Washington State Route 704
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| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of SR 7 | ||||
| Defined by RCW 47.17.818 | ||||
| Maintained by WSDOT | ||||
| Length: | 0.63 mi (1.01 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | Spanaway Loop Road near Spanaway | |||
| East end: |
 SR 7 near Spanaway |
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State Route 704 (known as SR 704 or the Cross-Base Highway) is a 0.63-mile (1.01 km) long state highway located entirely in Pierce County, Washington. The current route starts at Spanaway Loop Road in Spanaway and ends at the intersection of SR 7 and 176th Street. The highway is scheduled to be 6 mi (9.7 km) long, connecting SR 7 to Interstate 5 in the west. The project, largely unfunded, is estimated to cost $480 million.
The current highway begins at the intersection of 176th Street and Spanaway Loop Road, paralleling the border of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of SR 704, as a multiple lane highway. The current alignment parallels the former 176th Street, which has been turned into a cul-de-sac at the west end and truncated at the east before the intersection and terminus of the current alignment at SR 7.
In July 2010, a coalition of local businesses, conservation organizations, and equestrian clubs filed a lawsuit against the Federal Highway Administration, WSDOT, and Pierce County to prevent construction of the proposed highway. Because the project has no funding and thus no construction schedule, the parties agreed to a stay of proceedings on October 15.
The coalition contended that the agencies failed to follow the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and failed to adequately consider reasonable alternatives. The coalition reports that the proposed highway would bisect the largest remnant oak woodland-prairie left in the Puget Sound area. The US Fish and Wildlife Service describes the area as "possibly the rarest habitat in North America," home to at least 29 species of federal and/or state threatened, endangered, candidate, and sensitive plant and animal species of concern, 18 of which are in the immediate vicinity of the proposed highway.
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