Rose City Freeway

Last updated

The Rose City Freeway, also known as the Fremont Freeway, [1] was a proposed freeway alignment through the Northeast sector of Portland, Oregon. The freeway's path would have begun at the I-5/I-405 interchange near the Fremont Bridge's east approach. From the elevated stack interchange, it would transition to grade, moving roughly northeast to Prescott Street. To establish a northern cross-town freeway belt, a second section of freeway was to follow NE Prescott Street east to I-205. Although functionally the same freeway, this section was going to be named the Prescott Freeway.

Contents

A successful freeway revolt surrounding the controversial St. Helens Freeway (I-505) and Mount Hood Freeway in the late 1970s impacted all Portland area freeway plans.

Remnants

The present north I-405/I-5 interchange is actually an incomplete full stack interchange. A short section of freeway was built past the interchange which transitioned to grade. Ramp stubs exist which would have connected both northbound and southbound I-5 to the eastbound Rose City Freeway. Also the NB I-5 to SB I-405 ramp was built with enough clearance to allow installation of the extra ramps needed to make a full connection to the planned freeway. All of this was built along with the Fremont Bridge, which opened in 1973.

The unfinished freeway structure now serves as the Kerby Avenue exit on the Fremont Bridge's lower deck. Although removing the structure was once considered, nearby Legacy Emanuel Hospital lobbied to connect it to the surface street grid in order to have emergency access from the Fremont Bridge.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 5</span> Interstate Highway along the West Coast of the United States

Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, serving several large cities on the West Coast, including San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle. It is the only continuous Interstate highway to touch both the Mexican and Canadian borders. Upon crossing the Mexican border at its southern terminus, the highway continues to Tijuana, Baja California, as Mexican Federal Highway 1 (Fed. 1). Upon crossing the Canadian border at its northern terminus, it continues to Vancouver as British Columbia Highway 99 (BC 99).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 83</span> Interstate Highway in Pennsylvania and Maryland

Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway located in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern terminus is at I-81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I-83 runs from Downtown Baltimore north to I-695 near the northern suburb of Timonium on the Jones Falls Expressway before forming a concurrency with I-695. After splitting from I-695, the route follows the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway north to the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Upon crossing the state line, I-83 becomes the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Memorial Highway and continues north through York toward the Harrisburg area. The route runs along the southern and eastern portion of the Capital Beltway that encircles Harrisburg before reaching its northern terminus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arroyo Seco Parkway</span> Highway in California

The Arroyo Seco Parkway, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, is one of the oldest freeways built in the United States. It connects Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco seasonal river. It is notable not only for being an early freeway, mostly opened in 1940, but for representing the transitional phase between early parkways and later freeways. It conformed to modern standards when it was built, but is now regarded as a narrow, outdated roadway. A 1953 extension brought the south end to the Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles and a connection with the rest of the freeway system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquam Bridge</span> Carries Interstate 5 traffic over the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon

The Marquam Bridge is a double-deck, steel-truss cantilever bridge that carries Interstate 5 traffic across the Willamette River from south of downtown Portland, Oregon, on the west side to the industrial area of inner Southeast on the east. It is the busiest bridge in Oregon, carrying 140,500 vehicles a day as of 2016. The upper deck carries northbound traffic; the lower deck carries southbound traffic. The Marquam also has on and off ramps for Interstate 405 on the south end of the bridge, while the terminus on the east bank of the river is near the interchange with Interstate 84.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 695 (Maryland)</span> Highway in Maryland

Interstate 695 (I-695) is a 51.46-mile-long (82.82 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway that is a full beltway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, United States. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695. The route is an auxiliary route of I-95, intersecting that route southwest of Baltimore near Arbutus and northeast of the city near White Marsh. It also intersects other major roads radiating from the Baltimore area, including I-97 near Glen Burnie, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway near Linthicum, I-70 near Woodlawn, I-795 near Pikesville, and I-83 in the Timonium area. The 19.37-mile (31.17 km) portion of the Baltimore Beltway between I-95 northeast of Baltimore and I-97 south of Baltimore is officially Maryland Route 695 (MD 695) and is not part of the Interstate Highway System but is signed as I-695. This section of the route includes the Francis Scott Key Bridge that crosses over the Patapsco River. The bridge and its approaches are maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) while the remainder of the Baltimore Beltway is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 205 (Oregon–Washington)</span> Interstate Highway in Oregon and Washington

