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Standard route signage in Oregon | |
| Highway names | |
|---|---|
| Interstates | Interstate nn (I-nn) |
| US Highways | U.S. Highway nn (US nn) |
| State | Oregon Route nn (OR nn) |
| Named highways | xx Highway No. nn |
| System links | |
The state highway system of the U.S. state of Oregon is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the Highway Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
The state highway system consists of about 8,000 miles (13,000 km) of state highways, that is, roadways owned and maintained by ODOT. When minor connections and frontage roads are removed, that number drops to approximately 7,400 miles (11,900 km) or around 9% of the total road mileage in the state. Oregon's portion of the Interstate Highway System totals 729.57 miles (1,174.13 km). [1] Transfers of highways between the state and county or local maintenance require the approval of the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC), a five-member governor-appointed authority that meets monthly. [2] These transfers often result in discontinuous highways, where a local government maintains part or all of a main road within its boundaries. [3]
Two separate numbering systems are used: routes (e.g. Interstate 84, U.S. Route 26, and Oregon Route 140) are those used by the general public, and their shields are posted on guide signs and maps. These comprise the Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, and Oregon state routes (e.g. OR 201). Highways, on the other hand, are used internally by ODOT; they are named and numbered (e.g. Pacific Highway No. 1, Willamette Highway No. 18). The two systems, while largely overlapping, are not congruent. Many routes are signed on streets which are maintained by counties and cities, and thus are not part of the state highway system at all, e.g. OR 8, whose eastern- and westernmost portions, Canyon Road and Gales Creek Road, are not actually state highways. On the other hand, some state highways are not signed as routes at all; the Beaverton–Tualatin Highway No. 141 has an official route designation (OR 141), but remains entirely unsigned. Signed routes may comprise several highways; for instance, OR 47 is overlaid on the Mist–Clatskanie Highway No. 110, Nehalem Highway No. 102, and Tualatin Valley Highway No. 29. Likewise, highways may consist of several routes; Tualatin Valley Highway No. 29 comprises parts of OR 8 and OR 47. Every highway is fully state-maintained, and every route is at least partially state-maintained. [1] [4]
The OTC designates the paths of these routes as they follow state highways and local roads; [4] any U.S. Route or Interstate numbers must also be approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Route signs are maintained by the same agency as the roads they are posted along. If a local government maintains a numbered route, it signs an agreement with the state to keep the signs posted, thus keeping a continuous route for the benefit of travelers.
The initial primary state highway system was designated in 1917, [3] initially consisting of 36 named and numbered highways, [5] including some designated earlier that year by the Oregon State Legislature and others added to the network by the Oregon State Highway Commission, the predecessor to the OTC. [6] The first signed routes were the U.S. Routes, in 1926.[ citation needed ] It was not until 1932 that Oregon Routes were numbered by the OTC and marked by the Oregon State Highway Department; [7] every primary state highway that was not already part of a U.S. Route received a route number at that time.[ citation needed ] Starting in late 1931, the state took over maintenance of many county "market roads", which became secondary state highways with three-digit numbers; [6] some of these were assigned route numbers in 1935, but many others remained unsigned.[ citation needed ]
The primary, two-digit route numbers were laid out in a grid system, similar to the Interstate Highway System. Odd-numbered routes were north-south and increased in number bearing west, ranging from OR 3 in Wallowa County to OR 53 in Clatsop and Tillamook counties. Even-numbered routes were east-west and increased in number bearing south, ranging from OR 6 in Tillamook and Washington counties to OR 70 in Klamath County. East-west highways in eastern Oregon were given route numbers between OR 74 and OR 86, again increasing in number to the south. Despite this pattern, the internally used highway numbers for primary highways remained ad-hoc. A few route numbers were added after the 1930s, and broke these patterns for continuity reasons: OR 99, OR 126, OR 138, and OR 140.
Secondary route numbers, three digits starting with 2, were laid out to generally increase bearing west. They ranged from OR 201 in Malheur County to OR 240 in Yamhill County. The internally used highway numbers for secondary highways were also three digit numbers, but were designated by county, from No. 10X in Clatsop County, No. 11X in Columbia County, No. 12X in Multnomah County, etc., until No. 45X in Malheur County. In 2002 and 2003, ODOT decided to assign route numbers to most of the previously unsigned secondary highways. Typically, these new route numbers were identical to the old highway numbers, and range from OR 103 to OR 454. In cases where the highway number was already in use by a different route, the first digit of the new route number was changed to 5 (e.g. Cape Arago Hwy No. 240, designated OR 540 in 2003). Most of these new route numbers are unsigned as of 2015.
Two state highways lack route numbers: Century Drive Hwy No. 372 and Midland Hwy No. 420. [3]
The following highways were constructed and/or planned, and then subsequently demolished or cancelled. In some cases, the cancellation resulted from freeway revolts.
