/http://wsdot.wa.gov/News/2009/09/01_WSDOTDeliversSR6Bridge.htm |archivedate=August 2, 2010 |accessdate=September 23, 2021}}</ref> The project was the first of four bridge replacements on SR 6 that were funded by the 2005 transportation package.<ref name="WSDOT-Bridge2009"/>
Construction of a $3.3 million pedestrian bridge over the highway in Littell began in 2021 and was completed in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hammock |first=Dan |date=September 29, 2021 |title=Overpass Construction Begins on Willapa Hills Trail |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/overpass-construction-begins-on-willapa-hills-trail,273547? |work=The Chronicle |access-date=December 8, 2021}}</ref> It carries a section of the Willapa Hills Trail and was named the Littell Bridge.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 13, 2023 |title=Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Planned for New Willapa Hills Trail Bridge |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/ribbon-cutting-ceremony-planned-for-new-willapa-hills-trail-bridge,320817 |work=The Chronicle |access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref> A {{convert|6.0|mi|adj=on}} section near Adna was for Justin R. Schaffer, a member of the Washington State Patrol (WSP) who died while on duty; he graduated high school in Adna.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sexton |first1=Owen |title='Courageous public servant': Trooper Justin R. Schaffer Memorial Highway officially dedicated |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/courageous-public-servant-trooper-justin-r-schaffer-memorial-highway-officially-dedicated,337108 |access-date=April 1, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 25, 2024}}</ref>
==Major intersections== {{WAinttop|length_ref=<ref name="log"/>}} {{WAint |county=Pacific |location=Raymond |mile=0.00 |road={{jct|state=WA|US|101|city1=Aberdeen|city2=South Bend}} |notes=Roundabout }} {{WAint |county=Lewis |cspan=2 |location=none |mile=49.08 |road=Old Highway 603 – Napavine, Winlock |notes=Former SR 603 }} {{WAint |location=Chehalis |mile=51.37 |road={{jct|state=WA|I|5|US|12|city1=Seattle|location2=Portland}} |notes=Interchange }} {{jctbtm}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} *[https://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/sr006.html Highways of Washington State]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington State Route 006}} 006 Category:Transportation in Pacific County, Washington Category:Transportation in Lewis County, Washington