Portal:U.S. roads/Selected article/July 2009

State Route 531 (SR 531) is a short Washington state highway in Snohomish County. It extends east 9.88 mi, from Wenberg State Park in the community of Lake Goodwin, to SR 9 in southeast Arlington. SR 531 intersects Interstate 5 (I-5), and passes the Arlington Airport. The route connects I-5 to SR 9, Smokey Point, and Wenberg State Park. The Washington State Legislature approved SR 531's current route in 1991. Since then, construction projects, arranged by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), have turned this small road into an arterial street. Even though the Washington State Legislature and WSDOT approved SR 531 in 1991, they erected no signs until April 1, 1992, when the law creating the road took effect.

The road now used by SR 531 has existed as a separate route since at least 1911. A map dating from 1911 shows that 172nd Street, then known simply as Lakewood Road and Edgecomb Road, extended east from its current intersection with SR 9 to the banks of the South Fork Stillaguamish River. In October 2008, WSDOT discovered a collapsed culvert on SR 531's Cougar Creek bridge. They repaired the culvert using a hydraulic ram to insert a 24 in diameter pipe to stabilize it. The construction, which took place on October 21 and October 24, caused traffic on SR 531 to detour to McRae Road, 45 Road, and 11th Avenue.

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