Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by ODOT | ||||
Length | 11.60 mi (18.67 km) | |||
Existed | 1939–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | OR 99E in Oregon City | |||
I-205 in West Linn | ||||
North end | I-5 / US 26 in Portland | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Oregon | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
Oregon Route 43 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the cities of Oregon City and Portland, mostly along the western flank of the Willamette River. While it is technically known by the Oregon Department of Transportation as the Oswego Highway No. 3 (see Oregon highways and routes), on maps it is referred to by its route number or by the various street names it has been given.
The southern terminus of Oregon Route 43 is at a junction with Oregon Route 99E in downtown Oregon City. From there, it runs east for two blocks, along the couplet of Main and Railroad streets, and then turns north and crosses the Willamette River on the historic Oregon City Bridge, entering the city of West Linn. Almost immediately on the West Linn side of the river is an interchange with Interstate 205. It continues north through West Linn (where it is called Willamette Drive), providing service to numerous neighborhoods and business districts. Due to constrained geography (the city is mostly located on the sides of a steep slope) and encroaching homes and businesses, the route is only a two-lane road in many stretches.
North of West Linn, the highway passes by Marylhurst University, and enters the city of Lake Oswego. In the southern portions of Lake Oswego, Route 43 is given the street name of Pacific Highway, a designation that usually refers to Oregon Route 99 (the highway is a historic routing of U.S. Route 99). Soon after, the route crosses over Oswego Creek and enters downtown Lake Oswego, where it is known as South State Street (between McVey Avenue and A Avenue) and North State Street (between A Avenue and Terwilliger Boulevard). The Willamette Shore Trolley begins just south of A Avenue across from the Millennium Plaza Park on South State Street, and parallels Oregon Route 43 as both head north into Portland.
North of downtown Lake Oswego, OR 43 acquires the name South Riverside Drive, and enters a three-lane section (two main lanes and a climbing lane) as it climbs over a hill overlooking the Willamette River. This stretch of OR 43 passes by some of the most exclusive and wealthy neighborhoods (Dunthorpe, Riverwood, Riverdale) in the Portland area. The highway soon enters the city of Portland, where it is known as South Macadam Avenue.
Macadam Avenue passes alongside the river for several miles, sandwiched between the river on the east and River View Cemetery on the west. It also passes near (and provides access via South Palatine Hill Road to) Lewis & Clark College. Near the northern end of the cemetery is an interchange with the Sellwood Bridge, at which point OR 43 becomes a four-lane divided thoroughfare. Soon afterwards, the highway enters the Johns Landing neighborhood, a narrow strip of homes, parks and businesses located between the river and Interstate 5, high on the hill above it. The area is home to Oregon Public Broadcasting and the Portland offices and studios of Clear Channel Communications, as well as a local landmark, The Water Tower. Oregon Route 43 and the freeway run parallel for several miles until an interchange with I-5 and U.S. Route 26 near the Ross Island Bridge.
What is now Oregon Route 43 was once the original route of U.S. Route 99 in the south Portland area. Now, Oregon Route 99E is routed on the east side of the river (through Oregon City, Gladstone, and Milwaukie); and OR 99W is routed further west (through Tigard, Sherwood, and Newberg).
Oregon Route 212, which used to run as far west as the Sherwood/King City area, was concurrent with Oregon Route 43 across the Oregon City/West Linn bridge. This old alignment of OR 212 still exists, running west along Willamette Falls Drive, just north of the bridge (and just south of the interchange with I-205), continuing on to Tualatin.
The Oregon Department of Transportation offered a $3.5 million payment to Clackamas County if it agreed to takeover a 6-mile (9.7 km) section of OR 43, but was rejected. ODOT also abandoned plans to transfer sections of the highway to Multnomah County and the City of Portland. [1]
County | Location | mi [2] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clackamas | Oregon City | 11.55 | 18.59 | Main Street | |
Willamette River | 11.55– 11.39 | 18.59– 18.33 | Oregon City Bridge | ||
West Linn | 11.35 | 18.27 | Willamette Falls Drive – Willamette area | Former routing of OR 212 | |
11.29– 11.13 | 18.17– 17.91 | I-205 – Salem | Exit 8 on I-205 | ||
Multnomah | Portland | 2.71 | 4.36 | Sellwood Bridge | Interchange; to OR 99E |
0.60 | 0.97 | To I-5 north – South Waterfront | Southbound U-turn ramp | ||
0.59 | 0.95 | I-5 south – Salem | Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 299A on I-5 | ||
0.13 | 0.21 | I-5 north to I-84 east – Seattle | Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 299A on I-5 | ||
0.08 | 0.13 | I-5 south / US 26 east (Ross Island Bridge) – Salem | Northbound u-turn ramp | ||
0.00 | 0.00 | US 26 west – City Center | Interchange | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 by the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1844 it became the first U.S. city west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated.
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about 83 miles (134 km) long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley. There are approximately 500,000 people residing on 15 percent of the land in the river's watershed.
The Ross Island Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. It carries U.S. Route 26 across the river between southwest and southeast Portland. The bridge opened in 1926 and was designed by Gustav Lindenthal and honors Oregon pioneer Sherry Ross. It is named for its proximity to Ross Island. Although it looks like a deck arch bridge, it is a cantilever deck truss bridge, a rare type in Oregon.
The George Abernethy Bridge, or simply Abernethy Bridge, is a steel plate and box girder bridge that spans the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, United States, and which carries Interstate 205. It is also known as the Oregon City Freeway Bridge and the I-205 Bridge.
Oregon OR 126 (OR 126) is a 204.63-mile-long (329.32 km) state highway that connects coastal, western, and central parts of the U.S. state of Oregon. A short freeway section of OR 126 in Eugene and Springfield is concurrent with Interstate 105 (I-105).
