The Central Washington Highway was established in 1913 and served Cheney via the current route of SR 904. The highway's designation was changed starting in 1923, when it became State Road 11. US 395 was extended southwest from Spokane to Pasco between 1933 and 1939. In 1937, State Road 11 became Primary State Highway 11 (PSH 11), which was concurrent with both US 395 and US 10 by 1940. A bypass of Cheney between Tyler and Four Lakes was planned at the same time as the Interstate Highway System. I-90 was created and PSH 11 was routed onto the future alignment in 1957. Secondary State Highway 11H (SSH 11H) used the original route and became SR 904 during the 1964 highway renumbering. The Cheney bypass was opened in 1966. After the Space ShuttleColumbiadisintegrated during re-entry during STS-107 in 2003, killing all seven crewmembers, the road was renamed the Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson Memorial Highway after the mission's payload commander who was raised in Cheney. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is currently planning to widen SR 904 between Cheney and Four Lakes from two to five lanes as part of the route development plan, but no funds have been made available for the work.
^Washington State Department of Transportation (2007). "2007 Annual Traffic Report"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on March 26, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
^ abWashington State Legislature (March 12, 1913). "Chapter 65: Classifying Public Highway". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1913 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 222. Retrieved July 28, 2009. e. A highway connecting with the Inland Empire Highway at Pasco, Washington; thence by the most feasible route through Connell, Ritzville, Sprague, and Cheney to Spokane, Washington, to be known as the Central Washington Highway.
^Rock Lake, 1919 (Map). 1:125,000. Washington 1:125,000 topographic quadrangles. Cartography by United States Geological Survey. Washington State University. 1919. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
^Washington State Legislature (March 19, 1923). "Chapter 185: Primary and Secondary State Highways". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1923 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 630. Retrieved July 28, 2009. SEC. 10. A primary state highway, to be known as State Road No. 11 or the Central Washington Highway, is established as follows: Beginning at Pasco in Franklin County; thence by the most feasible route in a northeasterly direction through Connell, Ritzville, Sprague and Cheney to a connection with State Road No. 2 west of the City of Spokane.
^Washington State Legislature (March 17, 1937). "Chapter 190: Establishment of Primary State Highways". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1937 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 939. Retrieved July 28, 2009. SEC. 11. A primary state highway to be known as Primary State Highway No. 11, or the Columbia Basin Highway, is hereby established according to description as follows: Beginning at Pasco on Primary State Highway No. 3, thence in a northeasterly direction by the most feasible route by way of Ritzville to a junction with Primary State Road [sic] No. 2, in the vicinity west of Spokane.
^Roe, JoAnn (1995). "Chapter 11 – Ski Town". Stevens Pass: The Story of Railroading and Recreation in the North Cascades. Mountaineers Books. p. 139. ISBN0-89886-371-6. Retrieved July 28, 2009. The crude state of the Stevens Pass highway was a source of irritation to Wenatchee and Leavenworth residents for many years. The road was designated state highway 15 in 1937. In 1940, it was designated an alternate of Highway 10 (which ran over Snoqualmie Pass). Much work was done on the highway in 1949 and the State Highway Department declared it complete in 1951.
^Northwest, 1946 (Map). Rand McNally. 1946. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
^Weingroff, Richard F. (January–February 2006). "The Year of the Interstate". Public Roads. 69 (4). Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
^Washington State Legislature (1957). "Chapter 172". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1957 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
^Washington State Legislature (April 3, 1961). "Chapter 21: Highways". Session Laws of the State of Washington (1961 ed.). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Legislature. p. 2625. Retrieved July 28, 2009. Secondary state highway No. 11H; beginning at a junction with primary state highway No. 11 in the vicinity of Tyler, thence northeasterly via Cheney to a junction with primary state highway No. 11 in the vicinity of Four Lakes: Provided, That the addition of highway No. 11H shall not become effective until such time as the interstate system by-pass of Cheney is constructed and under traffic.
^"Official Opening, Spokane Freeway, Four Lakes to Tyler". Olympia, Washington: Department of Highways. November 18, 1966. OCLC41812460.
^C. G. Prahl (December 1, 1965). "Identification of State Highways"(PDF). Washington State Highway Commission, Department of Highways. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 17, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
^"In Honor"(PDF). SR 904, Cheney to Four Lakes Project News (1). Spokane, Washington: Washington State Department of Transportation: 1. April 2003. Retrieved July 28, 2009. SR 904 has recently been renamed in honor of the late Columbia shuttle astronaut from Cheney, Michael P. Anderson. Dedication of the highway will be this spring.