U.S. Route 26

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Image:US 26.svg
U.S. Route 26
Image:US 26 map.png
Length:	1,485 mi[1] (2,390 km)
Formed:	1926[1]
West end:	Image:US 101.svg US 101 near Seaside, OR
Major junctions:	Image:I-5.svg I-5 at Portland, OR Image:I-84.svg I-84 at Boise, ID Image:I-25.svg I-25 at Casper, WY
East end:	Image:I-80.svgImage:N-61.svg I-80/NE 61 at Ogallala, NE
United States Numbered Highways List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 26 is an east-west United States highway. It started in Ogallala, Nebraska, and gradually grew to reach the West Coast in Oregon. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and Oregon. The highway's eastern terminus is in Ogallala, Nebraska at an intersection with Interstate 80. Its western terminus is south of Seaside, Oregon at an intersection with U.S. Route 101. Prior to 2004, the route's last 20 miles (32 km) were co-signed with U.S. Route 101 from the highways' junction south of Seaside north to Astoria where its intersection with U.S. Highway 30 was also U.S. 30's western terminus.^[2]

Much of the highway follows the path of the historic Oregon Trail. At its peak, immediately before the establishment of the interstate highway system, US 26 was 1,557 miles (2506 km) in length, and terminated in Astoria, Oregon.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Nebraska 1.2 Wyoming 1.3 Idaho 1.4 Oregon 1.4.1 East of Portland 1.4.2 Portland area 1.4.3 Oregon Coast 1.4.4 Oregon highway designations 2 History 3 Exit list 4 See also 4.1 Related routes 5 References

[edit] Route description

[edit] Nebraska

See also: U.S. Route 26 in Nebraska

The eastern terminus of US 26 is in Ogallala, Nebraska at Interstate 80. From there, it runs northwestward parallel to the North Platte River and intersects with U.S. Highway 385 in Bridgeport. The largest city US 26 runs through in Nebraska is Scottsbluff, which is just 22 miles (35 km) from the Wyoming border. US 26 also goes past the Chimney Rock National Historic Site. All told, there are 145 miles (233 km) of US 26 in the state of Nebraska.

[edit] Wyoming

Heading westward, the first city in Wyoming US 26 runs through is Torrington. About 50 miles (80 km) further west, US 26 joins Interstate 25 and remains co-signed with it until reaching Casper. From Casper to Shoshoni US 26 is co-signed with U.S. Highway 20. After that, US 26 enters Grand Teton National Park before curving southwestward and eventually entering Idaho.

[edit] Idaho

From Alpine, Wyoming, the road proceeds to Idaho Falls and joins Interstate 15. It departs at Blackfoot for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, then skirts the north edge of Craters of the Moon National Monument before joining Interstate 84 in Bliss. It joins further with U.S. Highway 20 at Mountain Home and remains with Highway 20 into Oregon.

[edit] Oregon

[edit] East of Portland

US 26 enters Oregon from Idaho co-signed with US 20, but they split apart in Vale. US 20 heads southwest from there; US 26 heads northwest, passing through cities such as John Day and Prineville. In Madras, US 26 intersects US 97, and then heads northwest through the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, towards Government Camp.

An ancient trail passed through the section of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation as part of an extensive Indian trade network linking peoples of the northern Great Basin and Columbia Plateau to those living west of the Cascades. Obsidian, bear grass, and slaves were transported over these trails to major trading locations along the Columbia River in exchange for dried salmon, smelt, sturgeon, and decorative sea shells. The long established route was later used by Peter Skene Ogden's fur trapping expeditions in 1825 and 1826. Fur trader Nathaniel Wyeth was here in the 1830s. Capt. John Fremont followed this route on his 1843 explorations for the United States and Lt. Henry L. Abbot headed a Pacific Railroad survey party along it in 1855.^[3]

Near Government Camp and Bennett Pass, the highway intersects Oregon Route 35 and then continues westward to Sandy. This segment closely follows the route of the historic Barlow Road; it is sometimes called the Mount Hood Corridor, and is part of the Mount Hood Scenic Byway. West of Sandy, the highway becomes an expressway, the only part of the proposed (and subsequently scrapped) Mount Hood Freeway to be constructed. This expressway continues into Gresham, a Portland suburb.