Oregon Route 212 is an Oregon state highway that serves the eastern Portland metro area. It is an east–west route, running between Boring and Clackamas.
Interstate 205 (I-205) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon and Washington, United States. The north–south freeway serves as a bypass route of I-5 along the east side of Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. It intersects several major highways and serves Portland International Airport.
Oregon Route 99E Business is a business route through Salem, Oregon for Oregon Route 99E, which bypasses downtown via Interstate 5 (I-5). A portion of this highway was originally planned to be a freeway, signed as Interstate 305; however the proposed freeway was cancelled after community opposition.
Oregon Route 213 is an Oregon state highway that serves the eastern Willamette Valley between Portland and Salem. It is a north–south route. The route is known as the Cascade Highway, though specific segments are generally better known by more localized names.
Oregon Route 219 is an Oregon state highway which runs between the cities of Hillsboro and Woodburn, Oregon, in the United States. The Hillsboro-Silverton Highway continues further south to Silverton, signed as OR 214. The highway mainly serves local residents and agricultural traffic; despite its proximity to the Portland area it lies outside the Portland Urban Growth Boundary and so maintains its character as a country road.
Oregon Route 551 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the cities of Wilsonville and Hubbard. It is known as the Wilsonville-Hubbard Highway No. 51 and is also called the "Hubbard Cutoff." It is 5.94 miles (9.56 km) long, and is a two-lane limited access highway for its entire length.
U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in the U.S. state of Oregon is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from its western terminus in Astoria to the Idaho border east of Ontario. West of Portland, US 30 generally follows the southern shore of the Columbia River; east of Portland, the highway has largely been replaced with Interstate 84 (I-84), though it is signed all the way across the state, and diverges from the I-84 mainline in several towns as a de facto business route. Out of all the states US 30 traverses, it spends the most time in Oregon. At 477.02 miles (767.69 km), it is also the longest road in the state.
Oregon Route 22 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the Oregon Coast community of Hebo, to a junction with U.S. Route 20 near Santiam Pass in the Cascade Mountains. OR 22 traverses several highways of the Oregon state highway system, including the Three Rivers Highway No. 32, part of the Salmon River Highway No. 39, the Willamina–Salem Highway No. 30, part of the Salem Highway No. 72, and the North Santiam Highway No. 162.
The Mount Hood Highway No. 26 is the Oregon Department of Transportation's designation for a 96.74-mile-long (155.69 km) highway from Portland east around the south side of Mount Hood and north via Bennett Pass to Hood River. It is marked as U.S. Route 26 from Portland to near Mount Hood and Oregon Route 35 the rest of the way to Hood River.
Harbor Drive is a short roadway in Portland, Oregon, spanning a total length of 0.7 miles (1.1 km), which primarily functions as a ramp to and from Interstate 5. It was once much longer, running along the western edge of the Willamette River in the downtown area. Originally constructed from 1942–43, the vast majority of the road was replaced with Tom McCall Waterfront Park in the 1970s. Signed as U.S. Route 99W, it had been the major route through the city and its removal is often cited as the first instance of freeway removal in the U.S. and as a milestone in urban planning; the original road is remembered as the first limited-access highway built in the city.
Oregon Route 34 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon that runs between the city of Waldport on the Oregon Coast and the city of Lebanon in the western part of the state. OR 34 traverses the Alsea Highway No. 27 from Waldport to Flynn, part of the Corvallis–Newport Highway No. 33 from Flynn to east of Corvallis, and the Corvallis–Lebanon Highway No. 210 from east of Corvallis to Lebanon, of the Oregon state highway system. In Corvallis, OR 34 includes a brief concurrency with U.S. Route 20 and OR 99W over the Pacific Highway West No. 1W.
Oregon Route 99E is an Oregon state highway that runs between Junction City, Oregon and an interchange with I-5 just south of the Oregon/Washington border, in Portland. It, along with OR 99W, makes up a split of OR 99 in the northern part of the state. This split existed when the route was U.S. Route 99, when the two branches were U.S. 99W and U.S. 99E.
Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees with the Oregon Department of Transportation's (ODOT) description, ending it at I-5. OR 99W is known by ODOT as the Pacific Highway West No. 1W ; that highway continues north through downtown to the Pacific Highway No. 1 (I-5) in northern Portland, as well as south on OR 99 to the Pacific Highway (I-5) in Eugene.
Interstate 5 (I-5) in the U.S. state of Oregon is a major Interstate Highway that traverses the state from north to south. It travels to the west of the Cascade Mountains, connecting Portland to Salem, Eugene, Medford, and other major cities in the Willamette Valley and across the northern Siskiyou Mountains. The highway runs 308 miles (496 km) from the California state line near Ashland to the Washington state line in northern Portland, forming the central part of Interstate 5's route between Mexico and Canada.
The Willamette River is a 187-mile (301 km) tributary of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The upper tributaries of the Willamette originate in mountains south and southeast of the twin cities of Eugene and Springfield. Formed by the confluence of the Middle Fork Willamette River and Coast Fork Willamette River near Springfield, the main stem meanders generally north from source to mouth. The river's two most significant course deviations occur at Newberg, where the stream turns sharply east, and about 18 miles (29 km) downriver from Newberg, where it turns north again. Near its mouth, the river splits into two channels that flow around Sauvie Island. The main channel enters the Columbia about 101 miles (163 km) from the larger stream's mouth on the Pacific Ocean, and the smaller Multnomah Channel enters the Columbia about 14.5 miles (23.3 km) further downstream near St. Helens in Columbia County.