Washington State Route 303

State Route 303 (SR 303) is a 9.27-mile (14.92 km) state highway in Kitsap County, located in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway connects SR 304 in Bremerton to an interchange with SR 3 in Silverdale. SR 303 crosses the Port Washington Narrows on the Warren Avenue Bridge in Bremerton and becomes a grade-separated freeway bypass of Silverdale. The route has existed as unpaved roads since the 1930s and was signed as Secondary State Highway 21B (SSH 21B) in 1937. SSH 21B connected Bremerton to Keyport and had a branch to Illahee State Park added in 1961. After the 1964 highway renumbering, SSH 21B became SR 303 from Bremerton to Keyport and SR 306 from Bremerton to Illahee State Park. SR 303 was shortened in 1971, to include SR 308, and in 1991, re-routing the highway onto the new Silverdale freeway. SR 303 also had a spur route in Bremerton that served the Manette Bridge until 1991.

State Route 303
SR 303 is highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of SR 3
Maintained by WSDOT
Length	9.27 mi^[1] (14.92 km)
Existed	1964^[2]–present
Major junctions
South end	SR 304 in Bremerton
North end	SR 3 in Silverdale
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
Counties	Kitsap
Highway system
State highways in Washington Interstate US State Scenic Pre-1964 1964 renumbering Former
← SR 302 → SR 304

Route description

 

SR 303 as it approaches its southern terminus with SR 304 in Bremerton.

State Route 303 (SR 303), named Warren Avenue, begins at an intersection with Burwell Street, signed as SR 304, north of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. Warren Avenue travels north through Bremerton and serves Olympic College before crossing the Port Washington Narrows on the Warren Avenue Bridge. The highway intersects Clare Avenue and Callahan Drive in a partial cloverleaf and diamond interchange.^[3] In East Bremerton, the roadway becomes Wheaton Way and continues north through suburban areas and intersects Sheridan Road, a spur route of SR 303 prior to 1991.^[2][4] SR 303 passes View Ridge Elementary and Sylvan Way, the former SR 306 serving Illahee State Park, before leaving Bremerton. The highway turns west at an intersection with its former route, the Brownsville Highway, and becomes a grade-separated freeway named Waaga Way. The freeway intersects Central Valley Road in a partial cloverleaf interchange and turns northwest to intersect Ridgetop Boulevard in a diamond interchange.^[5][6] Waaga Way travels around the Kitsap Mall and interchanges with Silverdale Way before intersecting SR 3 in Silverdale, continuing as Kitsap Mall Boulevard into the city center.^[7][8][9] The entire highway is part of the National Highway System and was used by a daily average of 42,000 vehicles in 2011.^[10][11]

History

The original route of SR 303, connecting Bremerton to Brownsville and Keyport first appeared on maps in 1933 as a gravel road.^[12] In 1937, the roadway was added to the state highway system as Secondary State Highway 21B (SSH 21B), traveling from Primary State Highway 21 (PSH 21) in Bremerton to PSH 21 at Naval Base Kitsap Bangor.^[13][14] A toll bridge across the Port Washington Narrows carrying Warren Avenue and SSH 21B was completed by the state government in November 1958.^[15]

A branch of SSH 21B that served Illahee State Park was added in 1961,^[16][17] and became State Route 306 (SR 306) during the 1964 highway renumbering.^[18] SSH 21B became SR 303 in the same renumbering, however the segment from Keyport to Bangor (including a short spur) became SR 308 in 1971.^{[2][19][20][21]} A spur route of SR 303, serving the Manette Bridge, was also added to the highway system, but was removed in 1991.^[2][22] SR 303 was re-routed in 1991 onto the new Waaga Way grade-separated freeway bypass of Silverdale that was built in the late 1970s.^[2][22][23] No major revisions to SR 303 have been made since 1991,^[24] however the Manette Bridge is still maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation and was rebuilt in November 2011.^[25][26] The Wheaton Way section of SR 303 in Bremerton was remodeled in 2012, resulting in traffic on the Warren Avenue Bridge.^[27]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Kitsap County.

