Road Services - Historic and Scenic Corridors Project

About the Historic and Scenic Corridors Project

"Preserving King County’s Heritage Corridors"

In an effort to identify and preserve the county’s rich transportation history, this grant-funded project has documented the story of over 100 years of road building in our region. It also identified nine significant "Heritage Corridors" in unincorporated King County, where travelers can still experience a sense of that history.

Narrow roads that hug the contours of the landscape, roads that follow Native American footpaths, adjacent historic buildings, and views of quintessential northwest landscapes or turn-of-the century farms, are but a few of the cultural features that contribute to these corridors’ historic significance and scenic quality.

Together these nine very diverse corridors tell the story of King County’s history through its most formative decades of development, from the 1870s through the 1930s. They touch on industrial, commercial, agricultural, and maritime themes. The roads themselves embody a record of the human determination to overcome seemingly insurmountable terrain through engineering, to link products to market, and to transport people effortlessly though the magic of the automobile.

The King County Landmarks Commission designated eight of the corridors as Community Landmarks at a public hearing in June 2009. This honorary designation recognizes special places in the community and carries no associated land use regulations or restrictions. The ninth corridor, the Old Sunset Highway, is primarily managed by other public agencies and has not been proposed for county landmark designation at this time.

The information resulting from the Corridors project will help the county maintain and operate its historic and scenic roads in keeping with their unique character. We also hope it will enhance the public’s travel experience and lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of our region’s transportation history. Check out the maps, photos and other educational materials located throughout this web site, visit the corridors “virtually” or in person, and enjoy your journey!

This project is a collaboration between the King County Road Services Division, King County Historic Preservation Program and 4Culture, the County's cultural services agency. Funding is provided through a Federal Transportation Enhancement Program grant administered by the Washington State Department of Transportation.

For more information please contact

Ruth Harvey
Project/Program Manager IV
201 S. Jackson St.
MS KSC-TR-0317
Seattle, WA 98104
206-296-3477

Information from the Road Services Division's website is available to people with disabilities in alternate formats upon request by calling 206-263-6482 or 711 for the TTY relay service.

= External link