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The interstate in Oregon
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Article Content
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| Introduction |
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A crossroads in Douglas County in 1920
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In the years following World War II, all across the United States, pressure increased for an improved highway system. More and more Americans were relying on private automobile transportation for both work and vacation travel. A widespread coalition of engineers, business, auto enthusiasts, state and local government leaders, and the federal government, all played a role in the development of what became the “Federal Interstate and Defense Highways” program, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956.
The interstate, like no public works project before or since, was truly national in scope. It required billions of dollars and more than 30 years to complete. Today, a half-century after its inception, the interstate system remains the largest public works project in history.
Oregon’s interstate system consists of two major routes and approximately 11 miles of one of Washington’s major routes:
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Interstate 5, running north-south;
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Interstate 84, running east-west along the Columbia River; and
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Interstate 82, running north-south in eastern Oregon for 11 miles to the Washington state border.
Oregon has several smaller connecting sections of the interstate:
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I-205, south of the Portland metro area;
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I-105, running east-west through Eugene-Springfield; and
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I-405, running north-south on the west side of downtown Portland.
In most ways, Oregon’s interstates are a microcosm of the entire national system, consisting largely of long stretches of uninterrupted pavement running through sparsely settled, rural landscapes. In other ways, however, Oregon’s interstate is unique, the result of Oregon’s century-long commitment to good roads and nation-leading innovation in highway construction and design. Oregon’s 731-mile portion of the interstate, many parts of which were planned and even built before the federal program was enacted, reflects the highway tradition in our state and embodies its long recognition of the link between good roads, prosperity and access across its often difficult terrain.
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| Oregon's road-building legacy |
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Interstate 5 through Medford in 1966
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Oregon’s innovative use of gasoline taxes, adopted in 1919, allowed the state to pursue road building that would be envied by other states. Assured of stable funding, the Oregon State Highway Department developed a master plan for Oregon’s highway system and was soon constructing a series of primary highways that would allow improved access. Two — the Columbia River Highway and the Pacific Highway — became central to Oregon’s development of the interstate.
Before there ever was an interstate, Oregon had the first border-to-border paved highway west of the Mississippi. By 1923, the entire road from the Columbia River in Portland to California was completed and paved. The “Pacific Highway,” as it was known, followed the center of the valleys, and as a result, went through the center of almost every city or town along its 341-mile route in the state. As it passed through eight of Oregon’s counties, it in effect became the “Main Street” in seven county seats, and sparked roadside development such as gas stations, restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions.
Robert H. “Sam” Baldock, the Oregon State Highway Engineer, played an integral role in the development of Oregon’s highway system prior to the war, helping to establish the state as a national leader. Baldock began to advocate for large-scale improvements in the primary road system, with the strong support of Thomas H. Banfield and the other members of the Oregon State Highway Commission. Beginning in 1949, because of OSHD efforts — aided in no small part by local political leaders who saw access to efficient highways a major component of their own community’s potential for post-war growth — the Oregon State Legislature undertook a series of actions to make a significant financial commitment to improving the state’s highways.
In addition to increasing funding, OSHD also sought new legislation that would give it the planning and legal tools to successfully develop modern “expressways,” such as the partially completed Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Highway Department wanted approval to use limited access and grade separations.
Limited, or “controlled,” access was a significant departure from early highways. Those portions of Oregon’s two primary highway routes, US 30 and especially US 99, that passed through cities and their outskirts, were lined with business and property owners who considered location a primary advantage and a financial requirement for their success. The counties along the US 99 corridor, containing more than 70 percent of Oregon’s population in 1950, quickly developed an almost uniformly commercialized corridor along its route through a community, separated by long, rural, or forested sections as it moved between communities.
While business owners placed a high value upon an ability to easily and directly enter or leave the route, from the standpoint of Oregon’s highway engineers, the constant flow of new, slower moving vehicles onto or off the road increased congestion, created dangerous situations, and increased the possibility of accidents. For the traffic engineer at the state level, the lack of access control severely reduced the effectiveness of the highway system for through-traffic. And in this period, through-traffic, as opposed to local traffic, increasingly became the primary focus in state highway design.
