Highway of Statewide Significance because it connects major communities in the state of Washington. History SR 104 was established during the 1964 state highway renumbering as the successor to several state highways: SSH 9E between Discovery Bay and Port Gamble, PSH 21 between Port Gamble and Kingston, SSH 1W in Edmonds, and SSH 2B between Edmonds and Lake Forest Park. The highway between Port Gamble and Kingston was established in 1915 as part of State Road 21, which extended south to Bremerton. During the creation of the Primary and secondary state highways in 1937, State Road 21 was re-designated as PSH 21 and extended south to Gorst. SSH 9E was also established, connecting US 101 and PSH 9 in Discovery Bay to Port Ludlow, along with SSH 1W from US 99 and PSH 1 in Lynnwood through Edmonds to US 99 and PSH 1 in Woodway, following the route of an unpaved road built in the 1890s. SSH 2B was created in 1937 to serve as a connector between US 99 and PSH 1 in Shoreline to a branch of PSH 2 in Lake Forest Park. SSH 9E was extended southeast to the South Point ferry over Hood Canal in 1947, as the ferry traveled east to a branch of PSH 21 at Lofall created in 1949. The highway was moved south from Discovery Bay to intersect US 101 near Crocker Lake in 1957 and was extended across the floating Hood Canal Bridge in 1959 to PSH 21 west of Port Gamble prior to the bridge opening on August 12, 1961. The westernmost section of the highway was straightened and redirected to an interchange with US 101 in November 1965. SR 104 was designated over the highways in 1964 and was signed into law in 1970. The highway was widened and relocated onto a limited-access bypass between downtown Edmonds and Aurora Village in 1974, at a cost of $8 million. That same year, the state government studied a realignment of SR 104 east of I-5 to generally continue along the King–Snohomish county line to a junction with SR 527. The study concluded that an extension would likely be subject to litigation from local residents based on feedback from earlier meetings and would not provide major benefits. The Hood Canal Bridge, officially named after highways director William A. Bugge, sank during the February 13, 1979 windstorm and was replaced by a