# Washington State Route 8
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{{Short description|Highway in Washington}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{redirect-synonym|WA 8|{{ushr|Washington|8}}}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox road
|state=WA
|type=SR
|route=8
|section=035
|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=240|frame-lat=47.032|frame-long=-123.198|zoom=9|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Washington State Route 8}}}}
|map_custom=yes
|map_notes=SR 8 highlighted in red
|length_mi=20.67
|length_ref=[{{WSDOT State Highway Log |year=2020 |pages=249–253 |link=yes |accessdate=September 23, 2021}}]
|established=1964[{{cite web |url=http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.17.035 |title=RCW 47.17.035: State Route 8 |publisher=[Washington State Legislature](/source/Washington_State_Legislature) |accessdate=October 19, 2008}}]
|direction_a=West
|terminus_a={{jct|state=WA|US|12}} in [Elma](/source/Elma%2C_Washington)
|junction={{jct|state=WA|SR|108}} in [McCleary](/source/McCleary%2C_Washington)
|direction_b=East
|terminus_b={{jct|state=WA|US|101}} near [Olympia](/source/Olympia%2C_Washington)
|counties=[Grays Harbor](/source/Grays_Harbor_County%2C_Washington), [Thurston](/source/Thurston_County%2C_Washington)
|previous_type=SR
|previous_route=7
|next_type=SR
|next_route=9
}}
'''State Route 8''' ('''SR 8''') is a state highway in [Grays Harbor](/source/Grays_Harbor_County%2C_Washington) and [Thurston](/source/Thurston_County%2C_Washington) counties, of the U.S. state of [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)). It extends {{convert|20.67|mi|km|2}} from [U.S. Route 12](/source/U.S._Route_12_in_Washington) (US 12) in the city of [Elma](/source/Elma%2C_Washington), east to an interchange with [US 101](/source/U.S._Route_101_in_Washington) about {{convert|5.90|mi|km|2}} northwest of the state capital, [Olympia](/source/Olympia%2C_Washington). SR 8 intersects [SR 108](/source/Washington_State_Route_108) west of [McCleary](/source/McCleary%2C_Washington). The route connects Elma and Olympia as part of a corridor between [Aberdeen](/source/Aberdeen%2C_Washington) and the [Puget Sound region](/source/Puget_Sound_region).
The highway was part of the Elma – Grand Mound branch of [Primary State Highway 9](/source/Primary_State_Highway_9_(Washington)) (PSH 9 EG) from 1937 until 1964, which ran from Elma southeast to [Interstate 5](/source/Interstate_5_in_Washington) (I-5), formerly [US 99](/source/U.S._Route_99) in [Grand Mound](/source/Grand_Mound%2C_Washington), which was later added as part of US 12 in 1967. The road also forms the northern boundary of [Capitol State Forest](/source/Capitol_State_Forest) in Thurston County.
==Route description==
SR 8 runs {{convert|20.67|mi|km|2}} east from US 12 in Elma to an interchange with US 101 {{convert|5.90|mi|km|2}} northwest of Olympia.[{{google maps |title=State Route 8 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.0050923,-123.3878311/47.0563539,-123.0125368/@47.0320702,-123.2702254,24381m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e0 |accessdate=September 23, 2021}}][{{cite map |publisher=[Rand McNally](/source/Rand_McNally) |title=The Road Atlas |year=2008 |pages=108 |section=H4, H5, H6 |isbn=0-528-93961-0}}][{{cite map |publisher=G.M. Johnson |title=Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Thurston County |url=http://store.maplink.com/map.aspx?nav=MS&cid=10056,10078&pid=522952 |edition=2007 |year=2007 |series=City Street Maps |accessdate=October 19, 2008 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}] WSDOT has found that more than 17,000 motorists utilize the road daily at the interchange with US 101 based on [annual average daily traffic](/source/annual_average_daily_traffic) (AADT) data.[{{cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/Annual_Traffic_Report_2007.pdf |title=Washington Annual Average Daily Traffic Data |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |year=2007 |accessdate=October 19, 2008 |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 }}]
[[File:WA8.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The [expressway](/source/Limited-access_road) portion of SR 8 going eastbound towards [US 101](/source/U.S._Route_101_in_Washington).]]
