US-26 From Gresham to Mt. Hood Thoughts

[drummer_evans_aki]

I drove in that area earlier today. And I know that from Gresham to Sandy, it's a divided four-lane expressway. But on the drive towards Mt. Hood, I got to thinking maybe the entire road from Sandy east to the OR-35 interchange should be a four lane expressway.

I know that ODOT wanted to create a freeway to Mt. Hood back in the day but that was nixed due to the freeway revolts. But I think there would be enough justifiable traffic to necessitate a four lane expressway.

Your thoughts?

[nexus73]

Freeway/expressway US 26 all the way to the approach to Madras, then have it bypass that town and hook up with US 97, which in it's turn is getting the freeway/expressway treatment.  Let's get the ski resorts and central Oregon better connected to PDX!

Rick

[sp_redelectric]

I'd love to see Oregon create more freeways, but the anti-freeway folks in Portland will stop them all.

I look up at Washington and see a lot of non-Interstate freeways...same with Idaho (where U.S. 95 is slowly becoming a freeway), Montana (U.S. 93, and even a call to make U.S. 2 a freeway)...and in Oregon?  You can count them almost on one hand.  99W, 18, 30 (Portland to Rainier), 26, 22 (Dallas-Willamina and east of Stayton)...all should be freeways but remain largely two lane roads that get easily clogged on any weekend, ironically by Portlanders who want to get out of town.

[drummer_evans_aki]

I'd love to see Oregon create more freeways, but the anti-freeway folks in Portland will stop them all.

I look up at Washington and see a lot of non-Interstate freeways...same with Idaho (where U.S. 95 is slowly becoming a freeway), Montana (U.S. 93, and even a call to make U.S. 2 a freeway)...and in Oregon?  You can count them almost on one hand.  99W, 18, 30 (Portland to Rainier), 26, 22 (Dallas-Willamina and east of Stayton)...all should be freeways but remain largely two lane roads that get easily clogged on any weekend, ironically by Portlanders who want to get out of town.

Was hearing about OR-18 being a four lane expressway from McMinnville to Grand Ronde. There's also rumblings about it being a four lane expressway heading out towards Lincoln City. I don't know if it has or is happening though.

There's also rumors of a Newberg-Dundee bypass route. Some say that's to be an extension of OR-18 but I personally think it should be a re-route of OR-99W and using the current alignment as a business route 99W.

US-30 from I-405 to Rainier is okay for what it is. There's not a lot of congestion. I drive that road quite a bit.

I don't know what 22 looks like west of the OR-99W interchange. But it could be a good expressway west of that interchange to it's west end of its OR-18 overlap.

I see the logic of converting US-95 to a freeway in Idaho. But if it were me, I'd have an interstate connecting Spokane, WA and Boise, ID and a spur route connecting Pullman, WA and Moscow, WA to serve Washington State University and the University of Idaho. Most of the interstate using US-95 from New Meadows and overtaking US-195 north. The south end using ID-55 to I-84.

Okay I'll shut up now.

[KEK Inc.]

I thought all of the fuss in Portland is freeways going through the cities.  I thought the rest is funding.

[drummer_evans_aki]

I thought all of the fuss in Portland is freeways going through the cities.  I thought the rest is funding.

Well if funding is an issue, we won't see any major road improvements. The elected officials in Oregon really don't know how to manage money.

[KEK Inc.]

I went up to Mt. Hood yesterday, and one thing I noticed on US-26 was the late afternoon jams leaving Govt. Camp on weekends.  There needs to be a bypass around Sandy (to the South). 

Since a freeway through Gresham would be impractical, you'd have to make it connect east of Gresham to I-84.  Perhaps an I-784? 

[Sd_fan2119]

I like this idea. As I remember, the entire road going from Bend to Mt. Bachelor is 2 lanes each way, and seeing that Mt. Hood is by far the predominant winter sports area for the Portland Metro Area, US-26 should also be 2 lanes at least all the way through all the main ski resorts.

[Tarkus]

There actually was some talk not too long ago, of building some sort of higher-class road connecting the more freeway-style part of 26 to I-84.  Right now, you have to take 181st, 242nd/238th/Hogan or 257th to get down there.  I haven't heard much on that front since.  (And somewhat coincidentally, the Westside Bypass revival has been getting a lot of support from elected officials in Washington County.)