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 405 (Oregon)</span> Interstate highway in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Interstate 405 (I-405), also known as the Stadium Freeway No. 61, is a short north–south Interstate Highway in Portland, Oregon. It forms a loop that travels around the west side of Downtown Portland, between two junctions with I-5 on the Willamette River near the Marquam Bridge to the south and Fremont Bridge to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 405 (Washington)</span> Interstate highway bypassing Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Interstate 405 (I-405) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway serving the Seattle region of Washington, United States. It bypasses Seattle east of Lake Washington, traveling through the Eastside area of King and Snohomish counties, providing an alternate route to I-5. The 30-mile (48 km) freeway serves the cities of Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, and Bothell. I-405 terminates at I-5 in Tukwila and Lynnwood, and also intersects several major highways, including SR 167, I-90, SR 520, and SR 522.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 480</span> Former highway in California

State Route 480 was a state highway in San Francisco, California, United States, consisting of the elevated double-decker Embarcadero Freeway, the partly elevated Doyle Drive approach to the Golden Gate Bridge and the proposed and unbuilt section in between. The unbuilt section from Doyle Drive to Van Ness Avenue was to have been called the Golden Gate Freeway and the Embarcadero Freeway as originally planned would have extended from Van Ness along the north side of Bay Street and then along the Embarcadero to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 167</span> Highway in Washington

State Route 167 (SR 167) is a state highway in the Seattle metropolitan area of Washington state. It is commonly known as the Valley Freeway and serves the Green River Valley from Tacoma to Renton, primarily as a four-lane freeway. The 28-mile (45 km) highway begins in Tacoma at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) and travels southeast to Puyallup as an undivided road. It then turns northeast onto a freeway and passes through interchanges with SR 512 in Puyallup and SR 410 in Sumner, continuing north through Auburn and Kent. After an interchange with I-405 in Renton, it terminates at an intersection with SR 900.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 30 in Oregon</span> Highway in Oregon

In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 30, a major east–west U.S. Highway, 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, 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 U.S. Route 30 traverses, it spends the most time in Oregon. At 477 miles, it is also the longest road in the state.

The Mount Hood Freeway is a partially constructed but never to be completed freeway alignment of U.S. Route 26 and Interstate 80N, which would have run through southeast Portland, Oregon. Related projects would have continued the route through the neighboring suburb of Gresham, out to the city of Sandy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbor Drive</span> Road of historical significance in Portland, Oregon

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.

A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges eliminate the problems of weaving, have the highest vehicle capacity, and vehicles travel shorter distances when compared to different types of interchanges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Henday Drive</span> Freeway that encircles Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Alberta Provincial Highway No. 216, better known by its official name of Anthony Henday Drive, is a 78-kilometre (48 mi) freeway that encircles Edmonton, Alberta. It is a heavily travelled commuter and truck bypass route with the southwest quadrant serving as a portion of the CANAMEX Corridor that links Canada to the United States and Mexico. Henday is one of the busiest highways in Western Canada, carrying over 95,000 vehicles per day in 2022 at its busiest point near West Edmonton Mall. Rush hour congestion is common on the four-lane section in southwest Edmonton, where traffic levels have risen due to rapid suburban development. Work began in fall 2019 to widen this section to six lanes by the end of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania</span> Section of Interstate Highway in Pennsylvania, United States

Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major north–south Interstate Highway that runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine. In the state of Pennsylvania, it runs 44.25 miles (71.21 km) from the Delaware state line near Marcus Hook in Delaware County in the southeastern part of the state northeast to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge at the New Jersey state line near Bristol in Bucks County, closely paralleling the New Jersey state line for its entire length through Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona State Route 303</span> State highway in Arizona, United States

Arizona State Route 303 or Loop 303, also known as the Bob Stump Memorial Parkway, is a freeway that serves the west part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The freeway, originally a two-lane rural highway, was maintained by Maricopa County until 2004 when the Arizona Department of Transportation again took control of upgrading the interim road to a freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 5 in Oregon</span> Interstate highway in Oregon

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 26 in Oregon</span> Section of U.S. Highway in Oregon, United States

U.S. Highway 26 (US 26) is a major cross-state United States Numbered Highway with its western terminus in the U.S. state of Oregon, connecting US 101 on the Oregon Coast near Seaside with the Idaho state line east of Nyssa. Local highway names include the Sunset Highway No. 47, Mount Hood Highway No. 26, and John Day Highway No. 5 before continuing into Idaho and beyond.

Highway revolts have occurred in cities and regions across the United States. In many cities, there remain unused highways, abruptly terminating freeway alignments, and short stretches of freeway in the middle of nowhere, all of which are evidence of larger projects which were never completed. In some instances, freeway revolts have led to the eventual removal or relocation of freeways that had been built.

References

  1. Edwards, Herman (March 9, 1958). "Big Changes Hinge on Routing of East Bank Freeway". The Oregonian . p. 31.