Last U.S. 26 sign on Clay Street (downtown Portland)

[sp_redelectric]

Here it is, next to the KOIN Tower, on S.W. Clay Street:


IMG_7099[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr


IMG_7100[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr

The unusual bit is that when PBOT reinstalled these signs after a streetlighting project it put the WEST banner below the route marker and not above it as is standard practice in Oregon...but it is the same old sign that has been there for decades and not a newly fabricated sign.

PBOT recently (in the last couple of years) replaced most of the signs on Naito Parkway as part of a street project, and there are some new "TO" 26 signs installed:


IMG_7101[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr


IMG_7102[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr

Note the use of the blue background "TO" sign (should only be used with Interstate signs), and the lettering on the banner not common for Oregon either. 

Now, the "US 26" route marker still exists on the BGS at the very end of Harbor Drive just before it crosses Naito Parkway...and there are of course US 26 signs at the western end of Clay Street just before the onramps to the Sunset Highway...

[xonhulu]

Here it is, next to the KOIN Tower, on S.W. Clay Street:


IMG_7099[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr


IMG_7100[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr

The unusual bit is that when PBOT reinstalled these signs after a streetlighting project it put the WEST banner below the route marker and not above it as is standard practice in Oregon...but it is the same old sign that has been there for decades and not a newly fabricated sign.

That looks much better than the last two times I saw that marker:

PBOT recently (in the last couple of years) replaced most of the signs on Naito Parkway as part of a street project, and there are some new "TO" 26 signs installed:


IMG_7101[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr


IMG_7102[1] by sp_redelectric, on Flickr

Note the use of the blue background "TO" sign (should only be used with Interstate signs), and the lettering on the banner not common for Oregon either. 

Now, the "US 26" route marker still exists on the BGS at the very end of Harbor Drive just before it crosses Naito Parkway...and there are of course US 26 signs at the western end of Clay Street just before the onramps to the Sunset Highway...

Is this US 26/OR 10 pair still posted on northbound Naito?:

[Bickendan]

I want to say yes, which is amusing because that isn't part of US 26 at all.

[xonhulu]

I want to say yes, which is amusing because that isn't part of US 26 at all.

That's mostly why I asked -- it fits into the OP's theme of US 26 shields on former alignments in/near downtown.

I don't think it's actually part of OR 10, either, as that should end at the intersection with US 26, unless ODOT considers the designation to extend down Naito into downtown.

Of course, if you look a little further past the US 26/OR 10 pair, you can see an overhead BGS in the distance that still says you're on US 26, but now apparently cosigned with OR 99W:



which of course also isn't the case!

[Alps]

PBOT is a freakin awful acronym. Pee bot?

[xonhulu]

PBOT is a freakin awful acronym. Pee bot?

PDOT would be just as bad.  "Pee dot?"

[Bickendan]

I want to say yes, which is amusing because that isn't part of US 26 at all.

That's mostly why I asked -- it fits into the OP's theme of US 26 shields on former alignments in/near downtown.

I don't think it's actually part of OR 10, either, as that should end at the intersection with US 26, unless ODOT considers the designation to extend down Naito into downtown.

Of course, if you look a little further past the US 26/OR 10 pair, you can see an overhead BGS in the distance:

Technically, the portion of Naito Pkwy south of the Ross Island Bridge (shown in the image) is OR 10; it's just not US 26. Because ODOT is so unclear as to where the routes run in that area, OR 10 either ends at SW Barbur where Capitol Hwy ends, or it then goes north on Barbur and Naito to US 26. Likewise with OR 99W: It either ends at I-5(294) (CHM style exit reference), or it continues on Barbur out of Tigard and on Naito to US 26 (accepting the fact that OR 99W's been removed from N Denver, Interstate, the Steel Bridge and Naito north of US 26).
And we've covered the mess that US 26 deals with between I-405 and the Ross Island Bridge.