SR 8 starts at an interchange with US 12 near downtown Elma. From the interchange, the expressway goes northeast and starts to parallel the [Chehalis River](/source/Chehalis_River_(Washington)).[{{cite map |publisher=G.M. Johnson |title=Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Sequim, Aberdeen, Hoquiam |url=http://store.maplink.com/map.aspx?nav=MS&cid=10056,10078&pid=522973 |edition=2008 |year=2008 |series=City Street Maps |inset=Elma |accessdate=October 23, 2008 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}] After crossing the river twice, the highway intersects SR 108, which goes northeast towards [Kamilche](/source/Kamilche%2C_Washington), west of McCleary. After passing Downtown McCleary, SR 8 has a [partial cloverleaf interchange](/source/partial_cloverleaf_interchange) with Mox Chehalis Road. From the interchange, the expressway goes east to form the northern boundary of the [Capitol State Forest](/source/Capitol_State_Forest),[{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=47.027078,-123.164978&spn=0.07091,0.142822&z=12 |title=Capitol State Forest |accessdate=October 19, 2008}}] and passes [Summit Lake](/source/Summit_Lake_(Washington)).[{{cite map |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR8/SlideRepair/map.htm |title=SR 8 – Emergency Slide Repair – Unstable Slope Map |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |cartography=Tele Atlas |year=2007 |accessdate=October 19, 2008 |archive-date=September 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930070617/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR8/SlideRepair/map.htm |url-status=dead }}] From Summit Lake, the highway turns northeast and merges with US 101 southbound.[{{cite map |title=Official State Highway Map |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/87105CAD-83A9-49A7-80F3-5719637C1E2D/0/FrontMapBig.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |location=Olympia, Washington |year=2008 |edition=2008–2009 |scale=1:842,000 |series=Official State Highway Maps |cartography=[U.S. Geological Survey](/source/U.S._Geological_Survey) |section=E2 |accessdate=October 19, 2008}}]
The entire length of SR 8 is expressway. When combined with US 12 to the west and US 101 to the east, it serves as the primary connection between the Puget Sound region and Washington's Pacific coast.
==History==
[[File:WA-PSH9.svg|75px|thumb|The shield of [PSH 9 EG](/source/Primary_State_Highway_9_(Washington)).]]
Before the Primary and Secondary system, SR 8 in 1923 was part of a branch of [State Road 9](/source/State_Road_9_(Washington)), from [Elma](/source/Elma%2C_Washington) to [Grand Mound](/source/Grand_Mound%2C_Washington).[{{cite book |author=Washington State Legislature |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G784AAAAIAAJ |accessdate=October 19, 2008 |edition=1923 |year=1923 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |chapter=Chapter 185}}] Later, in 1937, the route from Elma to Grand Mound became part of Elma – Grand Mound branch of [Primary State Highway 9](/source/Primary_State_Highway_9_(Washington)) (PSH 9 EG).[{{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=October 19, 2008 |edition=1937 |year=1937 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |location=Olympia, Washington |chapter=Chapter 190}}] PSH 9 EG became SR 8 in 1964 during the [1964 highway renumbering](/source/1964_highway_renumbering_(Washington)), in which the [Washington State Department of Transportation](/source/Washington_State_Department_of_Transportation) (WSDOT) replaced the previous system of [Primary and Secondary Highways](/source/Primary_State_Highways_(Washington)) with a new system called [State Routes](/source/State_highways_in_Washington), which is still in use today.[{{cite web |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/Identification-of-state-highways.pdf |title=Identification of State Highways, Part 1 |author=C. G. Prahl, [Washington State Highway Commission](/source/Washington_State_Highway_Commission) |date=December 1, 1965 |access-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030044024/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6836215D-E301-43F3-895A-472BD2FDE86A/0/Identification.pdf |url-status=dead }}][{{cite web |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/state-route-numbers.pdf |title=Identification of State Highways, Part 2 |author=C. G. Prahl, Washington State Highway Commission |date=December 1, 1965 |access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030023216/https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/state-route-numbers.pdf |url-status=dead }}] The highway became part of the Ocean Freeway, an expressway that aimed to connect Aberdeen and the Pacific Coast with Olympia in the 1960s.