Before 1964, the route from Newport to BC6 was the northernmost section of Primary State Highway 6, which ran from Spokane to BC6. Originally created in 1964, SR31 extended southeast to an intersection with U.S. Route 2 (US2, formerly US 195) in Newport. The North Cascades Highway (SR20) was extended to Newport in 1973 and SR31 from Newport to Tiger became SR20. SR31 had one auxiliary route, SR 311, which became SR211 after SR20 was extended.
SR31 starts at an intersection with SR20 and Tiger East Road in the small community of Tiger. The road turns northwest after the intersection and then curves north after intersecting Vogel Road. After crossing the railroad, the highway forms the eastern boundary of Ione Municipal Airport and later passes Sullivan Lake Road. At the Sullivan Lake Road junction, SR31 is named McKay Road and crosses the Ione Millpond to enter the city of Ione. There, the route is renamed Second Street and leaves the city to parallel the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad and the shoreline of the Pend Oreille River. The name of the road changes to Lehigh Avenue, a name that stays with SR31 until the Canada–US border. The railroad crosses the road and later bridges the Pend Oreille River, as the highway turns northwest and reverts northeast. The route reaches Metaline and curves southeast to cross the Pend Oreille River on the Pend Oreille Bridge into Metaline Falls. After turning south and back north, the highway starts to curve multiple times until intersecting Sullivan Lake Road and being directed northeast. The road turns north and crosses two streams before curving northwest and then northeast to Lake Lucerene. After passing Lake Lucerene, SR31 passes Crescent Lake and Boundary Lake before ending at the Canada–US border.[3] SR31's northern end at the Canada–US border is the easternmost crossing in Washington and is located east of Crawford State Park.[5]
In 1923, a system of roads to connect cities throughout Washington was established.[6] One of the roads, State Road6, followed a route from Spokane to the Canada–US border.[6] The road was named the Pend O'Reille Highway,[6] a name that would identify the route until 1964.[7] The state road system was later expanded into a new system in 1937.[7]
During the creation of the Primary and Secondary Highways in 1937, the road that was State Road6 became Primary State Highway 6 (PSH6).[7] PSH6 ran from U.S. Route 10 (US10) and US 195 (future US 2), north to the Canada–US border; the route was co-signed as US195 from Spokane to Newport.[7] US2 was signed over PSH6 from Spokane to Newport in 1948 and the route became SR31 from Newport to the Canada–US border during the 1964 highway renumbering. During the renumbering, WSDOT replaced the previous system of Primary and Secondary Highways with a new system called state routes, which is still in use today.[8][9]
SR31: Newport–BC6 (1964–1973)
SR31's route from 1964 until 1973
SR31's previous route ran a total of 73.31 miles (117.98km) from Newport northwest to Tiger and north to the Canada–US border at BC 6.[10] The route started in Newport at the intersection of W. Walnut Street (SR31 northbound and US2 eastbound) and N. Union Avenue (US2 westbound). Next, the highway went northwest and left Newport to parallel the Pend Oreille River for the rest of its route.[11] The road would also join the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad north to the current southern terminus.[4] SR31 turned west and passed Lake Newport State Park, located on the shores of the river,[12] before curving northwest and entering the community of Dilkena. From Dilkena, the road goes north to pass SR311's northern terminus in Usk and pass the towns of Cusick, Locke and Jared. The highway turned east at Jared and back northwest at Ruby. After Blue Slide and Lost Creek, SR31 would continue north out of Tiger, which was the eastern terminus of SR 294.[11] SR31 from Newport to Tiger later became SR20 after it was extended on SR294 and SR31 in 1973.
From 1964 until 1973, SR31 had an auxiliary route called State Route311. The highway ran from US2 west of Newport, north 15.24 miles (24.53km) to SR31 in Usk.[10] The road was entirely located within Pend Oreille County; the southern terminus was located east of Pend Oreille State Park on US2 and west of Diamond Lake and the community of the same name.[13] SR311 advanced north past Sacheen Lake and Davis Lake to the northern terminus,[14] which was 2.39 miles (3.85km) south of Cusick.[10] SR311 was established as SSH 6B in 1937 during the creation of the primary and secondary highway system.[7] In the 1964 renumbering, SR311 was created over SSH6B.[8][9] When SR20 was extended over SR294 and SR31, SR311 became SR 211, which it is still currently designated as.
123Washington State Department of Transportation (1970). "1970 Traffic Report"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on June 25, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
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