:Washington State Route 243

SR 243 begins at a junction with SR 24 at the north end of the Vernita Bridge, located in the Hanford Reach National Monument. Traffic continuing on SR 24 towards Othello is forced to turn east, while the highway continues northwest as SR 243. The highway turns west and follows the Columbia River upstream, passing a public boat launch and a campground within the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.{{cite web |title=Vernita Bridge Water Access Site |url=https://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/water_access/30005/ |publisher=Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife |access-date=August 24, 2018}} As the terrain transitions from brushland and sand dunes to irrigated farmland,{{cite web |date=April 5, 2018 |title=Corridor Sketch Summary – SR 243: SR 24 Jct (Vernita) to SR 26 Jct |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2018/02/23/CSS365-SR243-SR24JctVernita-SR26Jct.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=August 24, 2018 |archive-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825074910/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2018/02/23/CSS365-SR243-SR24JctVernita-SR26Jct.pdf |url-status=dead }} SR 243 turns northwest and passes the Priest Rapids Dam and Wanapum Heritage Center at the south end of Desert Aire,{{cite news |last=Prengaman |first=Kate |date=October 14, 2015 |title=Wanapum Heritage Center displays history in the making |url=http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/wanapum-heritage-center-displays-history-in-the-making/article_fe77b950-7235-11e5-a91e-a777b87bd4b5.html |work=Yakima Herald-Republic |access-date=August 24, 2018}} a resort town with its own golf course and public airport.{{cite report |author=AirSide Solutions |date=January 2006 |title=Desert Arie Airport: Airport Layout Plan and Narrative Report |chapter=Chapter 2: Inventory and Current Activity |page=1 |chapter-url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2FE9E3E1-CB56-4689-AEBD-C90681B6F267/0/DesertAireALPandNarrativeReport.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=August 24, 2018}}{{google maps |title=State Route 243 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/46.6466082,-119.7363191/46.9310731,-119.9569395/@46.7821885,-119.9869848,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e0 |access-date=August 24, 2018}}

The highway continues north through the vineyards of the western Wahluke Slope and passes a roundabout at the west end of Mattawa.{{cite news |last=Stockley |first=Tom |date=September 15, 1985 |title=Sip-seeing: The time is ripe to visit Washington's vinelands amid the grape harvest |page=K1 |work=The Seattle Times}} North of Mattawa, the bluffs of the Saddle Mountains cause the river and its valley to narrow, leaving SR 243 to run directly on the eastern bank as it traverses the Sentinel Gap. Near Beverly, the highway passes under the Beverly Railroad Bridge, which carries the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail,{{cite news |last=Hedges |first=Marilyn |date=May 12, 2016 |title=Crossing Washington on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail |url=https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2016/may/12/crossing-washington-on-the-john-wayne-pioneer-trail/ |work=The Wenatchee World |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 24, 2018}} and moves away from the river bank to serve Wanapum Village near the Wanapum Dam. SR 243 continues north across the hills overlooking the dam's reservoir, passing through several rock cuts near the Sand Hollow Recreation Area,{{cite news |last=Pratt |first=Christine |date=April 3, 2015 |title=Wanapum shoreline back in business for warm-season fun |work=The Wenatchee World}} and descends to an intersection with SR 26, where the highway terminates. The junction is located {{convert|1|mi|km|1|spell=in}} south of an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90) at the east end of the Vantage Bridge, where SR 26 itself terminates.{{cite map |author=Washington State Department of Transportation |year=2014 |title=Washington State Highways, 2014–2015 |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2006/06/13/TouristMapFront_withoutHillshade.pdf |location=Olympia |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=August 24, 2018 |archive-date=February 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221194441/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2D10703F-9ADF-4A95-A14E-2A36FEAF1C20/0/Statewide2014NoHillshade.pdf |url-status=dead }}

The highway is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey of traffic volume on state routes, expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic. Average vehicle counts on SR 243 measured in 2016 ranged from a minimum of 2,800 vehicles near Beverly to a maximum of 4,600 vehicles between Desert Aire and Mattawa.{{cite report |year=2017 |title=2016 Annual Traffic Report |page=167 |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/Annual_Traffic_Report_2016.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208001700/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/Annual_Traffic_Report_2016.pdf |archive-date=February 8, 2020 |access-date=August 24, 2018}}

