Favorite/Least favorite stretch of freeway in the Northwest

[Bickendan]

Taking the idea from the California threads, what is your favorite and least favorite stretch of freeway in the Northwest (ID, OR, WA, AK)?

I'd say my favorite is I-5 between Grants Pass and Roseburg because of how it winds through the forested mountains with breathtaking views of the Umpqua River.

Least favorite: I-5 between Vancouver and Kelso/Longview. I don't know why, but this segment just seems to drag on and on and it feels like the miles are longer than in Oregon. The comparitive stretch between Portland and Salem feels shorter.

[luokou]

Most favourite stretch of freeway: I-84 parallel to the Columbia River.  From the forested hills and canyons west of the Cascades, all the way out to the high desert in the eastern part of the state.  The bits of old US-30 alongside it are a definite bonus.

Next would be I-205 through Oregon and Washington. Great alternative to I-5 when traffic is bad, plus it was always the springboard to every long distance roadtrip i've taken in the Northwest.

Least favourite stretch of freeway: Probably I-705. For one thing, it just feels like a glorified off-ramp to Downtown Tacoma. Also, it's in Tacoma.

[myosh_tino]

Although I don't visit Washington and Oregon too often now (but I did when I was a kid) here's my most and least favorites...

Favorites
* Scenic I-5... especially from CA stateline to Eugene, Vancouver, WA to Olympia and north of Seattle to Bellevue.

* I-5 Express Lanes in Seattle... reversible lanes were something I had not seen before visiting Seattle.

* I-84/Columbia River Gorge... absolutely stunning scenery.

* I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass... more stunning scenery.

* WA-520 & I-90 Floating Bridges over Lake Washington... I love bridges and floating bridges was also something not seen in California.

Least Favorites
* I-5 in downtown Portland... horribly congested and narrow roadways.

[xonhulu]

Favorites: I-84 between Pendleton and La Grande, I-5 between Roseburg and Grants Pass

Least favorite: I-84 between Boardman and Pendleton - seems to go on forever, and pretty dull after either the Columbia River or Blue Mountains

[KEK Inc.]

Least favorite: I-5 between Vancouver and Kelso/Longview. I don't know why, but this segment just seems to drag on and on and it feels like the miles are longer than in Oregon. The comparitive stretch between Portland and Salem feels shorter.

Opposite for me, but I live in Vancouver, so Clark County is home territory.  The stretch between Wilsonville and Salem is awful in my opinion. 

Favorite:  I-90 between Seattle and Issaquah. 
Least Favorite:  I-5 between Grants Pass and Wilsonville

I make the drive between Portland and San Jose quite a bit, and I despise most of it.  The only enjoyable part is I-5 between Ashland and Redding.  The Willamette and Central Valley drives are flat and boring.  The Umpqua River Valley is hilly and foresty, but it gets old after 20 miles.

[OCGuy81]

Favorites:

I-84 through the Columbia Gorge, though on my last visit up there, I crossed in Cascade Locks and drove on WA-14.  THAT was a cool stretch of highway, and I'd aruge it has better views than I-84. Lot of tunnels and sections where you're VERY close to the water.

A few years ago, we'd looked at a vacation house in Sunriver, OR.  US 97 through central Oregon in the high desert is a cool stretch of highway versus I-5 in the Willamette Valley, IMHO.

Least favorites:

I-5 in Portland is VERY poor.  Narrow, congested, and I'm curious if it even meets Interstate standards.

I-5 in Seattle.  I don't think there are too many hours of the day where you won't encounter traffic near Safeco/Qwest field.

[nexus73]

Oregon freeways....

I-5 between Grants Pass and Roseburg is the most dangerous stretch of I-5 in my eyes due to a lack of a third uphill lane.  Trucks are forced to use the shoulder as an ersatz third lane.  CalTrans has Oregon beat in the "3 lanes uphill" department.

Right behind that stretch of I-5 is the part of I-5 that passes for a major metro area freeway in Portland.  Terwilliger Curves to the south, the Marquam Bridge in the middle and the insufficient lanes from I-84/I-405 heading north, all topped off by an obsolete bridge crossing of the Columbia River.

