U.S. Route 26

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U.S. Route 26

Length:

1,485 mi^[1] (2,390 km)

Formed:

1926^[1]

West end:

US 101 near Seaside, OR

Major
junctions:

I-5 at Portland, OR

I-84 at Boise, ID

I-25 at Casper, WY

East end:

I-80 at Ogallala, NE

United States Numbered Highways
U.S. Routes - 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.

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.

1 Termini
2 States traversed
3 Related US routes
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Termini

As of 2004, 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]

[edit] States traversed

The highway passes through the following states:

[edit] 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 comes close to Yellowstone 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 Cairo. 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 Warm Springs, towards Government Camp.

Near Government Camp, the highway intersects OR 35 and then continues westward to Sandy, which closely follows the route of the Barlow Road, has served to define was is sometimes called the Mount Hood Corridor. This part of US 26 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

A freeway alignment of US-26 in Beaverton, Oregon.

From Gresham east 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 (multiplexed with US 101), but ODOT decided that year to eliminate the multiplex.

[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 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;
The Ross Island Bridge in Portland, which is maintained by Multnomah County;
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, which is Highway 61; and
The Sunset Highway, which is Highway 47.

[edit] Related US routes

U.S. Route 126

[edit] See also

List of U.S. Routes

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
^ Endpoints of US highways

		edit Main U.S. Routes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
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 - Replaced