[sp_redelectric]

Technically, the portion of Naito Pkwy south of the Ross Island Bridge (shown in the image) is OR 10; it's just not US 26. Because ODOT is so unclear as to where the routes run in that area, OR 10 either ends at SW Barbur where Capitol Hwy ends, or it then goes north on Barbur and Naito to US 26. Likewise with OR 99W: It either ends at I-5(294) (CHM style exit reference), or it continues on Barbur out of Tigard and on Naito to US 26 (accepting the fact that OR 99W's been removed from N Denver, Interstate, the Steel Bridge and Naito north of US 26).

I can say that there are ODOT bridge inventory signs on both the Steel Bridge and the Denver viaduct that clearly state that those bridges are part of Oregon Highway 1W/Route 99W.  Of course those signs are not public guide signs but nevertheless they are there for anyone to see.

I believe that the abovementioned U.S. 26/Oregon 10 sign is still there but I rarely take Naito into downtown, I'm usually either on I-5 or Barbur straight onto 4th...  I know several years ago ODOT decided to re-designate Barbur/Naito as 99W but then reversed its course.  PBOT even installed some "to 99W" signs on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway (Oregon 10):


10atBertha by sp_redelectric, on Flickr

And this lone 99W sign at Hamilton:


BarburatHamilton by sp_redelectric, on Flickr

[sp_redelectric]

I want to say yes, which is amusing because that isn't part of US 26 at all.

That's mostly why I asked -- it fits into the OP's theme of US 26 shields on former alignments in/near downtown.

Funny...because at NO point was that stretch of Naito ever a part of U.S. 26!  Westbound coming off the Ross Island Bridge, one must head north on Kelly before finally getting onto Naito (a good 1500 or so feet north of the sign), and even then the desirable route - and the designated/signed route - is to make that left, underneath Barbur to Arthur, around the S-curve to Caurthers and get onto the 405 at 6th Avenue, taking the following exit onto the Sunset Highway - completely avoiding the downtown grid.  However, why it took ODOT so long to sign the eastbound routing in the same manner (having only adjusted the signs a few years ago to advise through 26 traffic to take 405 instead of Market Street)...beats me.

[OCGuy81]

Thank you! I KNEW I wasn't going crazy when I thought I saw a 26 shield on Clay last time I was in Portland. 

The whole area south of 405 seems to be a mess! Is it 10? 43? 26? 99W?  Aggghh! Are there any plans to modify the Ross Island and maybe try to clean up the access points to it?  Seems tough given the residential areas nearby.

[sp_redelectric]

The whole area south of 405 seems to be a mess! Is it 10? 43? 26? 99W?  Aggghh! Are there any plans to modify the Ross Island and maybe try to clean up the access points to it?  Seems tough given the residential areas nearby.

The most confusing parts are:

1.  Does Oregon 10 run north along Barbur from Capitol into downtown?  (And does it really need to?)

2.  Does Oregon 99W run north of Tigard?  ODOT can't make up its mind.

3.  What is the "official" routing of U.S. 26 - I believe ODOT has settled on via Arthur Street, 3rd Avenue (south of I-405), Sheridan and Broadway, and a short 1 1/2 block stretch of 5th Avenue, then I-405 between exits 1C and 1D.  But many people still stick with the old routing via Clay/Market and Naito.

4.  Oregon 43 is probably the least confusing, since it essentially ends just below the Ross Island Bridge at Interstate 5.  However Oregon 43 was not ever (at least not that I can recall) signed at all in downtown Portland and not at all on Naito Parkway/Front Avenue or Barbur Boulevard.  You have to just know how to get there.  But it is signed on the west end of the Ross Island Bridge - albeit, going eastbound/southbound the route markers appear to be omitted in favor of "Macadam Avenue Lake Oswego".  And the advance sign for exit 299A southound only says "Lake Oswego" - no mention of Oregon 43 or Macadam Avenue (although the signs right at the exit do have the Oregon 43 marker on it.)

However I doubt ODOT will do anything to improve Oregon 43 signage - ODOT is actively trying to get this road decommissioned.  The holdup is West Linn and I believe it very well might be possible that Oregon 43 within Portland and Lake Oswego may end up under local jurisidiction but ODOT will have to retain the remaining route within West Linn (and barely into Oregon City).

Why Oregon 10 is allowed to retain its route number is beyond me...given that so little of Oregon 10 is under state control.  Not as bad as Oregon 210 (which only has 1/2 mile remaining under ODOT jurisdiction), but still...

