Washington State Route 518

On Saturday, July 7, 2018, we drove down the hill on Washington State Route 518.

RCW 47.17.715
State route No. 518:

A state highway to be known as state route number 518 is established as follows:

Beginning at a junction with state route number 509 near Sunnydale, thence easterly to a junction with state route number 5 in the vicinity of Seattle.

Sunnydale is now Burien. I guess they decided "Sunnydale" was a poor name choice for the top of a hill that's usually cloudy... Highway 518 begins here at SR 509.


A freeway its entire short length, Highway 518 zooms east. We enter the city of SeaTac, then pass under the three bridges built for the runway approach lights of Sea-Tac International Airport. After the exit for the airport, we pass under SR 99. The only direct connection between the two highways is in the eastward direction, though, hence this photo of an onramp.


The highway sharply heads downhill, curving down the Gilliam Creek canyon. Brakelights and sudden swerves abound as everyone jockeys for position in their correct lane: north? east? south? Welcome to the interchange with I-5.


In the middle of the interchange, underneath the spaghetti bridges, Highway 518 comes to an end, replaced eastward by I-405.

Well, that was pretty much as expected. Now let's go take a hike.