Road jurisdiction transfer

AN ACT Relating to route jurisdiction transfer and abandonment; 1
amending RCW 36.75.090, 47.01.425, 47.17.001, 47.24.010, and 2
47.28.010; and providing an effective date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 36.75.090 and 1984 c 7 s 28 are each amended to read 5
as follows: 6
((All)) (1) Except as provided under subsection (2) of this 7
section, the state department of transportation may modify the 8
alignment of all public highways in this state ((which)) that have 9
been a part of the route of a state highway and have been or may 10
hereafter be no longer necessary as such, if situated outside of the 11
limits of incorporated cities or towns, shall, upon certification 12
thereof by the state department of transportation to the legislative 13
authority of the county in which any portion of the highway is 14
located, become a county road of the county, and if situated within 15
the corporate limits of any city or town shall upon certification 16
thereof by the state department of transportation to the mayor of the 17
city or town in which any portion of the highway is located become a 18
street of the city or town. Upon the certification the secretary of 19
transportation shall execute a deed, which shall be duly 20
H-2565.2
HOUSE BILL 2172
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Bernbaum and Reed
Prefiled 12/19/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Transportation.
p. 1 HB 2172
acknowledged, conveying the abandoned highway or portion thereof to 1
the county or city as the case may be. 2
(2) Any portion of a state highway determined to no longer be 3
necessary under subsection (1) of this section, which exceeds two 4
miles in length or includes a bridge, shall be considered a route 5
transfer and subject to the provisions of RCW 47.17.001 and 6
47.01.425.7
Sec. 2. RCW 47.01.425 and 2009 c 260 s 1 are each amended to 8
read as follows: 9
The legislature recognizes the need for ((a)) an independent 10
multijurisdictional body to review ((future)) requests for 11
jurisdictional transfers((.)) as follows:12
(1) The commission shall receive petitions from cities, counties, 13
or the state requesting jurisdictional transfers that include any 14
addition or deletion from the state highway system , and abandonments 15
under RCW 36.75.090(2) that exceed two miles in length.16
(2) The commission must utilize the criteria established in RCW 17
47.17.001 in evaluating and analyzing petitions and to adopt rules 18
for implementation of this process , including a requirement for a 19
prerequest conference with requesting parties, to ensure potential 20
transfer requests are eligible under the law. 21
(3) The commission shall forward to the senate and house 22
transportation committees by November 15th each year ((any 23
recommended)) a report that includes the results of the evaluation 24
and analysis conducted, identifies potential costs, risks, and 25
impacts to continuity and connectivity of the state highway system, 26
and provides recommendations for jurisdictional transfers or 27
abandonments pursuant to RCW 36.75.090(2). 28
Sec. 3. RCW 47.17.001 and 1993 c 430 s 1 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
In considering whether to make additions, deletions, or other 31
changes to the state highway system, the legislature shall be guided 32
by the following criteria ((as contained in the Road Jurisdiction 33
Committee Phase I report to the legislature dated January 1987)):34
(1) All state routes should exhibit strong connectivity, 35
continuity, and functional characteristics when compared to routes 36
already part of the state highway system.37
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(2) A rural highway route should be designated as a state highway 1
if it meets any of the following criteria: 2
(a) Is designated as part of the national system of interstate 3
and defense highways (popularly called the interstate system); or4
(b) Is designated as part of the system of numbered United States 5
routes; or 6
(c) Contains an international border crossing that is open 7
((twelve)) 12 or more hours each day. 8
(((2))) (3) A rural highway route may be designated as a state 9
highway if it is part of an integrated system of roads and:10
(a) Carries in excess of ((three hundred thousand )) 300,000 tons 11
annually and provides primary access to a rural port or intermodal 12
freight terminal; 13
(b) Provides a major cross-connection between existing state 14
highways; or15
(c) Connects to United States census designated places 16
((exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics:17
(i) A population center of one thousand or greater;18
(ii) An area or aggregation of areas having a population 19
equivalency of one thousand or more, such as, but not limited to, 20
recreation areas, military installations, and so forth;21
(iii) A county seat;22
(iv) A major commercial-industrial terminal in a rural area with 23
a population equivalency of one thousand or greater; or24
(d) Is designated as a scenic and recreational highway)).25
(((3))) (4) An urban highway route that meets any of the 26
following criteria should be designated as part of the state highway 27
system: 28
(a) Is designated as part of the interstate system;29
(b) Is designated as part of the system of numbered United States 30
routes; 31
(c) Is an urban extension of a rural state highway into or 32
through an urban area and is necessary to form an integrated system 33
of state highways; 34
(d) Is ((a principal arterial that is a connecting link )) an 35
urban highway route between two state highways ((and serves 36
regionally oriented through traffic in urbanized areas with a 37
population of fifty thousand or greater )), in a city or United States 38
census designated place, or is a spur ((that serves regionally 39
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oriented traffic in urbanized areas )) in a city or United States 1
census designated place. 2
(((4))) (5) The following guidelines are intended to be used as a 3
basis for interpreting and applying the criteria to specific routes:4
(a) For any route wholly within one or more contiguous 5
jurisdictions which would be proposed for transfer to the state 6
highway system under these criteria, if local officials prefer, 7
responsibility will remain at the local level. 8
(b) State highway routes maintain continuity of the system by 9
being composed of routes that join other state routes at both ends or 10
to arterial routes in the states of Oregon and Idaho and the Province 11
of British Columbia. 12