[OCGuy81]

Thank you, sp.  You're a really great poster when it comes to Oregon info!

That said, you raise another question.  Why is ODOT trying to get 43 decommissioned?  And 10 and 210?  Seems ODOT is in favor of passing the buck to the counties and letting them deal with the roads.

Does Oregon use County Shields at all?  Maybe re-sign 10, 43, and 210 with Washington County and Multnomah County route markers?

[xonhulu]

And this lone 99W sign at Hamilton:

Until a few years ago, there was also this shield assembly on southbound Barbur just south of the Hamilton intersection:



There are still a set of 99W shields looping around the Fred Meyer by the Terwiliger exit, necessitated by the lack of a left turn from northbound Barbur to eastbound Terwiliger: 






So like you said, plenty of inconsistent signage along Barbur!

[xonhulu]

That said, you raise another question.  Why is ODOT trying to get 43 decommissioned?  And 10 and 210?  Seems ODOT is in favor of passing the buck to the counties and letting them deal with the roads.

In many cases, the counties do a better job at maintaining the roads, so this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Does Oregon use County Shields at all?  Maybe re-sign 10, 43, and 210 with Washington County and Multnomah County route markers?

Don't forget the distinction Oregon makes between state highways and state routes: just because ODOT relinquishes maintenance doesn't mean the state route automatically disappears.

Despite the fact most of it isn't state-maintained, OR 10 is still very well-signed along its entire route.  Not so much for OR 210, but it still has decent signage.   So it isn't a given OR 43 will vanish after ODOT turns it over to the various cities.

However, having said that, it is true many routes along county roads have little or no signage.  Look at OR 8 along Gales Creek Rd. -- there is no mention of the state route at all after you leave OR 6 along the county road section until you are in Forest Grove, where I assume city maintenance has begun.  And the sections of former OR 99 in Douglas County are signed as that state route at the various I-5 exits, but on the roads themselves you only see Douglas County route shields.

[Bickendan]

Don't you mean left from southbound Barbur to northbound I-5? You can turn left from northbound Barbur onto northbound Terwilliger (which runs north-south, not east-west), and left from southbound Barbur to southbound Terwilliger.

Those signs directing you to northbound I-5 and OR 99W is for traffic trying to get back downtown, especially from the Fred Meyer, as they can't turn left onto Barbur from the lot as Barbur is divided in that area.

[sp_redelectric]

Until a few years ago, there was also this shield assembly on southbound Barbur just south of the Hamilton intersection:

I don't believe that sign lasted very long.  I cannot even remember it at all.

[Bickendan]

I do -- and I love the 2dOR shield that they used for 99W!

[sp_redelectric]

That said, you raise another question.  Why is ODOT trying to get 43 decommissioned?  And 10 and 210?  Seems ODOT is in favor of passing the buck to the counties and letting them deal with the roads.

The cities of Portland and Lake Oswego, along with Multnomah and Clackamas Counties, TriMet and Metro wanted to route a Portland Streetcar line south to Lake Oswego, and would use part if not much of Macadam Avenue and Oregon 43.  As a result ODOT would turn over the street to whoever, who in turn would rebuild it with the streetcar tracks.

Oregon 43 no longer really serves a significant "route of statewide importance" - it was the original Pacific Highway until McLoughlin Boulevard was constructed, and U.S. 99E moved east.  (And U.S. 99E in turn bypassed by Interstate 5.)  So it lingered along as a state highway as it passes through two counties and four cities but now that the route is completely urban and through traffic is served on other routes it isn't vital it remain a state highway.

The hangup is West Linn.  West Linn doesn't have any major streets to maintain and thus not a very large transportation budget.  It would only agree to accept its portion of 43, if ODOT spend some $20 or $25 million to completely rebuild the street (which is built to rural standards with shoulders, but very few parking areas, sidewalks, bike lanes, etc.  It is also in need of some serious repaving.)  ODOT is only offering a couple million to the city to cover basic maintenance expenses.  So it's possible that while Portland and Lake Oswego's portion might end up reverting to the cities, ODOT might still have to hang onto the West Linn section.  This isn't necessarily groundbreaking - Oregon 10, the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, is state jurisdiction in Beaverton and unincorporated Washington County, but once you reach the Portland/Multnomah County line it becomes a city street all the way to 99W.  And the "Forest Grove Spur" I believe is still ODOT maintained - the stretch of Oregon 8 west of 47 to downtown Forest Grove, but north of downtown Forest Grove is county maintained Gales Creek Road to Oregon 6.  There are probably dozens of similar examples as well...

