S. Pacific St. pretty much dead-ends at the north side of Southwest Washington Regional Airport thanks to a runway extension. You can see the road is intact, but all that land to the north of the runway was needed for clear takeoff/landing area, leading to multiple city blocks being demolished between Colorado and Douglas Streets.


Looking back north at the tie-in of old pavement to the modern street. I came this way thinking that S. Pacific St. was the original alignment of the Pacific Highway (US 99), but it turns out that it's just an extension of the name N. Pacific St., which actually was US 99. 99 originally exited town on Grade St. into what's now Kelso Drive before the latter was extended north along what's now the I-5 alignment.


The other end of the old road, heading south on Clinton St. where it ties into Colorado St. and looking back west from where I took the first set of photos. I don't expect them to maintain the airside pavement, but at least redo the landside!


Up into downtown, Pacific St. SB at Academy St. and then Allen St. The Allen St. Bridge ahead opened in 2000, replacing one from 1923, replacing a wooden drawbridge from 1907, replacing an even earlier wooden bridge.


Interestingly, Kelso preserved the eastern abutment of the 1923 bridge when the new one opened. Maybe it held a special place in the city's heart since it was already being constructed when the previous bridge collapsed, killing at least 17 people during rush hour traffic, and was finally made of steel and concrete instead of wood and prayers.

Former US 99
WA 4
WA 432
I-5
Back to Washington Roads
Back to Roads