Other nominees: I-205 from I-5 to Milwaukie/Gladstone is only a 4-lane freeway when it needs to be 6-lane at an absolute minimum.  Oregon 217 gets the same low rating for the same old reason, not enough capacity.  Ditto for I-5 from Ashland to Grants Pass.  The US 97 "parkway" (as ODOT called it) through Bend is the worst excuse for a freeway of modern construction I have ever seen due to it's narrowness and low speed. 

On a more positive note I do like how I-84 shaped up in the metro area and of course it's beauty is unparalleled when going through the Columbia Gorge when the weather is nice.  I-5's 6-lane treatment from the Kuebler exit in Salem to just south of the I-5/99W interchange is well done even if the scenery factor is low.

Still awaiting a verdict: I-5 in Eugene.  The new bridge has the western span completed.  The eastern span will be finished in late 2013.  Then I want to see if I-5's tiny bit of 6-laning gets extended and also what kind of artwork the new twin span bridge gets.

Rick

[corco]

Favorite- probably I-90 over Snoqualmie headed westbound.
Least favorite- I-84 from LaGrande to Ontario. It's a bit more interesting than I-84 east of Boise but 65 MPH.

[sp_redelectric]

Least Favorite:  I-5 between Portland and Eugene.  Long, boring, and full of motorists that don't understand how to maintain a steady speed and which lane they should drive in.  I can't count the number of times I'd see a group of cars in all three lanes holding up traffic, and a wide open stretch in front of them...  (I-5 north of Vancouver seems like it takes forever, but at least people usually move over and let faster traffic go by.)

Most Favorite:  I-84 east of Troutdale.  Not too much traffic, good scenery...as long as the weather is good.  Get a nice head wind or heavy rain (or worse - ice/snow) and it quickly becomes the least favorite.

[agentsteel53]

Least Favorite:  I-5 between Portland and Eugene.  Long, boring, and full of motorists that don't understand how to maintain a steady speed and which lane they should drive in.  I can't count the number of times I'd see a group of cars in all three lanes holding up traffic, and a wide open stretch in front of them...

indeed.  Oregon drivers are probably the most bovine in the nation.  they're also the most offended if you pass them on the right at a whopping 3 over the limit.

[kkt]

Favorites:
I-90 from Issaquah to Snoqualmie Pass
I-82 from Ellensburg to Yakima
I-5 from Burlington to Bellingham

I guess I just like mountains.

[Tarkus]

Least Favorite:  I-5 between Portland and Eugene.  Long, boring, and full of motorists that don't understand how to maintain a steady speed and which lane they should drive in.  I can't count the number of times I'd see a group of cars in all three lanes holding up traffic, and a wide open stretch in front of them...

indeed.  Oregon drivers are probably the most bovine in the nation.  they're also the most offended if you pass them on the right at a whopping 3 over the limit.

You can thank Nixon and Kitzhaber for that.  21 years of NMSL plus 17 years of Gov. Urban Cowboy and his ilk has destroyed lane courtesy in this state.  Luckily for me, I spent enough time driving in Central/Eastern Washington in my late teens/early-20s that I drive like I'm from there.

As for me, favorites:
-I-84 through the Gorge
-I-90 over Ryegrass Summit (between Ellensburg and Vantage)
-US-26 from OR-217 to OR-6--it's a lot nicer and unclogged now that it's been widened, and it feels like home.
-I-205 between I-5 and West Linn--surprisingly scenic, with some nice trees in the median.

Least favorites:
-I-5 in Seattle/Tacoma area.  Awful doesn't begin to describe it.
-I-5 between the Marquam and Interstate bridges.
-I-5 between Albany and Eugene (especially headed southbound).  It just drags on.
-I-84 WB approaching I-205.  That left exit onto I-205 is just aggravating.
-I-82 through the center of Yakima.  Yakima drivers . . . fortunately, it's a very brief stretch.

I actually don't mind the Marquam Bridge that much, surprisingly.  I'd put I-82 between Yakima and Ellensburg on the favorites list in terms of scenery, but the truck drivers are mind-bogglingly stupid on that stretch, hopping into the left lane at 25mph to pass a truck going 22mph.  If they ever add the third climbing lane going up some of those grades, it'd be among my favorites for certain.

