Washington State Route 513
State Route 513 (SR 513) is a 3.35-mile-long (5.39 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, located entirely within the city of Seattle in King County. The highway travels north as Montlake Boulevard from an interchange with SR 520 and over the Montlake Bridge to the University of Washington campus in the University District. SR 513 continues past University Village before it turns northeast onto Sand Point Way and ends at the entrance to Magnuson Park in the Sand Point neighborhood.
![]() SR 513 is highlighted in red. | ||||
Route information | ||||
Auxiliary route of I-5 | ||||
Defined by RCW 47.17.695 | ||||
Maintained by WSDOT | ||||
Length | 3.35 mi[1] (5.39 km) | |||
Existed | 1964[2]–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ![]() | |||
North end | Magnuson Park in Seattle | |||
Location | ||||
Counties | King | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
SR 513 was created during the 1964 state highway renumbering as the successor to Secondary State Highway 1J (SSH 1J), itself created in 1937 and traveling from Downtown Seattle to Lake City. Sections of SSH 1J, including Madison Street from Downtown to Capitol Hill, date as far back as 1854. Most sections of the highway were built in the 1890s and 1900s in preparation for the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, which took place on the University of Washington campus in 1909. SR 513 was shortened in 1971 to its present southern terminus, the interchange with SR 520 in Montlake, and to an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) on the Seattle–Shoreline city border. In 1991, the highway was truncated to its current northern terminus at Magnuson Park, eliminating its route through Lake City and much of North Seattle.
Route description
![](../I/m/State_Route_513_northbound_at_Montlake_Blvd_and_Union_Bay_Place.jpg)
SR 513 begins at the intersection of Montlake Boulevard and Lake Washington Boulevard in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, part of a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 520.[3] The highway travels north on Montlake Boulevard and crosses the Montlake Cut section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal on the 320-foot-long (98 m) Montlake Bridge.[4] The bascule drawbridge is designated as a city landmark and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982.[5] SR 513 continues north through the University of Washington campus within the University District and passes Husky Stadium and the campus light rail station before being joined by the Burke-Gilman Trail near the Hec Edmundson Pavilion.[6] The highway turns east onto 45th Street and Sand Point Way at the University Village shopping mall and enters the Sand Point neighborhood near Seattle Children's Hospital.[7] SR 513 continues northeast along the Burke-Gilman Trail past the Seattle branch of the National Archives before the highway ends at an intersection with 65th Street west of Magnuson Park.[1][8][9]
Every year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. This is expressed in terms of average annual daily traffic (AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. In 2011, WSDOT calculated that the busiest section of SR 513 was within the University of Washington campus, serving 41,000 vehicles, while the least busiest section was its northern terminus at Magnuson Park, serving 14,000 vehicles.[10] The entire route of SR 513 is part of the National Highway System, identifying it as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility.[11][12]
History
![](../I/m/Montlake_Bridge_south_tower.jpg)
SSH 1J, the predecessor to SR 513, was added to the state highway system in 1937 and traveled 13.40 miles (21.57 km) within the city of Seattle on streets that have existed since the 19th century.[13][14] Madison Street, which carries SSH 1J from its southern terminus at U.S. Route 99 in Downtown to Capitol Hill was built in 1864 by local judge John J. McGilvra to connect his homestead at Madison Park to downtown.[15] Other streets carrying SSH 1J, including 23rd and 24th Avenues towards Montlake, Montlake Boulevard through the University District, and Sand Point Way towards Sand Point were built during the early 1890s as the city of Seattle expanded.[13][16] The rest of SSH 1J, traveling northwest from Naval Station Puget Sound at Sand Point through Lake City to US 99 on the border between Seattle and Shoreline via Roosevelt Way and 145th Street was constructed by the late 1800s to serve the University of Washington campus, site of the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in 1909.[17][18][19]
SSH 1J was replaced by SR 513 during the 1964 state highway renumbering and codified in 1970 on its original route, connecting Downtown Seattle to Montlake and Lake City.[20][21] In 1971, SR 513 was shortened to 9.22 miles (14.84 km) by moving its southern terminus to an interchange with SR 520 in Montlake and its northern terminus to an interchange with I-5 at 145th Street.[2][22][23] The highway was further shortened, to its present length of 3.35 miles (5.39 km),[1] in 1991 by moving its northern terminus from I-5 to Magnuson Park at the site of the former Naval Station Puget Sound.[2][24]
Major intersections
The entire highway is in Seattle, King County.
mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.00 | 0.00 | ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus, interchange | ||
0.19– 0.26 | 0.31– 0.42 | Montlake Bridge | |||
3.35 | 5.39 | NE 65th Street – Magnuson Park | Northern terminus, continues as Sand Point Way | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
References
- Staff (2012). "State Highway Log: Planning Report 2012, SR 2 to SR 971" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. 1576–1579. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- "47.17.695: State route No. 513". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. 1970; revised 1971, 1991. Retrieved March 15, 2013. Check date values in:
|year=
(help) - "SR 520: Junction SR 513/Lake Washington Boulevard" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. April 13, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- Caldbick, John (February 11, 2013). "Montlake Bridge (Seattle)". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- "National Register of Historic Places; Annual Listing of Historic Properties" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. March 1, 1983. p. 45. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- Bicycling in King County (PDF) (Map). King County. 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- "SR 513: Junction NE 45th Street" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. July 14, 1997. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- "The National Archives at Seattle" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- Google (March 15, 2013). "State Route 513" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- Staff (2011). "2011 Annual Traffic Report" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 193. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- National Highway System: Washington (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. October 1, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- "What is the National Highway System?". Federal Highway Administration. September 26, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- Washington State Legislature (March 18, 1937). "Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways". Session Laws of the State of Washington. Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 996. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
Secondary State Highway No. 1J; beginning at a junction with Primary State Highway No. 1 in the vicinity north of Seattle, thence in an easterly direction by the most feasible route to the vicinity of Lake Washington, thence in a southeasterly direction by the most feasible route to Seattle in the vicinity of the Naval Air Station at Sandpoint.
- Staff (1960). "Annual Traffic Report, 1960" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways. p. 155. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Kim, Gina (November 12, 2001). "150 Years: Seattle By and By - Madison memoirs". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- Seattle Sheet (JPG) (Map). 1:125,000. United States Geological Survey. October 1897. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Washington: Seattle Quadrangle (JPG) (Map). 1:62,500. United States Geological Survey. May 1909. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Ott, Jennifer (April 15, 2009). "University Boulevard, precursor to Seattle's Montlake Boulevard, opens on June 1, 1909". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Northwest: Seattle, Wash (Map). Rand McNally. 1946. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Prahl, C. G. (December 1, 1965). "Identification of State Highways" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Seattle, 1965 (JPG) (Map). 1:250,000. United States Geological Survey. 1965. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Staff (1980). "Annual Traffic Report, 1980" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 197. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Seattle, WA (Map). Rand McNally. 1989. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- Staff (1992). "1992 Annual Traffic Report" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 159. Retrieved March 16, 2013.