Interstate 84 (west)

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Interstate 84
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 770 mi (1239 km)
Formed: 1966
West end: I-5/US 30 in Portland, OR
Major
junctions:		 I-82 in Hermiston, OR
I-86 near Declo, ID
I-15 in Tremonton, UT/Ogden, UT
East end: I-80 in Echo, UT
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Interstate 84 (I-84) is an interstate highway in the Western United States that runs from Portland, Oregon (intersecting I-5) to Echo, Utah (intersecting I-80[1]) It follows roughly the same route as the Oregon Trail. (There is also a separate I-84 in the Northeastern United States.)

Starting in Portland, where it is referred to as the Banfield Expressway, the interstate runs through the Columbia River Gorge parallel to the Historic Columbia River Highway to The Dalles. It then continues along the Columbia River until it veers in a southeasterly direction at Boardman. It crosses the Blue Mountains, and continues toward Ontario, Oregon, at the Idaho border.

Crossing southern Idaho, I-84 passes through Boise (a spur, I-184 connects to the city center), near Twin Falls and through Burley and Rupert. East of Rupert it veers to the southeast and crosses the Utah border. The highway runs concurrently with I-15 between Tremonton and Ogden, running through Brigham City. I-84 terminates at an intersection with I-80 in Summit County near Echo.

The west end of I-84 in Portland
The west end of I-84 in Portland

The western section of I-84 was known as I-80N until May 1, 1980[2]. There was also an I-80S, which is now numbered I-76. Changes in federal guidelines discouraged the use of suffix letters on interstate highways. As a result these two were renumbered. [3]

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
mi km
OR 375 603
ID 276 444
UT 119 192
Total 770 1239
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

[edit] Oregon

Main article: Interstate 84 in Oregon

In the Portland metropolitan area, I-84 is sometimes referred to as the Banfield Freeway or simply "the Banfield", although the official name is the Banfield Expressway. The freeway is named after Thomas H. Banfield, chairman of the Oregon Transportation Commission from 1943-1950.

East of Pendleton, Oregon, I-84 traverses the infamous Cabbage Hill grade (a 6% grade). This grade is legendary for the fact that the westbound lanes switchback twice on its descent into Pendleton. Eastbound lanes feature what are the tightest curves on the Interstate system, even though those curves are on the uphill (eastbound) direction. This grade is also well known due to the fact that it features such a great distance between eastbound and westbound lanes, nearly 2 miles (3.2 km) between directions of travel at points.

[edit] Idaho

Main article: Interstate 84 in Idaho

I-84 enters Idaho at a crossing of the Snake River just east of Ontario, Oregon. From there, it continues on to the major cities of the Boise metropolitan area, including Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, and Boise (where I-184 connects travelers to downtown). From Boise, I-84 continues on towards Twin Falls after passing near several small towns (such as Mountain Home, Glenns Ferry, and Jerome).

Just east of Jerome I-84 passes within 5 miles (8 kilometers) of Twin Falls, but does not cross the Snake River Canyon or into Twin Falls County. Access to Twin Falls is afforded by an intersection with US 93.

After Twin Falls, I-84 continues through Burley and Heyburn. At the intersection with I-86, approximately 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) east of Declo in rural Cassia County, I-84 veers southeast and heads toward Utah.

[edit] Utah

Main article: Interstate 84 in Utah

From Idaho, I-84 enters Utah at a point approximately 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) from Snowville in Box Elder County. It proceeds southeast towards Tremonton where I-84 joins the route of I-15.

Just south, at Corinne, Utah, I-84 joins the route of the First Transcontinental Railroad which the highway follows to the its terminus. I-15/I-84 pass to the west of Ogden where I-84 separates from I-15 and follows the Weber River. As the freeway passes through Weber Canyon it also passes through several small farming communities, including Morgan, where the Browning Arms Company headquarters can be seen from the freeway. Also visible in the canyon is Devil's Slide, an unusual rock formation just off the freeway. [4] Farther up the canyon is the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) tree, planted by Union Pacific Railroad workers to mark 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the railroad's origin in Omaha, Nebraska.[5] The freeway ends at Echo, a near ghost town that before served as a stopover for the railroad, at a junction with Interstate 80. Also near the junction is Echo Reservoir and Echo Dam.

The Utah sections of I-84 not concurrent with Interstate 15 are defined at Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-114(4).[6]

[edit] History

Columbia River Gorge and I-84 as seen from Crown Point, Oregon
Columbia River Gorge and I-84 as seen from Crown Point, Oregon

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials established guidelines recommending that "suffixed" highways, such as I-80N, be renumbered. In 1977, Idaho officials recommended that I-80N be renumbered to I-84. The motion was seconded by officials in Utah, but opposed by Oregon and Washington. The motion passed on July 7, 1977, and the states were given until July 1, 1980 to implement a co-ordinated renumbering strategy.[2]

After renumbering, I-84 violated the Interstate Highway Numbering Convention by being south of I-82. The Portland segment of then-I-80N was proposed to run on the Mount Hood Freeway. Plans for this were officially dropped in 1978 after a successful freeway revolt.

[edit] Major intersections

[edit] Auxiliary routes

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 84

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Google map of Echo, Utah. Google. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
  2. ^ a b Highway Resolutions - Route 84. Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  3. ^ The only remaining such split is I-35E and I-35W, which exists in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
  4. ^ Unknown. The Devil's Slide, Weber Canyon, Utah. California Digital Library, Board of Regents, University of California. Featuring content donated by Bancroft Library. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
  5. ^ F.V. Hayden and Daniel M. Davis. Sun Pictures of Rocky Mountain Scenery, Photographic Collection. Utah State University Special Collections and Archives. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
  6. ^ Utah Code Annotated for overlap with I-15
edit
Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)		 Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30
35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68 69
70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90
91 93 94 95 96 97 99 (238) H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned  A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists  Primary  Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
Auxiliary  Main - Future - Unsigned
Other  Standards - Business - Bypassed
Languages