The first state road, running across the
Cascade Range roughly where
State Route 20 now crosses it, was designated by the legislature in 1893 (However, this road wasn't actually opened until 1972). Two other roads—a Cascade crossing at present
State Route 410 and a branch of the first road to
Wenatchee—were added in 1897. The
Washington Highway Department was established in 1905, and a set of twelve
State Roads, numbered from 1 to 12, were assigned. A thirteenth was added in 1907, and State Roads 14 to 18 in 1909. However, it was not until 1913 that a connected system was laid out—earlier state roads had been disconnected segments of road needing improvements. The seven
primary roads were only assigned names, while the older state roads kept their numbers as
secondary roads. In 1923, most state roads were assigned new numbers, though the primary and secondary split remained, and several roads remained named only. The
United States Numbered Highways were assigned in late 1926, overlapping some of the State Roads. The first major reworking of the system was passed in 1937, including a complete renumbering. A number of
Primary State Highways were designated, while
Secondary State Highways were suffixed spurs off those. For instance,
Primary State Highway 1 was the
Pacific Highway (present
Interstate 5), and
Secondary State Highway 1B was a spur from
Bellingham to the
Canadian border (now
State Route 539). U.S. Routes kept dual designations with State Highways. By 1952, the present highway shield, in the shape of
George Washington's head, had been adopted. The primary/secondary state highway systems were replaced by the
current numbering system in the 1960s, at the behest of the state legislature following the
1962 World's Fair in Seattle. The signs for the new highway numbers, which would be organized based on their general direction and—for secondary routes—a leading digit, first were posted in late 1963 and took effect in January 1964. The new numbers also coincided with existing U.S. Routes and new
Interstate Highways to reduce confusion and eliminate duplicate numbers. The PSH/SSH signs were removed by 1970. ==Secondary State Highways==