Mount Hood Freeway (Approaches built, project cancelled in 1974)
Harbor Drive (Built in 1950, demolished in 1974)
Roosevelt Freeway (Project cancelled in 1978) West Eugene Parkway (Project cancelled in 2006)
Interstate 305 (Partially built as an expressway in 1986)
Interstate 505 (Partially built, main segment cancelled in 1979)
Alsea-Deadwood Highway (OR 501) (Partially built, never finished, partial route still in use; complete route cancelled 1936 main highways are 5 and 84
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.
A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
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.
Interstate 80 Business, called the Capital City Freeway in its entirety and also known as Business 80, is a business loop of Interstate 80 (I-80) through Sacramento, California, United States. The route is also colloquially referred to as "Cap City Freeway" and "Biz 80". The entire route is a freeway.
Texas state highways are a network of highways owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the state agency responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system. Texas has the largest state highway system, followed closely by North Carolina's state highway system. In addition to the nationally numbered Interstate Highways and U.S. Highways, the highway system consists of a main network of state highways, loops, spurs, and beltways that provide local access to the other highways. The system also includes a large network of farm to market roads that connect rural areas of the state with urban areas and the rest of the state highway system. The state also owns and maintains some park and recreational roads located near and within state and national parks, as well as recreational areas. All state highways, regardless of classification, are paved roads. The Old San Antonio Road, also known as the El Camino Real, is the oldest highway in the United States, first being blazed in 1691. The length of the highways varies from US 83's 893.4 miles (1,437.8 km) inside the state borders to Spur 200 at just 0.05 miles long.
The Massachusetts State Highway System in the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a system of state-numbered routes assigned and marked by the highway division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). U.S. Highways and Interstate Highways are included in the system; the only overlaps are with the end-to-end U.S. Route 3 and Route 3 and the far-apart Interstate 295, shared with Rhode Island, and Route 295, shared with New York State. A state highway in Massachusetts is a road maintained by the state, which may or may not have a number. Not all numbered routes are maintained or owned by the state.
In the state of Maine, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) has a system of numbered highways, defined as the "connected main highways throughout the state which primarily serve arterial or through traffic." As of 2006, 22,236 miles of roadway are included in the highway system, including Interstate highways, U.S. Routes, state highways, and other urban and rural local roads.
The North Carolina Highway System consists of a vast network of Interstate, United States, and state highways, managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. North Carolina has the second largest state maintained highway network in the United States because all roads in North Carolina are maintained by either municipalities or the state. Since counties do not maintain roads, there is no such thing as a "county road" within the state.
Oregon Route 164 is an Oregon state highway running from Interstate 5 in Marion County north of Millersburg to I-5 at Millersburg in Linn County. OR 164 is known as the Jefferson Highway No. 164. It is 8.54 miles (13.74 km) long and runs north–south, primarily functioning as a loop road to Jefferson.
Oregon Route 194 is an Oregon state highway running from OR 223 near Dallas to OR 99W and OR 51 in Monmouth. OR 194 is known as the Monmouth Highway No. 194. It is 7.56 miles (12.17 km) long and runs east–west, entirely within Polk County.
Oregon Route 422 (OR 422) is an Oregon state highway running from Modoc Point Road near Klamath Agency to US 97 near Chiloquin. OR 422 is known as the Chiloquin Highway No. 422. It is 5 miles (8.0 km) long and runs east–west, entirely within Klamath County.
An unsigned highway is a highway that has been assigned a route number, but does not bear road markings that would conventionally be used to identify the route with that number. Highways are left unsigned for a variety of reasons, and examples are found throughout the world. Depending on the policy of the agency that maintains the highway, and the reason for not signing the route, the route may instead be signed a different designation from its actual number, with small inventory markers for internal use, or with nothing at all.
In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, state highways are generally maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Each is assigned a four-digit State Route (SR) number in the present Location Referencing System. Traffic Routes are signed as Interstate Highways, U.S. Routes and Pennsylvania Routes, and are prefixed with one to three zeroes to give a four-digit number. PA Routes are also called Pennsylvania Traffic Routes, and formerly State Highway Routes.
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.
U.S. Route 26 is a major cross-state United States highway with its western terminus in the U.S. state of Oregon, connecting U.S. Route 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.
The Arkansas Highway System is made up of all the highways designated as Interstates, U.S. Highways and State Highways in the US state of Arkansas. The system is maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT), known as the Arkansas State Highway Department (AHD) until 1977 and the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) from 1977 to 2017. The system contains 16,442.90 miles (26,462.28 km) of Interstates, U.S. Routes, state highways, and special routes. The shortest members are unsigned state highways Arkansas Highway 806 and Arkansas Highway 885, both 0.09 miles (0.14 km) in length. The longest route is U.S. Route 67, which runs 296.95 miles (477.89 km) from Texarkana to Missouri.