As with controlled access, “grade separations” also became a buzzword in post-war highway design that would separate the old type of highway from the new. Cross-streets created disruptions in traffic flow that decreased speed and safety as vehicles attempted to traverse the corridor. Railroad crossings required wigwags or crossing arms with worse effect, as long freight trains could create lengthy backup situations that compromised flow. Traffic signals and railroad crossings quickly became anathema on the modern post-war expressway.
Grade separations and controlled access along existing routes created both political and financial obstacles to the construction of new highways. Existing businesses would be affected through reduced access, numerous cross-streets and rail crossings through established communities would have to be addressed, and right-of-way acquisition, involving primary commercial frontages, would be significantly more expensive than that of more rural, open lands.
The Oregon Legislature responded to these various concerns by passing SB 121 in 1947, creating both the legal framework for the creation of controlled access highways and, in 1952, bond funding mechanisms to help pay for them. With these hurdles cleared, OSHD began the planning and development of what would essentially be an entire new highway system that would be superimposed over the earlier US 30 and US 99 corridors.
Among the most congested highway routes in Oregon, the access to downtown Portland from the east was high on the list. Sandy Boulevard, a densely developed commercial core, was typical of exactly the type of problems that unlimited access created and so formed the perfect candidate for replacement with a new, controlled access corridor that would be free of distraction, grade crossings, and other potential traffic-snarling development.
The Banfield, named in honor of retired OSHC Chair Thomas H. Banfield, was largely completed more than a year before the federal government would finalize the funding mechanisms for the interstate system as we know it today. The Banfield (the portion of I-84 from I-205 to I-5) established an increasingly typical standard for highway construction in Oregon. Largely a new route with both controlled access and full grade separations, the Banfield kicked off Oregon’s foray into the interstate — before the interstate was even a system.
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| Oregon's interstates |
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In the original 1956 plan for the new 41,000 interstate highway system, Oregon was to have two major routes, plus several connecting spurs or loops.
Name(s)
| No. Miles
| Date Completed
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I-5 Pacific Highway
| 308
| Oct. 22, 1966, near Canyonville
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I-105 Eugene Spur
| 4.5
| Oct. 25, 1967, at Eugene
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I-405 Stadium Freeway
| 4.2
| Feb. 25, 1969
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I-84 Columbia River, Old Oregon Trail
| 375
| July 3, 1980, near Baker City
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I-205 East Portland Freeway
| 26.6
| Dec. 1982
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I-82 McNary Highway
| 11 (in Oregon)
| Sept. 20, 1988, near Hermiston
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| What's next - the future of Oregon's interstates |
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Oregon Transportation Investment Act
OTIA I, II and III, approved by legislators, is allowing unprecedented investment in Oregon’s infrastructure. OTIA I and II provided $500 million for statewide projects; OTIA III allocates $1.34 billion to repair or replace hundreds of aging highway bridges, and an additional $1.2 billion to maintain and modernize local and state roads. Federal funds are also involved, mainly because most of the bridges needing work are on Interstates 5 and 84. OTIA III projects will keep the state’s highway construction crews busy to 2015 and beyond.
2005 – 2030 Oregon Transportation Plan
The Draft Oregon Transportation Plan, a long-range investment and policy document set to cover 2005 – 2030, is being reviewed and finalized in 2006. While the plan doesn’t detail specific projects, it does provide guidance to transportation agencies and organizations for future projects and approaches to transportation challenges.
Most notably, the OTP reveals that thinking about transportation in Oregon is going to have to change, because the population growth and increase in freight volume cannot be accommodated with projected revenues. Based on 2004 dollars, about $2.15 billion is spent annually to maintain, operate and expand the statewide transportation system. An additional $533 million per year is needed to address the 40 percent loss in purchasing power by 2030 because of inflation. To keep pace with population and expand the system at a level slightly above current service levels will take an additional $733 million per year over the 25-year plan period.
Based on these research findings, the plan makes several recommendations:
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Hold down spending by maintaining and optimizing what we have.
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Use technology to create efficiencies.
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Work together in new ways across jurisdictions and in public/private partnerships to make the best decisions about transportation projects.
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Prioritize transportation projects that contribute to Oregon’s economic vitality and standard of living.
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Develop new funding to meet new demands and keep up with inflation.
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Invest strategically in capacity enhancements.
Click here to learn more about the Oregon Transportation Plan.
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