US 10 (trunk)

Teanaway via Vantage to Spokane

After 1940

Teanaway to Vantage

US 10 from Teanaway to Ellensburg followed the route of what is mostly now designated as State Route (SR) 10. Even today, the mileposts on SR 10 are calculated from the old beginning of US 10 in Seattle, not the present day beginning of SR 10 at Teanaway. US 97 shared this route from Teanaway to Ellensburg. At Ellensburg, US 97 turned right and headed south to Yakima. US 10 continued east to Vantage. Portions of Old US 10 and old US 97 in Ellensburg are signed as Business Loop 90.

From Ellensburg, US 10 continued east along the 2 lane road now known as Vantage Highway. On steeper grades, an additional uphill lane was added in the 1950s. US 10 crossed the Columbia River at Vantage on a bridge constructed in 1927. The present I-90 bridge was built about a mile downstream from the 1927 bridge in 1962. The old bridge was disassembled and moved to Lyons Ferry on the Snake River. Here the bridge was reassembled and reopened in 1968 as part of SR 261. Wanapum Dam was built downstream from Vantage about the time that the I-90 bridge was completed. The townsite was moved uphill and the lake formed behind the dam inundated the old townsite, bridge site, and bridge approach roads.

Vantage to Moses Lake

East of the Columbia, a new 4 lane roadway was built uphill from the I-90 bridge to Silica Road. One can still take the old highway from Exit 143 down to the river, where the old highway now dead ends. Most of old US 10 from Exit 143 to Exit 176 at Moses Lake was incorporated as 2 lanes of the 4 lane divided I-90 freeway. The 2 additional lanes had been built in the late 1950s. The highway, signed as both I-90 and US 10 until 1969, at first had a mixture of interchanges and grade crossings. The highway from George to Moses Lake was brough up to full freeway standards in 1973 as a preparation for Expo 74. The Silica Road grade crossing was not replaced by an interchange until 1981.

At Exit 176 in Moses Lake, old US 10 jogged northeasterly to the downtown area then southeasterly to Exit 179 at the edge of town. This route is now signed as Business Loop 90. Portions of this route are also SR 17 and 171.

Moses Lake to Ritzville

The old US 10 roadway from Exit 179 to Exit 188 is now the eastbound lanes of I-90. At Exit 188 old US 10 and I-90 diverge. The old highway is now the south frontage road to the Adams County Line. The land changes from flat to rolling hills as one crosses the line from Grant to Adams County. Old US 10 keeps to the south side of I-90, by several hundred feet in places, to Exit 215. The next couple of miles of old us 10 have been obliterated by I-90. The old highway begins again on the north side of I-90 as Gun Club Road and heads east to old US 395 on the south side of Ritzville. Just west of old 395, old US 10 passes under the BNSF, originally NP, railroad tracks. On the south side of Ritzville, old US 10 joined old US 395 and headed northeasterly through Ritzville. The street is now signed as Business Loop 90.

Ritzville to Spokane

The highway from Ritzville to Spokane has been known as State Road 11, Primary State Highway 11, The Columbia Basin Highway, US 395, US 10, and I-90. The US 395 designation was added to this highway around 1937. US 395 had been part of the original US highway system of 1926 but had at first only connected Spokane to Laurier at the Canadian Border. In 1940 the US 10 designation was added to the Ritzville-Spokane portion of US 395.

From Ritzville, old US 10/395 stays to the northwest side of I-90 as far as Tokio. At Tokio, the old highway crosses over I-90 and follows the southeast side of the freeway, pasing through the Town of Sprague. At Fishtrap, between Sprague and Tyler, the old highway crosses under the BNSF tracks and joins I-90 at Exit 254. The old highway is now the eastbound lanes of I-90 from Exit 254 to Exit 257-Tyler.

US 10/395 passed through Cheney on the way from Tyler to Four Lakes before the I-90 bypass of Cheney was completed in late 1966. This route is now SR 904. Portions of the original highway between Cheney and Four Lakes are now frontage roads for the present SR 904 alignment.

I-90 was built on top of the old highway from Exit 270 to 272. At Exit 272, the original highway headed north on Hayford Road to the Sunset Highway. Geiger Blvd was built during WWII to provide access to the military base on the south side of Geiger Field. This field eventually became Spoake International Airport. The commercial terminal is on the north side of the runway. The original Geiger Blvd from Exit 272 to about milepost 275 was incorporated into the I-90 freeway. The existing Geiger Blvd between these points was built later as a frontage road for the freeway. Near milepost 275, I-90 leaves the original Geiger Blvd alignment and the I-90 pavement changes from asphalt to concrete. Geiger Blvd continues to a partial interchange with the Sunset Highway and ends. This partial interchange was the junction of Alternate US 10 and US 10/395 in the mid 1940s until Alternate US 10 became part of US 2 around 1948.

Continue east on US 10 through Spokane to the Idaho State line