Washington State Route 823

Route description

State Route 823 begins at Exit 30 from I-82 a short distance southeast of Selah, one mile (1.6 km) north of the junction of U.S. Route 12 and I-82. Exit 30 is the Rest Haven Road/South Selah exit. SR 823 then crosses the Yakima River and follows Rest Haven Road NNW about 0.9-mile (1.4 km), where its name changes to South Selah Road as it enters the town of Selah. At the southern edge of Selah, the road turns due north and becomes South First Street, the main street of Selah. First Street continues north until the intersection with Naches Avenue at the center of downtown Selah. SR 823 turns right (east) onto East Naches Avenue, continues one-tenth of a mile to the intersection with North Wenas Road, then turns NNE onto North Wenas Road. SR 823 continues 1.2 miles (1.9 km) on North Wenas Road to the junction with Harrison Road, where the highway then turns northeast. SR 823 follows Harrison Road as it runs northeast and then east, re-crosses the Yakima River, and continues to its terminus at State Route 821, known locally as Firing Center Road to the east and Canyon Road to the north. Firing Center Road is so named because it is the entrance to the Yakima Training Center, a large U.S. Army center for weapons training in the hills east of Yakima.

History

State Route 823 was formerly a section of U.S. Route 97, the major north–south highway in Washington east of the Cascades. US 97 ran northward through Yakima, through the center of Selah, and continued north through the Ellensburg Canyon on what is now SR 821. In the 1970s I-82 was constructed east of old US 97 over Manastash Ridge, bypassing central Selah and Yakima. When I-82 was opened US 97 was rerouted to be concurrent with I-82 between Ellensburg and the Yakima River Valley. This left the old US 97 as a local road. In 1984 the legislature defined the old highway as Route 823 from I-82 Exits 30/30A into downtown Selah. In 1992, SR 823 was redefined northward to the junction with SR 821/Firing Center Road.

Planned improvements

As of February 2007, the Washington State Department of Transportation is planning improvements and rerouting of SR 823 in Selah to alleviate congestion on the streets of Selah. The new road will be moved from First Avenue a few blocks east to South Wenas Avenue to bypass the direct center of Selah. The new road is planned to begin construction in 2009 and to open in 2011. According to WSDOT:

This project will route truck traffic away from the congested downtown streets and provide better access to the city's industrial area. These improvements will reduce congestion, improve freight mobility and efficiency, provide infrastructure for developing commercial and recreational areas, and increase safety for motorists and pedestrians.

The Washington State code that was established for the definition of SR 823 contains a clause requiring the sharing of costs for highway improvement between the state and local governments. This clause was added because SR 823 is used chiefly by local traffic within Selah.

Before award of any construction contract for improvements to state route number 823 under either program A or program C, the department of transportation shall secure a portion of the construction cost from the city of Selah or Yakima county, or both.

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Yakima County.