State Route 6 is a long state highway in Pacific and Lewis counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway, which extends from in Raymond east to , co-signed with 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, established in 1913. State Road 19 became in 1923, which became 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
State Route 6 begins at an intersection with in Downtown Raymond as Henkle Street. Paralleling the basic route of the Willapa River, the highway turns southeast to leave Raymond and become unnamed. 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. 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. The road leaves the community and Littell to intersects Co Road, which had been before 1991. After crossing the Chehalis River for the final time into Chehalis, the roadway ends at a diamond interchange with , co-signed as. 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. In 1970, the busiest segment was the US 101 intersection in Raymond, with an estimated daily average of 4,800 motorists.
History
The first state highway to extend along the route of SR 6 was, which was designated in 1913. During a 1923 renumbering of the state road system, State Road 19 became, which ran from Megler north to Raymond and east to Chehalis. replaced State Road 12 when the Primary state highways were created in 1937; PSH 12 didn't begin in Megler, but began in Kelso. 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, 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, replaced Northern Pacific between Adna and Chehalis. 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, which runs from Adna to Chehalis. During the 1964 highway renumbering, PSH 12 was split into , and SR 6. The only other highway to intersect SR 6 was, the only auxiliary route of the highway, which was established in 1964 and decommissioned in 1991. , the I-5 interchange in Chehalis was flooded. The Washington State Department of Transportation has since arranged small construction projects to improve the roadway. After the Great Coastal Gale of 2007, the road southwest of Pe Ell was filled with debris near an unstable slope. WSDOT later closed the highway between Elk Prairie Road and Meyer Road on December 17, 2007 and started to reopen SR 6 during daylight hours on December 29. On January 28, 2008, repair work began on the slope and on February 4, the road was opened for 12 daylight hours. Nighttime closures were lifted starting February 13 and the roadway was fully reopened on March 16. During the stabilization of the slope near Pe Ell, construction started on February 19 on another slope located near Frances that was finished in late April. A bridge built in 1925 over the South Fork of the Chehalis River west of Chehalis is currently being replaced with a newer structure and construction started on August 25, 2008. Closures began on January 5, 2009 and girders were placed on March 5. The construction is scheduled to end by fall 2009.