I'm sure ODOT would love to get rid of a few other urban "highways" as well - Hall Boulevard in Tigard, Boones Ferry Road in Tualatin, 82nd Avenue, the U.S. 30 Bypass in North Portland...as well as some questionable, low-usage highways such as Yamhill County's Lafayette Highway, Amity-Dayton Highway (Oregon 233), the Bellevue-Hopewell Highway...but Yamhill County's road department is probably the worst in the Willamette Valley.  Nowhere near the quality of Washington or Clackamas County, or even Polk County.

[OCGuy81]

but Yamhill County's road department is probably the worst in the Willamette Valley.  Nowhere near the quality of Washington or Clackamas County, or even Polk County.

Agreed.  Visiting wineries in Dundee and Newberg over the summer, I noticed how rough all the roads were.  Is this ODOT's way of playing hardball with Dundee to get their bypass built, perhaps?

[sp_redelectric]

Agreed.  Visiting wineries in Dundee and Newberg over the summer, I noticed how rough all the roads were.  Is this ODOT's way of playing hardball with Dundee to get their bypass built, perhaps?

Well I was just referring to the actual county roads, but now that you speak of it!  ODOT has never had much love for the Yamhill County state highway system.  Oregon 99W and 18 deserve a lot more maintenance but it seems that all the money goes to Portland or Salem.  I know people that will avoid 99W/18 and would rather drive I-5 from Portland to Salem, then pick up 22 (even driving through downtown Salem) west to Willamina.  Even though it's 17 miles longer, Google Maps says it's only three minutes longer (in good traffic...not counting on a three mile backup through Dundee!)

[xonhulu]

Well I was just referring to the actual county roads, but now that you speak of it!  ODOT has never had much love for the Yamhill County state highway system.  Oregon 99W and 18 deserve a lot more maintenance but it seems that all the money goes to Portland or Salem.  I know people that will avoid 99W/18 and would rather drive I-5 from Portland to Salem, then pick up 22 (even driving through downtown Salem) west to Willamina.  Even though it's 17 miles longer, Google Maps says it's only three minutes longer (in good traffic...not counting on a three mile backup through Dundee!)

Yeah, 99W/18 is pretty bad.  It's not just Dundee -- if you drive it from I-5 to the coast, you will also have to negotiate the lengthy slow crawl through Tigard, pass through Sherwood (which isn't too bad), then get slowed down again in Newberg just to get to the Dundee traffic jam!

With the Salem Parkway depositing you almost right at the Marion Street bridge, it actually isn't too bad to get to OR 22 westbound, so that would definitely be a reasonable alternative to 99W/18, especially if you're o.k. with replacing stop-and-go travel with a longer drive at speed, something I definitely would choose.

As for Yamhill County:  I doubt ODOT has any conspiratorial grudge against the county.  There seems to be some desire to ditch little-traveled rural highways around the state, as sp_redelectric said earlier.  This might even be behind why so many of these routes have yet to be signed on the ground a decade after they were designated.

[sp_redelectric]

Yeah, 99W/18 is pretty bad.  It's not just Dundee -- if you drive it from I-5 to the coast, you will also have to negotiate the lengthy slow crawl through Tigard, pass through Sherwood (which isn't too bad), then get slowed down again in Newberg just to get to the Dundee traffic jam!

Tigard is awful for sure (I know, that's where I live) and the idea of putting MAX down 99W and removing two lanes of traffic is just mind-numbing...

For some reason, once you get past 124th Avenue in that little-known corner of Tualatin people seem to disregard those gigantic "SPEED 55" signs.  And I'm not talking about doing 80...try 45, or even 40.  In both lanes, at the same time.  It's so bad that if you see a cop on the road, people speed up.  But of course south of Sherwood to Sunset, it's that annoying 45 zone...