[{{cite news |date=January 23, 1969 |title=Ocean Freeway's Last Link Opens Jan. 30 |page=C1 |work=[The News Tribune](/source/The_News_Tribune) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-ocean-freeways-last-li/129064864/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=July 29, 2023}}] The first section between McCleary and Mud Bay opened in October 1962 and was followed a year later by an extension to Elma.[{{cite news |date=October 7, 1962 |title=Gov. Rosellini; Rep. Hansen in Ceremony |page=A4 |work=The Tacoma News Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-gov-rosellini-rep-ha/98409317/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=July 29, 2023}}] The {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=mid}} freeway bypass of Elma opened in June 1965 as part of US 410.[{{cite news |date=June 23, 1965 |title=Crash Kills 3 At Elma |page=1 |work=The Daily Chronicle |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88408409/crash-kills-3-at-elma/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=November 5, 2021}}][{{cite news |date=January 1965 |title=Construction Roundup |page=21 |work=Washington Highway News |volume=12 |issue=7 |publisher=Washington State Highway Commission |oclc=29654162 |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/4955 |via=WSDOT Library Digital Collections |accessdate=November 5, 2021}}]
[[File:Washington State Route 8 (1964).png|200px|thumb|right|A map showing SR 8 in 1964, when the highway went from [Elma](/source/Elma%2C_Washington) to [Grand Mound](/source/Grand_Mound%2C_Washington).]]
Later in 1967, [US 12](/source/U.S._Route_12_in_Washington) was extended from [Lewiston, Idaho](/source/Lewiston%2C_Idaho) westward to [Aberdeen](/source/Aberdeen%2C_Washington).[{{cite web |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us12.cfm |title=U.S. 12 Michigan to Washington |access-date=October 19, 2008 |last=Weingroff |first=Richard F. |date=May 7, 2005 |publisher=[Federal Highway Administration](/source/Federal_Highway_Administration)}}] It was approved on June 20, 1967, and it replaced the route of US 410, therefore making the highway obsolete.[{{cite news|work=[Walla Walla Union-Bulletin](/source/Walla_Walla_Union-Bulletin)|title=All-Weather Plan Picked By Highway Commission|date=April 23, 1967|page=5}}] Signs were changed in late December 1967,[{{cite news|work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin|title=Highway 410 is now U.S. No. 12|date=December 28, 1967|page=1}}] and the bypassed segments of US 410 became a new SR 8.[{{cite news |title=U-B Action Line |work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin |date=September 29, 1968|page=1}}][{{cite web|url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/1970_ATR.pdf|author=Washington State Highway Commission|author-link=Washington State Highway Commission|title=Annual Traffic Report|year=1970|accessdate=October 19, 2008|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}}]
During the [Winter 2007 storm](/source/Great_Coastal_Gale_of_2007), a slope that held up SR 8 was eroded by floodwaters. The slope, located on SR 8 west of the US 101 interchange, and is scheduled to begin this season and last 2 months.[{{cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr8/sliderepair/ |title=SR 8 – Emergency Slide Repair – Unstable Slope |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=October 19, 2008}}] In 2010, WSDOT aims to rebuild the columns that support the SR 8/US 101 interchange and reduce the risk of failure in an earthquake, such as the [2001 Nisqually earthquake](/source/2001_Nisqually_earthquake).[{{cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr8/us101xseismic/ |title=SR 8 – US 101 Undercrossing – Seismic Retrofit |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=October 19, 2008}}]
==Major intersections==
{{WAinttop|length_ref=