The Story of the Wenatchee to Quincy Highway

History of the Highway Connecting Wenatchee to Quincy

If you Google: Driving directions from the East Wenatchee Fred Meyer to the Quincy McDonald's - Google Maps says the nearly 30-mile trip will take 33 minutes.

When was Wenatchee Valley to Quincy Highway first built?

Washington State government took over existing county roads along the route of the Great Northern Railway - completed in 1893 that connected Everett to Spokane.

The Quincy to Wenatchee extension - State Road 10 (SR 10) from 1923 to 1937 - was built in 1915. Traffic between the two towns needed assistance by an auto-carrying ferry.

The Quincy to Wenatchee route needed a ferry until 1926

“State Road 10” connected Quincy to the Palisades. A Ferry took vehicles across the Columbia River near the bottom of Colockum Pass - through Malaga to Wenatchee.

The Wenatchee–Quincy highway was fully completed in 1926. Plans to add pavement began in the late 1920s - and was completed in the late 1930s.

Another name change

As the Quincy to Wenatchee highway paving project was nearing completion - it was renamed Primary State Road 10 (PSR 10) and kept this name until 1964.

Route 28 connection to the George Sellar Bridge gets an improvement.

In 2013, WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) changed how State Route 285 flows (from the George Sellar Bridge) onto State Route 28.

State Route 28 lane widening?

WSDOT has plans to add lanes to State Route 28 - in both directions. Construction for the Route 28’s lane expansion will begin in 2024.

INFO: Rand McNally, Washington State Department of Transportation Archives