Editing Chehalis, Washington (section)

===Transportation===
Chehalis is served by [[Interstate 5 in Washington|Interstate 5]], the main north–south freeway in Western Washington, which connects the city to Seattle and Portland. The freeway also carries a section of [[U.S. Route 12 in Washington|U.S. Route 12]], an east–west highway that continues to [[Aberdeen, Washington|Aberdeen]] and across the Cascades to the [[Yakima River Valley]] and [[Tri-Cities (Washington)|Tri-Cities]]. Chehalis is the location of the eastern cessation point of [[Washington State Route 6|State Route 6]], a highway that travels west to a junction with [[U.S. Route 101 in Washington|U.S. Route 101]] in [[Raymond, Washington|Raymond]].<ref>{{cite map |year=2014 |title=Washington State Highways, 2014–2015 |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2006/06/13/TouristMapFront_withoutHillshade.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=May 3, 2021 |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 }}</ref> The Chehalis terminus converts into West Main Street with access to the city through the government district.

Four other bridges provide direct access to the city district. Chamber of Commerce Way connects to the city shopping center and heads over a 1951 railroad overpass<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosane |first1=Eric |title=Replacement of Chamber Way Railroad Bridge Built in 1951 Is Still on City's Radar in New Six-Year Transportation Plan |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/replacement-of-chamber-way-railroad-bridge-built-in-1951-is-still-on-citys-radar-in-new-six-year,267750?#lndg2ztfzcvz70o2bz |access-date=October 5, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=June 16, 2021}}</ref> and to the original arterial highway before the interstate was built. The West Side Bridge (West Bridge) accommodates traffic into the Pennsylvania Avenue-West Side Historic District and a route towards downtown. An overpass, referred to as the 13th Street Bridge, provides a connection to the South Market district, Recreation Park, and the Green Hill School.<ref>{{cite web |title=WSDOT Report: I-5 protection from 13th Street to Mellen Street near Centralia and Chehalis |url=https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2180/2013/06/WSDOTI-5FloodReportFinal_12-19-12.pdf |website=WSDOT |date=December 19, 2012}}</ref> The Labree Road Bridge, built in 2007, provides an access route for the Port of Chehalis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Olson |first1=Erik |title=New Freeway Exit: LaBree Road Construction Kicks Off |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/new-freeway-exit-labree-road-construction-kicks-off,210056 |access-date=October 5, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=July 4, 2007}}</ref>

[[Twin Transit]] provides public transit service to Chehalis and neighboring Centralia, with connections to other communities.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 14, 2021 |title=Twin Transit Rolls Out New Routes |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/twin-transit-rolls-out-new-routes,262583 |work=The Daily Chronicle |access-date=May 3, 2021 |archive-date=May 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502064851/https://www.chronline.com/stories/twin-transit-rolls-out-new-routes,262583 |url-status=live }}</ref> Early 20th century public transportation for residents relied on a [[Tram|streetcar line]] operated by the local [[Twin City Railroad|Twin City Railroad Company]], which connected the city with neighboring Centralia.  As the community began to favor travel by bus, the service was discontinued by 1929.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chronicle Staff |title=Streetcar Railroad 'Junked' |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/today-in-lewis-county-history-fainted-after-forlorn-fine-annual-parade-of-the-pioneers-draws,96212? |access-date=July 19, 2021 |work=The Chronicle |date=August 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosane |first1=Eric |title=Streetcar Tracks Dug Up During Chehalis Reconstruction Project |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/streetcar-tracks-dug-up-during-chehalis-reconstruction-project,266598? |access-date=July 19, 2021 |work=The Chronicle |date=May 21, 2021}}</ref>

The [[Chehalis–Centralia Airport]] (CLS) is located within the city limits. The airport is a single runway, public use hub for air travel in Lewis County.  First begun as a small airfield in 1927, it is bordered by the local shopping district and I-5 and is approximately one mile west of the Chehalis downtown district. It is the largest of the three airports within the county.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chehalis–Centralia Airport |url=https://lewiscountywa.gov/departments/airports/ |website=Lewis County Airports |publisher=LewisCountyWA.gov |access-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522003937/https://lewiscountywa.gov/departments/airports/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Railroads====
The earliest connection for Chehalis to new railroads in the region was in 1873 when the first depot in the area was erected in Newaukum. A local resident paid a conductor to stop in Saundersville, eventually leading to the build of a warehouse depot in the town that became Chehalis. A standard train station was completed in 1883, replaced in 1912 by a depot that became the Lewis County Historical Society and Museum. Economic conditions improved drastically in the city, leading to a large build-up of the downtown core. Competing railroads, attempting to connect Chehalis to the Pacific coast, begin around 1890. A rail company, the Pacific, Chehalis & Eastern, operated a line to [[Seahaven, Washington|Sea Haven]]; funded by prominent residents, the venture failed by 1891. A freight railroad that led to South Bend was operated by the [[Northern Pacific Railway Company]] and became successful after full operations began in 1893. Passenger service began on the line and provided the city with an increase in local shopping. The passenger trains began to decrease during the Great Depression and ceased by 1954 due to competition with automobile travel.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Staff writer |date=2006 |title=Lewis County to Willapa Bay by Rail |url=http://www.pacificcohistory.org/sw2006_2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320011036/http://www.pacificcohistory.org/sw2006_2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-03-20 |magazine=The Sou'wester |publisher=Pacific County Historical Society and Museum |pages=2–11 |access-date=July 2, 2024}}</ref>

Chehalis, in 1916, began being served by a short rail line operated by the Cowlitz, Chehalis, & Cascade Railroad. The line transported milk from local dairy farms to condensing plants in the city and provided lumber from surrounding timberlands to sawmills and woodworking producers in Chehalis.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Brown |first=W.E. |date=May 1927 |title=A Short Line Financed By Four Great Western Roads |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4zmAAAAMAAJ |magazine=Transportation - The National Monthly of the Transportation Industry |publisher=Transportation Publishing Company, Incorporated |pages=9–11 |access-date=July 2, 2024}}</ref>

Other railroads in the city include the [[Chehalis Western Railroad]], a portion of which became part of the Chehalis–Centralia Railroad after the line was sold.