US 395, Part 27: Spokane (BR 90/Old US 10/Old US 2/Old US 395; Old US 195)

Unlike most contrasting alignments where I choose to do the older one first, I've chosen to do old US 395 through Spokane last because it hooks up directly with its modern routing at the end.

As initially signed (shown here in this 1926 planning map), US 395 was part of three US 95 spurs, US 95 being a comparatively insignificant highway in those days between Weiser, ID and the Canadian border. Of the three, US 395 was the only route that went to the border; US 195 ran between Sandpoint, ID and Lewiston, ID for a total of 186 miles; and US 295, the shortest of the spurs, ran between Dodge, WA and Colfax, WA for a total course of only 45. US 295 was the obvious target for destruction due to its small length and existing only within Washington state; it was decommissioned in 1968 and replaced by WA 26 from Colfax to Dusty, and then WA 127 from Dusty to Dodge. US 195 was also ripe for dismemberment as its routing between Spokane, WA and Sandpoint, ID was co-routed with the much longer US 2 (US 2 having taken over most of Alternate US 10 by this time; see Part 25 for the history of US 10 ALT and a map showing ALT US 10 routed with US 195). Fortunately, the fact it had a small stub in Idaho along its routing south of Spokane saved it from complete elimination; instead, it was cut down in 1969 to Spokane, but kept its southern terminus in Lewiston for a modern length of (amusingly) 95 miles. It maintains a spur, a former alignment of US 95, in Uniontown, WA -- although only 2 miles long, it is a legitimately recognized spur and is signed US 195 SPUR to the present day.

Interestingly, as did the bike route in Carson City and Part 11, the bike routes in Spokane in general tell the tale about the old alignments. In fact, bike route 195 is still routed on part of the old US 195 alignment, farther north than actual US 195 goes! We will use the bike routes frequently as clues to the former routings involved. There is some evidence to suggest that fr a very brief period after Interstate 90 was constructed US 195 was carried along the freeway (as I-90/US 2/US 195/US 395), but this persisted only a year or two at most (if at all) until US 195 was eviscerated.

US 395's earliest routing in Spokane does not start until the next Part. Once extended in 1934-8, its routing went roughly like this: up north more or less along present-day Geiger Blvd, joining then-US 10 (original junction shown in the 1938 left inset, later becoming US 10A, now US 2) to become modern Sunset Blvd, and crossing into the city over the stupendous High Bridge and the Hangman Creek. The routing along which US 395 approached US 10/US 10A/US 2 had at least two phases, both of which we will examine; we will also spend some time photographing the landmark High Bridge which is still well-preserved today.

Once over the river gorge, the routing joined with US 195 and proceeded into downtown along what is now W 3rd Ave; around 1951 3rd became EB only and W 2nd was added as the WB alignment. Now co-signed with both routes, US 395 and US 195 (and now US 2) then headed north on Division St, an alignment which we will explore shortly. Again, note that this was not its very earliest routing in Spokane, but we'll save that for the next Part. The thumbnail inset at right shows this routing in Spokane, from 1966 before the completion of I-90; click the inset for a 109K complete view of the Spokane metropolitan area. All of old US 395's routing that was co-signed with US 10 (and subsequently US 2) is now Business Route 90.