[agentsteel53]

You can thank Nixon and Kitzhaber for that.  21 years of NMSL plus 17 years of Gov. Urban Cowboy and his ilk has destroyed lane courtesy in this state. 

I'm not sure if I follow.  even if cars have a preferred speed of 55mph, what does that have to do with moving over or not?

[Tarkus]

The motorists of this inclination have an erroneous sense that they're in "hyperdrive", and delude themselves into thinking it's inconceivably dangerous/illegal for people to pass them.  If the speed limits went up, these people would be given a reality check, or at the very least, they wouldn't be quite so obnoxious when they do act bovine.

[agentsteel53]

going precisely the speed limit is "hyperdrive" now?? 

[sp_redelectric]

It seems Oregon drivers (disclaimer: am a native Oregonian here) feel that it's their God-given right and duty to maintain a speed in the left lane and refuse to let anyone pass, even if there are 20 cars behind them and nobody in front.

In Washington, there's at least a law that it's illegal to be in the left lanes except when passing...of course...seldom enforced.

It isn't so bad south of Salem where there are two lanes in each direction, but it can be tedious waiting for a chance to pass on the right if needed.  Approaching I-5 on I-205 at Stafford, I've had to make it a point to be in the right lane, in order to use the new third lane to pass cars that don't understand the speed limit REALLY IS 65 between I-5 and 10th Avenue in West Linn.  (Or, for that matter, Oregon 99W between King City and Sherwood, and again into Newberg...it's 55 folks.  Not 40.)

[Bickendan]

This has been a problem since the "Keep Right Except to Pass" signs were removed in Oregon. I-5 even had a lane diagram between Salem and Portland depicting the usages of the three lanes: Left, passing. Center, travel and passing. Right, passing.

The "Keep Right Except to Pass" signs haven't been wholly banished, I'm happy to note. They still exist on the OR 211/224 overlap between Estacada and Eagle Creek.

[kkt]

This has been a problem since the "Keep Right Except to Pass" signs were removed in Oregon.

Why'd they remove the signs?

[sp_redelectric]

I-5 even had a lane diagram between Salem and Portland depicting the usages of the three lanes: Left, passing. Center, travel and passing. Right, passing.

I remember those signs; some Legislator used his clout to have ODOT install those signs.  They didn't last very long; I want to say maybe five years or so, before they were removed.  I don't know why...

The "Keep Right Except to Pass" signs were inconsistently used and sometimes simply replaced the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs.  I honestly can't recall any of them still around...there might be some located on Oregon 6 or 18, or U.S. 26 in the Coast Range...

[agentsteel53]

I-5 even had a lane diagram between Salem and Portland depicting the usages of the three lanes: Left, passing. Center, travel and passing. Right, passing.

did you typo "right, travel"?  It doesn't seem logical to have the center lane be the passing lane and both left and right be used to pass only.

[sp_redelectric]

I-5 even had a lane diagram between Salem and Portland depicting the usages of the three lanes: Left, passing. Center, travel and passing. Right, passing.

did you typo "right, travel"?  It doesn't seem logical to have the center lane be the passing lane and both left and right be used to pass only.

I believe that was a mistype - right lane "travel", center lane "passing and travel", left lane "passing".

[Bickendan]

Yep, d'oh!

[Fcexpress80]

Favorite Freeway:  I-90 from Seattle to Snoqualmie Pass.  A well constructed Interstate, especially in the mountain sections west of the pass.  Compared to I-90 in Idaho and Montana mountainous areas, the Washington sections are much better engineered.  Add the upgrades that are happening just east of Snoqualmie Pass, then you have a great example of engineering.

Another Favorite:  I-82 between Ellensburg and Yakima.  Up some scenic scrubland grades.  Views.....

Least favorite freeway:  WA-520.  Not so free anymore. 

[nexus73]

Going north on I-82 from Yakima, the best view is the last ridge crossing (Manastash Ridge).  It looks like you are flying into Kittitas Valley!  The panorama is so huge and magnificent.

Rick

[meestersam]

As said a bunch before, I-90 east of I-5 is just beautiful.  I think the portions east of Ellensburg out to Moses Lake are super gorgeous, too.

And driving I-5 south from the ship canal bridge into downtown Seattle through the convention center is just stunning, day or night.