Newberg is much better than it used to be, now that there's three lanes in each direction, and the double 90 degree curve is relegated to the history book.  It's at the point Newberg really doesn't need a bypass, you can get from end to end in about five, ten minutes tops.  Ten minutes barely gets you from I-5 to 217 in Tigard.

Dundee...is where the nightmare really begins.  And after an hour of sitting in Dundee, you creep to the passing zone at Fulquartz Landing, where you gun it...just to slam on your brakes at Archery Summit Road.  Back to 30 MPH...make the left turn onto 18 at McDougall's Corner, people finally pick it up to 45 MPH...all the way to the McMinnville Airport.  Gun it for awhile on Three Mile Lane, and then you get past the McMinnville exit and it's back down to 45 MPH all the way to Sheridan (18 miles away)...

[Tarkus]

However, having said that, it is true many routes along county roads have little or no signage.  Look at OR 8 along Gales Creek Rd. -- there is no mention of the state route at all after you leave OR 6 along the county road section until you are in Forest Grove, where I assume city maintenance has begun.

It's actually county-maintained from OR-6 all the way to B Street (former OR-47).  The city maintains the Pacific/19th Avenue couplet and the brief 2-way bit from the end of the couplet (Maple Street) to current OR-47 (Quince Street).  It's state-maintained from there until the eastern terminus at US-26.

Yeah, 99W/18 is pretty bad.  It's not just Dundee -- if you drive it from I-5 to the coast, you will also have to negotiate the lengthy slow crawl through Tigard, pass through Sherwood (which isn't too bad), then get slowed down again in Newberg just to get to the Dundee traffic jam!

Tigard is awful for sure (I know, that's where I live) and the idea of putting MAX down 99W and removing two lanes of traffic is just mind-numbing...

For some reason, once you get past 124th Avenue in that little-known corner of Tualatin people seem to disregard those gigantic "SPEED 55" signs.  And I'm not talking about doing 80...try 45, or even 40.  In both lanes, at the same time.  It's so bad that if you see a cop on the road, people speed up.  But of course south of Sherwood to Sunset, it's that annoying 45 zone...

Newberg is much better than it used to be, now that there's three lanes in each direction, and the double 90 degree curve is relegated to the history book.  It's at the point Newberg really doesn't need a bypass, you can get from end to end in about five, ten minutes tops.  Ten minutes barely gets you from I-5 to 217 in Tigard.

Dundee...is where the nightmare really begins.  And after an hour of sitting in Dundee, you creep to the passing zone at Fulquartz Landing, where you gun it...just to slam on your brakes at Archery Summit Road.  Back to 30 MPH...make the left turn onto 18 at McDougall's Corner, people finally pick it up to 45 MPH...all the way to the McMinnville Airport.  Gun it for awhile on Three Mile Lane, and then you get past the McMinnville exit and it's back down to 45 MPH all the way to Sheridan (18 miles away)...

As someone who is commuting down OR-99W on a regular basis at present, that I-5 to 217 stretch is pretty brutal.  There needs to be a revolution in this state, before the TriMet goons ruin that bit of 99W to the point of no return.  And Sherwood sucks.  It's not the 45 zone that gets me so much as the horrendously-timed traffic signals and the general shoddy engineering, which, of course, the grease-ball police chief (being in Sherwood, I'd suppose he's the "Sheriff of Nottingham"?) ginned up with an obscene number of red light cameras.  I avoid that town at all costs, though the muckraker in me is inclined to return one day to film the signal timing, and, should I confirm my suspicions, expose the crap out of them.

And the speed on 18 from Three-Mile Lane on is mostly 55, as I recall.

(And speaking of 124th, 35mph is pathetic on that road.  It's the nicest freaking road in Tualatin, and it's a 35?!)

[sp_redelectric]

(And speaking of 124th, 35mph is pathetic on that road.  It's the nicest freaking road in Tualatin, and it's a 35?!)

Especially appalling, since Herman Road is a narrow two lane road with no shoulders and has a 45 MPH speed limit!