Interstate 5 is the West Coast’s main north-south highway, stretching from Mexico to the Canadian border. Thousands of people drive through the Olympia-Tumwater area every day, not realizing how dramatically I-5 changed life locally when it was built in the 1950s.
Why Was I-5 Built?
Constructed in the 1920s, Highway 99, which incorporated the earlier Pacific Coast Highway, was I-5’s predecessor. But Highway 99 had major issues: it was open-access and passed through the heart of many communities. Local drivers competed with cars just passing through.
This proved a big problem. Highway 99 funneled traffic through Tumwater onto Capitol Way, creating massive congestion in downtown Olympia. Parking was a nightmare. A particularly difficult bottleneck was at Fourth Avenue and Capitol Way, where traffic split west towards Grays Harbor and north to Tacoma and Seattle.
Post-World War II population growth brought increasing traffic headaches. Highway engineers proposed a solution: a national system of limited-access interstate freeways. This, the experts agreed, would decrease travel times and help prevent car accidents.
Replacing Highway 99 with I-5 would take years. The hardest part would prove to be planning the route that the new freeway would take.
Olympia and Tumwater’s I-5 Conundrum
The State Department of Highways– now Washington State Department of Transportation – conducted a traffic survey in the Olympia-Tumwater area in 1948. And thus plans for a 6.5 mile “Olympia Freeway” or “Olympia Bypass” got underway.
By 1951 engineers had finally designed a route. According to the proposal, I-5 would come up from south of Olympia through the Percival Creek Canyon, crossing Capitol Lake through an underground viaduct from the east slope of the Deschutes Waterway to the intersection of Adams Street and Tenth Avenue. The highway then continued to Lacey, connecting to Martin Way at Lilly Road.
In addition, a spur in the road at the head of Percival Creek would head west towards Shelton and Aberdeen.
As alternative to the viaduct, engineers proposed building an elevated highway above Seventh Street.
Despite concerns by business owners that the freeway would redirect customers away from downtown, the city of Olympia signed an agreement with the Department of Highways.
But the Department pumped the breaks on the project in 1954, after a review found the proposal too expensive. Engineers redesigned the route. Now I-5 would run along the solid bedrock of Tumwater Canyon instead of Percival Creek Canyon. A bridge would cross Capitol Lake in a wide curve, pass under Capitol Way at 27th Avenue in Olympia before continuing on to connect with Martin Way.
The “Dunham Bypass” was proposed as an alternative. According to this plan, I-5 would arc from south of Tumwater east through largely undeveloped areas near Ward Lake before heading north to Martin Way.
The State Department of Highways decided that the Tumwater Canyon route was the most feasible. But this plan would cut straight through the historic heart of Tumwater.
I-5 Changed the Face of Tumwater
Tumwater was outraged, but the city council eventually conceded that it was the most logical route in the end. Business had already been redirected towards Tumwater Square after Highway 99 was rerouted from the Boston Street Bridge to the Carlyon Bridge in the 1930s.
The city was also able to negotiate several concessions. They received a new sewer line connected to Olympia, an improved water system near the freeway and the Trosper Road interchange, which became a new commercial center. Custer Way Bridge redirected traffic from the narrow 1915 Boston Street Bridge.
Debate was fierce in Olympia too, but the city council voted to approve the route.
Construction Begins on I-5
Construction on the 6.5 mile stretch took four years and cost $12 million. A 200-foot-wide path was cut through what had been downtown Tumwater. Around 100 buildings were razed or moved.
Spared, however, was the historic Crosby House (702 Deschutes Way). Locals had saved it from demolition in 1951 from the construction of Deschutes Way. Now the new freeway put the building under threat again. Grading issues – and local – support led highway engineers to move the interchange a little southwest of the building.
Dozens of bridges were built on (and over) the route. The triple-level interchange at Capitol Lake was the first of its kind in Washington.
Freeway Day, 1958
The Olympia Freeway – and a five-mile section connecting to Mud Bay – opened to traffic on “Freeway Day,” December 12, 1958. A dedication ceremony was held on the 392-foot $400,000 Capitol Lake Bridge.
William Bugge, director of the State Department of Highways declared that the new highway was “the ultimate in highway design.”
Representing the commandant of Fort Lewis (now JBLM), Colonel Edgar Wright praised the project for offering both efficient military movement during emergencies and easy access for servicemember families to the Olympia-Tumwater area.
Governor Albert Rosselini was the main speaker. “An increasing interchange of people and goods,” he declared “will be possible at a lesser cost. All of us will benefit.”
Officials used military jeeps to cut the ribbon across the bridge. The highway was now open!
The Rotary Club of Olympia sponsored lunch afterwards for officials and dignitaries at the Olympian Hotel.
I-5 Today
Work to complete I-5 was far from finished but the freeway changed the face of Tumwater and Olympia. It redirected traffic away from city streets and reoriented the development of commercial and residential areas.
“Surely,” Governor Rosselin said at the freeway’s 1958 dedication, “this is a work of art, as well as a thing of utility.” With sweeping views of the Capitol Building, Capitol Lake and more, today’s drivers would agree.
