Editing Interstate 705 (section)

==Route description==

I-705 is the shortest [[List of Interstate Highways in Washington|Interstate Highway in Washington]], at {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} in length, and primarily serves as a connector between [[Interstate 5 in Washington|I-5]] and [[Downtown Tacoma]].<ref name="FHWA-log">{{cite web |date=January 26, 2022 |title=Table 3: Interstate Routes in Each of the 50 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table03.cfm |work=Route Log and Finder List |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref><ref name="EconWorks">{{cite web |title=Project: I-705 Connector in Washington |url=https://planningtools.transportation.org/290/view-case-study.html?case_id=31 |work=EconWorks Case Studies |publisher=[[American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials]] |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref> It begins as a continuation of [[Washington State Route 7|SR&nbsp;7]] at an interchange with I-5 south of downtown Tacoma, near the [[Tacoma Dome]] and [[America's Car Museum]].<ref name="google">{{google maps |title=Interstate 705 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.2331777,-122.4324285/47.255782,-122.4368897/@47.2444522,-122.4429723,2980m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e0 |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref> The freeway passes under I-5, following a gulch south until it terminates at South 38th Street; SR&nbsp;7 continues beyond Tacoma on Pacific Avenue towards [[Spanaway, Washington|Spanaway]] and [[Mount Rainier National Park]].<ref name="WSDOT-Map">{{cite WSDOT map |year=2014 |inset=[https://web.archive.org/web/20201017225814/https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2017/08/31/highway-map-Tacoma.pdf Downtown Tacoma] |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref>

The freeway travels north with an exit to South 26th Street serving the Tacoma Dome and the adjacent [[Tacoma Dome Station]] transit complex. I-705 passes over the [[T Line (Sound Transit)|T&nbsp;Line]] streetcar near [[South 25th Street station]] and continues north to a [[single-point urban interchange]] with [[Washington State Route 509|SR&nbsp;509]] at South 21st Street, which provides access to the [[University of Washington Tacoma]] campus and [[Port of Tacoma]]. Following a freight railroad, the freeway passes the [[Washington State History Museum]] and [[Union Station (Tacoma, Washington)|Union Station]] near the [[Bridge of Glass]], a pedestrian overpass that crosses I-705 and links the [[Museum of Glass]] on the [[Thea Foss Waterway]] shore to downtown Tacoma.<ref name="google"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Reif |first=Rita |date=July 21, 2002 |title=A Pyramid for New Treasures of an Age-Old Art |at=sec. 2, p. 26 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/21/arts/art-architecture-a-pyramid-for-new-treasures-of-an-age-old-art.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref>

The northbound lanes separate near the Bridge of Glass, with one splitting into offramps serving South 15th Street and A Street, the latter of which is also served by a southbound onramp.<ref>{{cite map |date=June 22, 2007 |title=SR 705 – Junction 15th Street/A Street |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR705/705X001.pdf |work=Interchange Viewer |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref> I-705 then crosses under South 11th Street near the [[Murray Morgan Bridge]] and terminates at an onramp from South 9th Street adjacent to [[Fireman's Park]], which cantilevers over the southbound lanes.<ref>{{cite map |date=June 30, 2015 |title=SR 705 – Junction 9th Street/Schuster Parkway |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR705/705X002.pdf |work=Interchange Viewer |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref> The freeway continues northwest onto Schuster Parkway, with a separate set of flyover ramps that end at an at-grade intersection with Stadium Way near the [[Old City Hall (Tacoma, Washington)|Old City Hall]].<ref name="google"/>

As a component of the [[Interstate Highway System]], the entirety of I-705 is listed as part of the [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]], a national network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility;<ref>{{cite web |year=2017 |title=State Highway National Highway System Routes in Washington |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/hpms/pdf/washington-2017-state-highway-nhs-list.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=March 14, 2022}}</ref> it is also part of the state government's Highway of Statewide Significance program, recognizing its connection to major communities.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 26, 2009 |title=Transportation Commission List of Highways of Statewide Significance |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2006/03/16/HSSlist2009mod2.pdf |publisher=[[Washington State Transportation Commission]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724190950/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/50EC9EB9-DB3D-4823-B5D2-5348409FB8CE/0/HSSlist2009mod2.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2013 |accessdate=January 8, 2011}}</ref> The freeway is maintained by the [[Washington State Department of Transportation]] (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey of traffic volume that is expressed in terms of [[annual average daily traffic]]. Average traffic volumes on the highway in 2020 ranged from a minimum of 26,000&nbsp;vehicles  at its southern terminus to a maximum of 62,000&nbsp;vehicles between I-5 and SR&nbsp;509.<ref>{{cite map |year=2020 |title=Traffic GeoPortal |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/data/tools/geoportal/?config=traffic |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |cartography=[[Maxar Technologies]] |accessdate=September 2, 2021}}</ref>