I could see a Sandy Bypass making sense, too--Sandy is to US-26 toward Mt. Hood what Newberg is to OR-99W/OR-18 toward Grand Ronde and Lincoln City.  I can't recall ever seeing any plans for such, however.

There's also rumors of a Newberg-Dundee bypass route. Some say that's to be an extension of OR-18 but I personally think it should be a re-route of OR-99W and using the current alignment as a business route 99W.

They're more than rumors.  The FEIS has been approved, and project actually broke ground back in August.  There's a brand new site for it here.  Phase 1 of the project will construct a Super-2 setup from OR-99W just past Nederberger Road on the west side of Dundee, and it'll connect to OR-219 at Wilsonville Road (a project which will apparently undo part of the Wilsonville/Springbrook realignment from a couple of years back). 

The eventual goal appears to be a full-on 4-lane freeway that extends from the current end of the OR-18 Dayton Bypass to an interchange with existing OR-99W between Newberg and Sherwood.  Now if they'd just bypass Sherwood and Jeff Groth's beloved red-light cameras . . .

Of course, if the Westside Bypass goes in, it'll probably run west of Sherwood and just to the east of this project, so it could dovetail very nicely with the Newberg-Dundee Bypass.

-Tarkus

[doorknob60]

Yes, I agree. 26 can be a mess on the weekends, especially if you add in bad weather. And it wouldn't hurt to extend it all the way to Madras. And it needs a freeway link to either I-84 or I-205, neither of which will ever happen, thanks to the culture of Portland.

I like this idea. As I remember, the entire road going from Bend to Mt. Bachelor is 2 lanes each way, and seeing that Mt. Hood is by far the predominant winter sports area for the Portland Metro Area, US-26 should also be 2 lanes at least all the way through all the main ski resorts.

The only section that is four lanes it between the resort and the Sunriver turnoff, about 2 miles. The rest of the 15 or so miles is two lanes. But that's fair, as it serves one city: Bend, to one place: Mt. Bachelor. Not only does 26 serve a larger resort (Mt. Hood), but it's also a key link for travelers between Bend and Portland.

[drummer_evans_aki]

I went up to Mt. Hood yesterday, and one thing I noticed on US-26 was the late afternoon jams leaving Govt. Camp on weekends.  There needs to be a bypass around Sandy (to the South). 

Since a freeway through Gresham would be impractical, you'd have to make it connect east of Gresham to I-84.  Perhaps an I-784? 

A freeway to Mount Hood from Portland. I can actually see a freeway from I-84 in Troutdale to the OR-35 interchange. But I know that the people will not be in favor of it. T

But a four lane divided expressway with a bypass around Sandy (with the road serving Sandy as Bus. 26) would be a great idea.

[agentsteel53]

elected officials

I'm beginning to see the problem.

I was astonished at how much traffic there was on US-26 approaching Mount Hood as I headed westbound down the hill on the Saturday morning between Christmas and New Year's.

[drummer_evans_aki]

elected officials

I'm beginning to see the problem.

I was astonished at how much traffic there was on US-26 approaching Mount Hood as I headed westbound down the hill on the Saturday morning between Christmas and New Year's.

Yeah. Traffic there can be a headache. That entire US-97 from Weed, CA to Madras, OR and US-26 from Madras to Gresham with by-passes around Sandy and Madras would be great as a four lane expressway. It is a major trucking corridor. It provides connections to major resort areas like Crater Lake, Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood, and others I probably don't know about.

I'll even give it a fancy name.

Cascades Corridor.

[Bickendan]

US 26 from Portland to OR 35 is the Mt Hood Highway, as is the length of OR 35.

Cascades Corridor does have its appeal, but OR 213 from Molalla Ave in Oregon City to Silverton is the Cascade Hwy (and then the Cascade Hwy has no route/hwy number from Silverton south toward Lebanon).

[kkt]

elected officials

I'm beginning to see the problem.

I was astonished at how much traffic there was on US-26 approaching Mount Hood as I headed westbound down the hill on the Saturday morning between Christmas and New Year's.

Yeah. Traffic there can be a headache. That entire US-97 from Weed, CA to Madras, OR and US-26 from Madras to Gresham with by-passes around Sandy and Madras would be great as a four lane expressway. It is a major trucking corridor. It provides connections to major resort areas like Crater Lake, Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood, and others I probably don't know about.