[edit] Portland area

From Gresham west to Portland, US 26 is a surface street (Powell Boulevard). The highway crosses the Willamette River via the Ross Island Bridge, briefly runs on a local street (Arthur Street), and then shares a short aligment with Interstate 405 through downtown Portland. (Prior to 2005, US 26 ran through downtown Portland on the Market Street/Clay Street couplet, and then connected to the bridge via Naito Parkway, formerly known as Front Avenue.) US 26 leaves downtown Portland via a freeway known as the Sunset Highway, and continues as such through west Portland and Beaverton. The highway continues as a freeway as it passes through Washington County, skirting the cities of Hillsboro and North Plains. Near Banks, the freeway ends; US 26 continues to the nortwest, still known as the Sunset Highway.

There were plans to construct a freeway alignment of US 26 through eastern Portland—the so-called Mount Hood Freeway; however this project was cancelled as a result of the freeway revolts in the 1970s. A few ramp stubs from Interstate 5 (on the Marquam Bridge) stand as evidence of this project. Roadway connections between the Portland freeway network and Mount Hood remain a big problem; as there is no good direct highway connection. The proposed Sunrise Corridor may eventually offer a long-term solution; however construction of this route is several years off.

[edit] Oregon Coast

The westernmost segment, still known as the Sunset Highway, heads northwest towards Seaside, Oregon, where the highway terminates at an interchange with US 101. Prior to 2004, it continued to Astoria (concurrent with US 101), but ODOT decided that year to eliminate the concurrency.

[edit] Oregon highway designations

The Oregon section of US 26 is composed of the following highways and roads, from east to west:

• Part of the Central Oregon Highway, which is Highway 7;
• Part of the John Day Highway, which is Highway 5;
• Part of the Ochoco Highway, which is Highway 41;
• The Madras-Prineville Highway, which is Highway 360;
• Part of The Dalles-California Highway, which is Highway 4;
• The Warm Springs Highway, which is Highway 53;
• Part of the Mt. Hood Highway, which is Highway 26;
• Powell Boulevard in Portland from the Ross Island Bridge to Gresham (within Gresham is maintained by the City of Gresham);
• The Ross Island Bridge in Portland (one of five Willamette River bridges in Multnomah County that is maintained by ODOT),;
• Part of S.W. Arthur Street and S.W. Sheridan Street in Portland;
• Part of S.W. 6th Avenue and S.W. Broadway in Portland;
• Part of the Stadium Freeway Highway, which is Highway 61; and
• The Sunset Highway, which is Highway 47.

[edit] History

U.S. Route 320 was part of the initial 1926 system, connecting US 20 at Shoshoni with US 87W at Riverton, Wyoming. It became WYO 320 in 1938, which was extended southwest to Lander in 1940 when US 287 (which had replaced US 87W) was realigned. The original part of US 320/WYO 320 became part of an extension of US 26 in 1950, and the rest of WYO 320 became part of WYO 789 in 1954.^[4]

[edit] Exit list

The following is a list of the exits on the Sunset Highway between OR 6 and I-405.

County	City	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Western End of Freeway
Washington			Image:OR 6.svg East - Banks, Tillamook	No westbound entrance
		55	Dersham Road, Mountaindale
	North Plains	57	Glencoe Road, North Plains
		59	Jackson School Road
		61	Shute Road, Helvetia Road
	Hillsboro	62	Cornelius Pass Road, West Union	Split into 62A and 62B westbound
		64	185th Avenue, PCC - Rock Creek
	Beaverton	65	Cornell Road, Bethany Boulevard
		67	Murray Boulevard
		68	Cedar Hills Boulevard, Beaverton
		69A	Image:OR 217.svg South - Tigard, Salem
		69B	Park Way, Barnes Road
Multnomah	Portland	71	Sylvan	Eastbound Exit
		71A	Image:OR 8.svg Canyon Road, West Slope	Westbound Exit
		71B	Sylvan	Westbound Exit
		72	Oregon Zoo, Forestry Center
		73	Canyon Road, PGE Park	Eastbound Exit, Westbound Entrance
			Market Street, City Center	Eastbound Terminus Exit, Westbound Entrance
			Image:I-405.svg North - St. Helens, Seattle	Eastbound Terminus Exit, Westbound Entrance
			Image:I-405.svg South Image:US 26.svg East - The Dalles, Salem	Eastbound Terminus Exit, Westbound Entrance
Eastern End of Freeway

[edit] See also

[edit] Related routes

• U.S. Route 126

[edit] References

Image:US blank.svg		edit Main U.S. Routes
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20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
40	41	42	43	44	45	46		48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59
60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79
80	81	82	83	84	85		87		89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99
101		163						400				412				425
Lists		U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Bypassed - Portal

Browse numbered routes
< Image:OR 22.svg OR 22	OR		OR 27 Image:OR 27.svg >
< Image:N-25A.svg N-25A	NE		N-27 Image:N-27.svg >

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