Editing Thurston County, Washington (section)

===Transportation===

Thurston County is bisected by [[Interstate 5 in Washington|Interstate 5]], the major north–south freeway on the [[West Coast of the United States|U.S. West Coast]] that connects Washington, [[Oregon]], and [[California]].<ref name="TNT-NisquallyBridge">{{cite news |last=Peterson |first=Josephine |date=October 1, 2024 |title=They cut costs in the '60s. Now part of I-5 faces flood danger or up to $4.2B to fix |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article254324633.html |work=The News Tribune |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref> The freeway travels through Grand Mound, Tumwater, Olympia, and Lacey and continues south to [[Portland, Oregon]], and north to Tacoma and Seattle. It was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s to replace [[U.S. Route 99]], the original north–south highway in Western Washington.<ref name="Olympian-Freeway"/> Interstate 5 intersects several other highways within Thurston County that provide connections to other areas of Washington state. These include [[U.S. Route 12 in Washington|U.S. Route 12]], which travels west from Grand Mound to [[Aberdeen, Washington|Aberdeen]]; [[U.S. Route 101 in Washington|U.S. Route 101]], which encircles most of the Olympic Peninsula and provides access to Aberdeen via [[Washington State Route 8|State Route 8]]; and [[Washington State Route 510|State Route 510]], which travels along the Nisqually River to Yelm, where it intersects [[Washington State Route 507|State Route 507]].<ref name="WSDOT-Map">{{cite WSDOT map |year=2014 |inset=Olympia |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref><ref name="RoadMap">{{cite map |date=September 28, 2022 |title=Thurston County Road Ownership |url=https://map.co.thurston.wa.us/pdf/RoadOwner(54x35).pdf |publisher=Thurston County GeoData Center |accessdate=October 26, 2024}}</ref>

The county has two public transportation providers and connections to other systems that serve neighboring counties. [[Intercity Transit]] has 18 routes that serve the cities and urban growth areas of Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and Yelm. In addition to local service, the agency operates The One, a rapid bus service in Olympia and Lacey, and express buses to [[Lakewood, Washington|Lakewood]] that connect with [[Pierce Transit]] and [[Sound Transit]].<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.intercitytransit.com/about-us |publisher=Intercity Transit |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Boone |first=Rolf |date=September 10, 2020 |title=Need a lift? Intercity Transit is set to expand bus service Sept. 20 |url=https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article245458190.html |work=The Olympian |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref> All routes in the Intercity Transit system have been fare-free since 2020; the agency is funded by a local sales tax within its [[public transportation benefit area|service area]], which was formed in 1980.<ref>{{cite news |last=Beekman |first=Daniel |date=November 13, 2023 |title=Clallam Transit will be latest of many WA systems to go fare-free |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/clallam-transit-will-be-latest-of-many-wa-systems-to-go-fare-free/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=August 2023 |title=Intercity Transit 2022 Annual Report, 2023–2028 Transit Development Plan |page=2 |url=https://www.intercitytransit.com/sites/default/files/2024-01/FinalTDP2023-2028.pdf |publisher=Intercity Transit |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref> [[Rural Transit (Washington)|Rural Transit]] is operated by the [[Thurston Regional Planning Council]] between communities south of Olympia and Tumwater. It is also fare-free and connects with [[Lewis County Transit]] in Centralia.<ref>{{cite news |last=Warn |first=Daniel |date=March 2, 2022 |title=Rural Transit Connects Those With Limited Public Transportation to Population Hubs Around Region |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/rural-transit-connects-those-with-limited-public-transportation-to-population-hubs-around-region,285467 |work=The Daily Chronicle |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref>

Passenger rail service through Thurston County is operated by [[Amtrak]], which has two routes that serve [[Centennial Station]] in southern Lacey, which opened in 1993 and is primarily run by volunteers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hall |first=C.B. |date=February 21, 2012 |title=Amtrak finds it hard to take citizens' help, even when they build a station |url=https://www.cascadepbs.org/2012/02/amtrak-finds-hard-take-citizens-help-even-when-the |work=Crosscut.com |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref> The ''[[Amtrak Cascades|Cascades]]'' has several daily trips to Seattle, Portland, and [[Vancouver]]; the ''[[Coast Starlight]]'' has one daily train that runs between Seattle, [[Sacramento]], the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], and [[Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Sailor |first=Craig |date=December 13, 2017 |title=One of the last great Washington train rides is coming to an end |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article188843224.html |work=The News Tribune |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Paul |first=Crystal |date=March 29, 2019 |title=What it's like to take a 35-hour ride on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/what-its-like-to-take-a-35-hour-ride-on-the-coast-starlight-train-from-l-a-to-seattle/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref> These routes run on tracks owned by the [[BNSF Railway]], which primarily operates freight trains through the county on the [[Seattle Subdivision]]. Several branch railroads also pass through Thurston County, including the [[Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad]] and two lines owned by the Port of Olympia that were leased to [[Tacoma Rail]] until 2016.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Cambridge Systematics |author-link1=Cambridge Systematics |author2=HDR, Inc. |author-link2=HDR, Inc. |date=May 2006 |title=Statewide Rail Capacity and Systems Needs Study Technical Memorandium |pages=7, 18, 35, 48–52 |url=https://wstc.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Rail-TM1-1-A-WashStateFreightRailsys.pdf |publisher=Washington State Transportation Commission |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hobbs |first=Andy |date=January 10, 2016 |title=Tacoma Rail to end short-line service to Thurston County |url=https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article53792700.html |work=The Olympian |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref>

The county has one public airport, [[Olympia Regional Airport]], which is owned by the Port of Olympia and used for [[general aviation]], business flights, [[air ambulance]]s, and government use. It has two runways, a passenger terminal, and an [[air traffic control tower]].<ref>{{cite web |date=November 2020 |title=Washington Electric Aircraft Feasibility Study |pages=199–200 |url=https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/WSDOT-Electric-Aircraft-Feasibility-Study.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref> The airport and two other sites in Thurston County were among candidates considered by a state legislative commission for a new passenger airport to relieve crowding at [[Seattle–Tacoma International Airport]], the main passenger airport in the region.<ref>{{cite news |last=Relente |first=Angelica |date=July 19, 2023 |title=Where will Washington's new airport be? Locals are fighting against one of the options |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/community/puyallup-herald/ph-news/article265568961.html |work=The News Tribune |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}</ref>