Location	mi^[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Bremerton	0.00	0.00	SR 304 (Burwell Street)	Southern terminus
	0.89– 1.22	1.43– 1.96	Warren Avenue Bridge over Port Washington Narrows
	1.22	1.96	Clare Avenue	Interchange, Northbound exit
	1.38– 1.49	2.22– 2.40	Callahan Drive	Interchange
	1.62	2.61	Sheridan Road	Former SR 303 Spur
	2.13	3.43	Sylvan Way – Illahee State Park	Former SR 306
​	5.59	9.00	Brownsville Highway – Brownsville, Keyport	Former SR 303 north
​			South end of freeway
​	6.62– 6.97	10.65– 11.22	Central Valley Road
Silverdale	7.24– 7.26	11.65– 11.68	Nels Nelson Road	Northbound exit and entrance
	8.03– 8.15	12.92– 13.12	Ridgetop Boulevard
	8.41– 8.44	13.53– 13.58	Silverdale Way	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	8.65– 8.88	13.92– 14.29	SR 3 north – Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, Poulsbo	Interchange
	9.11– 9.27	14.66– 14.92	SR 3 south – Bremerton, Shelton	Northern terminus, Interchange; continues as Kitsap Mall Boulevard
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

References

1. Strategic Planning Division (March 5, 2012). State Highway Log Planning Report 2011, SR 2 to SR 971 (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. 1350–1356. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
2. "47.17.550: State route No. 303". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. 1970. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
3. "SR 303: Junction Callahan Drive" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. March 31, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
4. Zoning Map 1 (PDF) (Map). City of Bremerton. November 30, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
5. "SR 303: Junction Central Valley Road" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. September 2, 1992. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
6. "SR 303: Junction Ridgetop Blvd" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. March 31, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
7. "SR 303: Junction Silverdale Way" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. May 5, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
8. "SR 3: Junction SR 303/Kitsap Mall Blvd" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. June 1, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
9. Google (January 9, 2013). "State Route 303" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
10. National Highway System: Bremerton, WA (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. October 1, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
11. Staff (2011). "2011 Annual Traffic Report" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 169. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
12. State of Washington Highway Map (DJVU) (Map). Department of Highways. April 1, 1933. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
13. Washington State Legislature (March 18, 1937). "Chapter 207: Classification of Public Highways". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 1011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
14. State of Washington Highway Map (DJVU) (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally. Department of Highways. 1950. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
15. "New Toll Bridge Opened At Warren Avenue In Bremerton". Washington Highway News. Vol. 8, no. 4. Washington State Department of Highways. February 1959. p. 16. OCLC 29654162. Retrieved August 29, 2018 – via Washington State Department of Transportation Library Digital Collections.
16. Washington State Legislature (1961). "Chapter 47.20: Secondary Highway Routes—Miscellaneous Projects". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1961 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 539. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
17. Seattle, 1958 (JPG) (Map). 1:125,000. United States Geological Survey. 1958. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
18. "47.17.565: State route No. 306". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. 1970. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
19. "47.17.567: State route No. 308". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. 1971. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
20. Prahl, C. G. (December 1, 1965). "Identification of State Highways" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
21. Seattle, 1965 (JPG) (Map). 1:125,000. United States Geological Survey. 1965. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
22. Washington House of Representatives (1991). Chapter 342, Laws of 1991: State Highway Routes — Revisions To (House Bill 5801)". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1991 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature.
23. Friedrich, Ed (December 29, 2012). "35 years ago, Trident subs changed face of Kitsap". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
24. Washington State Highways, 2011–2012 (PDF) (Map). 1:842,000. Washington State Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
25. "47.17.960: Local bridges — Department responsibility". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. 1991. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
26. Friedrich, Ed (November 10, 2011). "New Manette Bridge connects past, future". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
27. Farley, Josh (December 4, 2012). "Motorists feel the pain as work on Warren proceeds". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2013.

External links

Template:Attached KML/Washington State Route 303

KML is from Wikidata

• Highways of Washington State