SR 502 was established during the 1964 highway renumbering and codified in 1970 as the successor to the Mount Vista–Battle Ground section of SSH 1S, while US 99 was replaced by I-5. WSDOT constructed a new interchange between I-5 and 219th Street between April 2007 and October 2008 at a cost of $52 million. The new interchange and subsequent realignment shortened the total length of SR 502 by , however, the mileposts were not updated, . During construction of the interchange, WSDOT uncovered archaeological remains belonging to a Coast Salish settlement at Gee Creek that were at least 8,000 years old. The entire highway was christened the "Battle Ground Highway" in May 2009 to signify the importance of SR 502 connecting the city of Battle Ground to I-5.