I'll even give it a fancy name.

Cascades Corridor.

If 97 is improved to a 4-lane route, the improvements ought to continue at least up to US 2 in Washington.  US 26 would make a nice spur.

Calling it Cascades Corridor would be confusing.  That's the name of the state supported passenger rail service from Eugene to Vancouver BC.

[drummer_evans_aki]

Oh crap. That's right. 213 is the Cascades Highway.

A four lane expressway to Wenatchee? I don't see much of a necessity for it. Commercial importance north on 97 from Madras diminishes after Madras. And there's hardly any traffic or major cities along the corridor between Madras and Yakima except The Dalles, which is reached via US-197.

However, a four lane expressway on US-97 from Interstate 90 north to Wenatchee isn't a bad idea.

[sp_redelectric]

Cascades Corridor does have its appeal, but OR 213 from Molalla Ave in Oregon City to Silverton is the Cascade Hwy (and then the Cascade Hwy has no route/hwy number from Silverton south toward Lebanon).

No problem.  Remove "Cascade Highway North" from the state highway system; everyone calls it "82nd Avenue" anyways and it's just an urban street.

Then rename the "Cascade Highway South" to the "Oregon City-Silverton Highway".  I'd say "Clackamas Highway" but that already exists (Oregon 224), and naming the highway after the endpoint cities would follow the logic of 211 ("Woodburn-Estacada Highway"), 212 ("Clackamas-Boring Highway"), 214 ("Hillsboro-Silverton Highway") and the old 170 ("Canby-Marquam Highway", still retains its name and even ODOT highway number despite having not been a state highway in years).

As for the Cascade Highway south of Silverton - it's a Marion County road.  And once you hit Stayton, it becomes the "Stayton-Scio Road".

If I-205 can be renamed (from "East Portland Freeway" to "Veterans Memorial Highway"), so can 213!

[Bickendan]

Personally, I hate end-point highway names. Sure, it tells me what two locations the highway connects, but it's generally a mouthful and no one would use the name in normal use -- not that most highway names would be used as a rule (no one calls I-5 by its names, for example, outside of Los Angeles).
Example: OR 217 is the Beaverton-Tigard Freeway. It'd be better to call it 'Kruse Way', after the artery it terminates into in Lake Oswego. Or, as everyone does already: Highway 217, OR 217, the 217...

[Mark68]

The only option I see for making an expressway or freeway-type connection from Portland to Mt Hood is to maybe use a routing parallel to the Sandy River going south from I-84 in Troutdale, then along the routing of Oxbow Rd, cutting south to Orient Dr, then merging with the current expressway portion of US 26 near the interchange with OR 212.

Then you bypass Sandy and four-lane it at least as far as OR 35.

[kkt]

Oh crap. That's right. 213 is the Cascades Highway.

A four lane expressway to Wenatchee? I don't see much of a necessity for it. Commercial importance north on 97 from Madras diminishes after Madras. And there's hardly any traffic or major cities along the corridor between Madras and Yakima except The Dalles, which is reached via US-197.

I was thinking US-197 through The Dalles was more an arterial street and it would be hard to upgrade it to expressway.  Maybe expressway could go from Madras to I-84 in The Dalles via US-197, then along I-84 to cross the river at Maryhill.  Or make it expressway in The Dalles somehow, cross the river at The Dalles bridge, then follow WA-14 up to US-97 at Maryhill.

US-97 is a good alternative to I-5 for long distance travel between western Washington and California, and gets a lot of truck traffic.   I-5 is prone to snow in the Siskiyous and fog in the Willamette valley, in addition to heavy traffic in many cities along the way.

However, a four lane expressway on US-97 from Interstate 90 north to Wenatchee isn't a bad idea.

Thanks.

[doorknob60]

I was thinking US-197 through The Dalles was more an arterial street and it would be hard to upgrade it to expressway.  Maybe expressway could go from Madras to I-84 in The Dalles via US-197, then along I-84 to cross the river at Maryhill.  Or make it expressway in The Dalles somehow, cross the river at The Dalles bridge, then follow WA-14 up to US-97 at Maryhill.