(c) Public facilities may be considered to be served if they are 13
within approximately two miles of a state highway.14
(d) Exceptions may be made to include: 15
(i) Rural spurs as state highways if they meet the criteria 16
relative to serving population centers of ((one thousand )) 1,000 or 17
greater population or activity centers with population equivalencies 18
or an aggregated population of ((one thousand)) 1,000 or greater;19
(ii) Urban spurs as state highways that provide needed access to 20
Washington state ferry terminals, state parks, major seaports, and 21
trunk airports; and 22
(iii) Urban connecting links as state highways that function as a 23
needed bypass ((routing of regionally oriented through traffic )) and 24
benefit truck routing, capacity alternative, business congestion, and 25
geometric deficiencies. 26
(e) In urban and urbanized areas: 27
(i) Unless they are significant regional traffic generators, 28
public facilities such as state hospitals, state correction centers, 29
state universities, ferry terminals, and military bases do not 30
constitute a criteria for establishment of a state highway; and31
(ii) There may be no more than one parallel nonaccess controlled 32
facility in the same corridor as a freeway or limited access facility 33
as designated by the metropolitan planning organization.34
(f) When there is a choice of two or more routes between 35
population centers, the state route designation shall normally be 36
based on the following considerations: 37
(i) The ability to handle higher traffic volumes;38
(ii) The higher ability to accommodate further development or 39
expansion along the existing alignment; 40
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(iii) The most direct route and the lowest travel time;1
(iv) The route that serves traffic with the most interstate, 2
statewide, and interregional significance; 3
(v) The route that provides the optimal spacing between other 4
state routes; and 5
(vi) The route that best serves the comprehensive plan for 6
community development in those areas where such a plan has been 7
developed and adopted. 8
(g) A route designated in chapter 47.39 RCW as a scenic and 9
recreational highway may be designated as a state highway in addition 10
to a parallel state highway route. 11
(6) If a highway project results in the decommissioning of a 12
portion of an existing state highway, such as due to a change in the 13
highway's alignment, the legislature must make a final determination 14
regarding the status of the existing state highway segment, through 15
duly enacted legislation including, but not limited to:16
(a) Authorizing the disposition of the segment via RCW 36.75.090;17
(b) Approving the transfer of the segment to the local 18
jurisdiction;19
(c) Authorizing the demolition of the segment; or20
(d) Retaining the segment as part of the state highway system.21
Sec. 4. RCW 47.24.010 and 2006 c 334 s 42 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
((The)) Subject to the requirements of RCW 47.01.425, the 24
department of transportation shall determine what streets, together 25
with bridges thereon and wharves necessary for use for ferriage of 26
motor vehicle traffic in connection with such streets, if any, in any 27
incorporated cities and towns shall form a part of the route of state 28
highways and between the first and ((fifteenth)) 15th days of July of 29
any year the department shall identify by brief description, the 30
streets, together with the bridges thereon and wharves, if any, in 31
such city or town ((which)) that are designated as forming a part of 32
the route of any state highway; and all such streets, including curbs 33
and gutters and street intersections and such bridges and wharves, 34
shall thereafter be a part of the state highway system and as such 35
shall be constructed and maintained by the department from any state 36
funds available therefor: PROVIDED, That the responsibility for the 37
construction and maintenance of any such street together with its 38
appurtenances may be returned to a city or a town upon certification 39
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by the department to the clerk of any city or town that such street, 1
or portion thereof, is no longer required as a part of the state 2
highway system: PROVIDED FURTHER, That any such certification that a 3
street, or portion thereof, is no longer required as a part of the 4
state highway system shall be made between the first and 5
((fifteenth)) 15th of July following the determination by the 6
department that such street or portion thereof is no longer required 7
as a part of the state highway system, but this shall not prevent the 8
department and any city or town from entering into an agreement that 9
a city or town will accept responsibility for such a street or 10
portion thereof at some time other than between the first and 11
((fifteenth)) 15th of July of any year. 12
Sec. 5. RCW 47.28.010 and 2006 c 334 s 22 are each amended to 13
read as follows: 14
((Whenever)) Subject to the requirements of RCW 47.01.425, 15
whenever the general route of any state highway shall be designated 16
and laid out as running to or by way of certain designated points, 17
without specifying the particular route to be followed to or by way 18
of such points, the department shall determine the particular route 19
to be followed by said state highway to or by way of said designated 20
points, and shall be at liberty to select and adopt as a part of such 21
state highway, the whole or any part of any existing public highway 22
previously designated as a county road, primary road, or secondary 23
road or now or hereafter classified as a county road. The department 24
need not select and adopt the entire routes for such state highways 25
at one time, but may select and adopt parts of such routes from time 26
to time as it deems advisable. Where a state highway is designated as 27
passing by way of a certain point, this shall not require the 28
department to cause such state highway to pass through or touch such 29
point but such designation is directional only and may be complied 30
with by location in the general vicinity. The department is empowered 31
to construct as a part of any state highway as designated and in 32
addition to any portion meeting the limits of any incorporated city 33
or town a bypass section either through or around any such 34
incorporated city or town. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act takes effect July 1, 2026.36
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