A road following the un-dammed Columbia River from the Priest Rapids to Vantage was built by the early 1910s, roughly along the path of modern SR 243.{{cite map |title=Beverly Quadrangle, Washington |type=Topographic map |date=June 1912 |scale=1:62,500 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/WA/WA_Beverly_240037_1912_62500.jpg |access-date=August 30, 2018}} The state legislature authorized construction of a new state highway between Vantage and the Vernita ferry in 1957 and designated it as a branch of Secondary State Highway 7C (SSH 7C).{{cite book |date=March 21, 1957 |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1957 |chapter=Chapter 172: Highways |page=640 |chapter-url=http://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/documents/sessionlaw/1957c172.pdf |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=August 30, 2018}}{{cite news |date=June 1957 |title=Highway Omnibus Bill Adds 149 Miles of Roadway To State System |page=4 |work=Washington Highway News |publisher=Washington State Department of Highways |volume=6 |issue=12 |oclc=29654162 |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/2741/rec/8 |via=Washington State Department of Transportation Library Digital Collections |access-date=August 30, 2018}} The highway was created to serve the under-construction Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams, the former of which would inundate a section of the old road with its new reservoir.{{cite news |date=December 1957 |title=Highway 11-A opens to Othello |pages=5–6 |work=Washington Highway News |publisher=Washington State Department of Highways |volume=7 |issue=5 |oclc=29654162 |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/4043/rec/2 |via=Washington State Department of Transportation Library Digital Collections |access-date=August 30, 2018}} Construction on the highway began later in the year and was completed in the early 1960s,{{cite news |date=July 9, 1957 |title=Highway 7-C Work Slated |page=12 |work=Tri-City Herald}}{{cite map |title=Beverly Quadrangle, Washington |type=Typographic map |year=1965 |scale=1:62,500 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/WA/WA_Beverly_240041_1965_62500.jpg |access-date=August 30, 2018}} shortly before the opening of the Vernita Bridge at its southern terminus with SSH 11A.{{cite news |last=Morgan |first=Brian |date=October 2, 1965 |title=New Span's Regional Use Underlined at Vernita Rides |page=6 |work=The Spokesman-Review |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CbRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I-kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7243%2C414031 |via=Google News Archive |access-date=August 17, 2018}}{{cite map |title=Priest Rapids Quadrangle, Washington |type=Typographic map |year=1965 |scale=1:62,500 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/WA/WA_Priest%20Rapids_243280_1965_62500.jpg |access-date=August 30, 2018}} During 1964 state highway renumbering, the Priest Rapids branch of SSH 7C was re-designated as SR 243, while the main route became SR 26.{{cite web |title=Identification of State Highways |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2005/04/26/Identification-of-state-highways.pdf |author=C. G. Prahl |publisher=Washington State Highway Commission |date=December 1, 1965 |access-date=June 30, 2009 |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217112902/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6836215D-E301-43F3-895A-472BD2FDE86A/0/Identification.pdf |url-status=dead }}

The intersection with Road 24, a county road that serves as the main entry to Mattawa, had been the site of several major and fatal collisions in the late 2000s, prompting WSDOT to propose construction of a roundabout. The $1.25 million roundabout was the first to be built in a rural area and was subject to opposition from local residents. After it was completed in 2014, the opposing residents apologized for their stance on the project, having adjusted to the change.{{cite news |last=Folsom |first=Geoff |date=May 31, 2014 |title=Kennewick to consider its 22nd roundabout |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article32182047.html |work=Tri-City Herald |access-date=August 24, 2018}}{{cite news |last=Hallenberg |first=Pia |date=May 3, 2017 |title=Washington State DOT touts roundabouts |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/may/03/washington-state-dot-touts-roundabouts/ |work=The Spokesman-Review |access-date=August 24, 2018}}

{{jcttop|state=WA|county=Grant|length_ref=}}

{{WAint

|location=none

|mile=0.00

|road={{jct|state=WA|SR|24|city1=Yakima|city2=Richland|city3=Othello}}

|notes=

}}

{{WAint

|location=none

|mile=28.23

|road={{jct|state=WA|SR|26|to2=to|I|90|city1=Vantage|city2=Royal City}}

|notes=

}}

{{jctbtm}}

{{reflist}}

{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}

• [https://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/sr243.html Highways of Washington State]

{{State highways in Washington related to SR 24}}

243

Category:Transportation in Grant County, Washington