I don't know about that one. I drive US-197 a lot, and it has very low traffic levels. Also, it would be very hard and expensive to make it an expressway. Have you ever been through Maupin? I would argue that US-97 is more heavily travelled, and is a more important route, leading not only to Yakima, but to the Tri-Cities, Spokane, etc. And it would be a much easier road to upgrade to four lanes, not having a giant Deschutes River canyon in the way.

US-97 is a good alternative to I-5 for long distance travel between western Washington and California, and gets a lot of truck traffic.   I-5 is prone to snow in the Siskiyous and fog in the Willamette valley, in addition to heavy traffic in many cities along the way.

I agree, it needs to be an expressway for much of its length, along with an appropriate 65+ speed limit (people already go that fast anyway).

[drummer_evans_aki]

There were rumblings of a possible Central Oregon freeway. And I've been reading about a possible extension of Interstate 11 to Carson City and Reno. With this being a part of the CANAMEX Corridor, perhaps an extension of Interstate 11 north with US-395 with the freeway by-passing the cities of Alturas and Lakeview (US-395 would serve those cities), overtaking Oregon Route 31 and beginning an overlap with US-97 at La Pine to serve Bend, Redmond, and Madras. Then by-pass the city of Madras and then begin an overlap with US-26 to serve Mount Hood to Sandy. And then from east of Sandy, construct a new alignment of the Interstate to terminate just east at I-84 in Troutdale.

It's just a thought.

[doorknob60]

There were rumblings of a possible Central Oregon freeway. And I've been reading about a possible extension of Interstate 11 to Carson City and Reno. With this being a part of the CANAMEX Corridor, perhaps an extension of Interstate 11 north with US-395 with the freeway by-passing the cities of Alturas and Lakeview (US-395 would serve those cities), overtaking Oregon Route 31 and beginning an overlap with US-97 at La Pine to serve Bend, Redmond, and Madras. Then by-pass the city of Madras and then begin an overlap with US-26 to serve Mount Hood to Sandy. And then from east of Sandy, construct a new alignment of the Interstate to terminate just east at I-84 in Troutdale.

It's just a thought.

I really like that idea, but US-395 north of Susanville, and especially OR-31, have such low traffic counts that it makes no sense to make a freeway there. If a freeway were to ever be made in Central Oregon, it would likely go from Weed to Madras (and from Madras to either Portland or north/NE to somewhere along I-84)

[drummer_evans_aki]

I really like that idea, but US-395 north of Susanville, and especially OR-31, have such low traffic counts that it makes no sense to make a freeway there. If a freeway were to ever be made in Central Oregon, it would likely go from Weed to Madras (and from Madras to either Portland or north/NE to somewhere along I-84)

Well the thing is, the proposed Interstate 11 is, again, to be a part of a CANAMEX corridor. Which would provide an Interstate link with Canada and Mexico. With what I had proposed, it does justify the route passing through those low traffic areas between Susanville and Bend.

This portion of the CANAMEX corridor would actually provide a connection to Alaska as well as Vancouver, BC and Seattle (via I-5, I-205, I-84), Portland, Madras, Redmond, Bend, Susanville, Reno, Carson City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix (via proposed I-11), Phoenix to Tuscon (via I-10), and Tuscon to the Mexican border (via I-19) and because of the cities it would serve, I think it would actually justify passing through the lower traffic volume areas between Susanville and Bend.

But that's if an Interstate 11 northwest extension were to be proposed. But if not, the most realistic option to improve traffic in the Mount Hood area would be to propose a four lane divided expressway east of Sandy to at least the OR-35 interchange.

[bookem]

For some time now I've had an I-11 proposal floating around in my head that would, rather than entering Portland, would overlap US 97 at least as far north as Yakima.  Easy access to Portland would be made via either I-84 or an upgraded US 26, while the Puget Sound area would have access via I-90 so as not to have to use a congested I-5 to Portland before heading east to I-11.

WRT Hwy 26, replacing the at-grade interchanges at Government Camp and the other winter rec areas with grade-seperated interchanges would go a long way toward addressing the safety and congestion issues along this stretch.  Eventually, I wouldn't mind seeing 26 being moved off its current routing through Gresham (if it retains any designation it should be Business 26 through Gresham all the way to Portland) and transitioned to OR 212 at Boring Jct, and then either to I-205 to I-84 or OR 224 to 99E... especially now that Phase 1 of the Sunrise Corridor is set to begin construction later this year:  http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/pages/sunrise/index.aspx