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.
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.
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.
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
Quote from: Bickendan on April 30, 2012, 09:58:05 PM
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Quote from: sp_redelectric on May 07, 2012, 08:47:20 PM
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.
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.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on May 08, 2012, 12:40:13 AM
Quote from: sp_redelectric on May 07, 2012, 08:47:20 PM
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.
Quote from: Tarkus on May 08, 2012, 04:58:02 PM
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?
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.
going precisely the speed limit is "hyperdrive" now?? :-D
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.)
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.
Quote from: Bickendan on May 09, 2012, 07:35:11 PM
This has been a problem since the "Keep Right Except to Pass" signs were removed in Oregon.
Why'd they remove the signs?
Quote from: Bickendan on May 09, 2012, 07:35:11 PMI-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...
Quote from: Bickendan on May 09, 2012, 07:35:11 PMI-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.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on May 11, 2012, 11:01:03 AM
Quote from: Bickendan on May 09, 2012, 07:35:11 PMI-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".
Yep, d'oh!
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. :(
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
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.
Quote from: meestersam on June 25, 2012, 09:31:56 PM
And driving I-5 south from the ship canal bridge into downtown Seattle through the convention center is just stunning, day or night.
And you usually have plenty of time to enjoy the view, because it's stop & go...
Favorite stretch of freeway - I-84 in the Columbia River Gorge. Beautiful drive. Also, I-84 east of Pendleton through Deadman's Pass. I love the views.
Least favorite stretch of freeway - I have to go with all of OR-217. That's one HEAVILY congested freeway. I think if they got rid of a few non-essential exits like Allen Blvd, Greenburg Rd, and Denny Rd (they all connect to Scholls Ferry Road not far from the freeway), and reserve the interchanges for major highways such as OR-8, 10, 210, and 99W, then it would be better. But we all know that's not going to happen.
Quote from: drummer_evans_aki on June 27, 2012, 11:58:07 AM
Least favorite stretch of freeway - I have to go with all of OR-217. That's one HEAVILY congested freeway. I think if they got rid of a few non-essential exits like Allen Blvd, Greenburg Rd, and Denny Rd (they all connect to Scholls Ferry Road not far from the freeway), and reserve the interchanges for major highways such as OR-8, 10, 210, and 99W, then it would be better.
Egh, I agree with removing exits from 217, however you pointed out two exits that generally need to stay - and omitted two that should go. From north to south:
Walker Road - too close to Canyon Road, serves just a residential collector street. That traffic can easily be routed to Canyon Road or Cedar Hills Boulevard. Maybe leave it as just an exit for southbound traffic/entrance for northbound traffic, to clear up the confict with Canyon.
Canyon Road/Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway - this interchange needs some work. Frankly, Canyon/T.V. Highway should be a freeway, or at least an expressway, from 217 to Shute Park in Hillsboro. But Metro seems to think T.V. Highway should be a lot more like a 25 M.P.H. street. It would be good to install a flyover ramp from 217 NB to Canyon/TV Highway WB, and a direct ramp from Canyon to 217 SB without having to cross Beaverton-Hillsdale.
Allen - It's too close to Beaverton-Hillsdale, but it serves an important industrial area. I could see reconfiguring the NB exit/entrance into a jughandle (using the old Greenwood Inn property that was razed and is sitting dormant). SB is a bit harder to figure out because of the railroad. Shutting this exit down would require improvements to get truck traffic to Western Avenue via Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway (already a congested route).
Denney - shut it down. Easy access from Scholls Ferry and Hall Boulevard, like Walker it's just a residential collector street. Maybe Denney could be the exit for SB traffic but Allen for NB traffic, with Western Avenue extended south to Denney for the truck traffic.
Hall (SB only) - This one is pretty important.
Scholls Ferry - NB is important, but SB is a poorly designed, cramped ramp. Traffic can use Hall instead; it's a quick left turn, one block to Scholls Ferry.
Greenburg - this exit is pretty important as well; it has direct access to Washington Square, downtown Tigard, and a number of commercial and industrial areas. Plus it isn't necessarily unsafe or too close to another exit. Even though it looks close to Scholls Ferry I never have a problem getting on/off at Greenburg. Let it stay.
99W - no question, it stays
72nd - This is one exit that makes no sense. Not only does 72nd have plenty of good access via 99W but it has multiple accesses to/from I-5, including Upper Boones Ferry Road (Carmen) to get on/off 217 via I-5. Especially SB it is another too-small, cramped ramp, and the on-ramp makes it impossible to do anything but go onto I-5 SB (and yet people try to get onto I-5 NB from 72nd...WHY? Just use 72nd to 99W to I-5!)
I've used the ramp from 72nd to get to I-5 north quite a bit. The problem isn't so much the proximity between 72nd and 65th (which is I-5); it's the boneheaded design of the I-5 interchange -- a freeway to freeway interchange... with stoplights.
ODOT fixed part of the problem with the I-5 north to OR 217 north flyover, but the overall problem still exists. If the interchange had been properly built in the first place, traffic coming in from 72nd would have to weave to the far left to make the left hand turn at the second signal to go on I-5 north. They'd likely be exiting to the right.
Sadly, the idiocy won't be limited to the Kruse Way interchange -- the future Sunrise Freeway (OR 212-224) will have the same issues at I-205 (rebuild of I-205, OR 213, 224 with 212 rerouted).
Quote from: Bickendan on June 29, 2012, 07:09:00 AM
I've used the ramp from 72nd to get to I-5 north quite a bit. The problem isn't so much the proximity between 72nd and 65th (which is I-5); it's the boneheaded design of the I-5 interchange
Is there even room for a cloverleaf loop from 217 SB to I-5 NB? Maybe there was when the interchange was built; certainly not anymore.
It's still a ramp that has so many other alternates that it's not needed:
Traffic from 72nd to I-5 north can use either 99W, Haines, or Upper Boones Ferry/Carman
Traffic from 72nd to Kruse can use 72nd to Bonita to Bangy to Kruse; or backtrack to 99W and use 217 to Kruse
Traffic from 72nd to I-5 south can use the Dartmouth ramp, or Upper Boones Ferry Road
No, no room for a cloverleaf loop. It'd have to be a flyover or 'duckunder', which by necessity render the ramp from 72nd to 217 south a safety hazard. I can see the use for the other ramps at 72nd (and 217 north to 72nd's the most arguable of the set), but 72nd to 217 south could be eliminated without too much ill-effect.
Quote from: Bickendan on May 09, 2012, 07:35:11 PM
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.
I would say that slow drivers are more a result of the local driving culture than any amount of signage. Having lived back east for awhile where freeways into central cities have posted speed limits of 50 like the Portland metro area with numerous curves, bad sight lines, exits to the left, yet people there will be driving 70-75 during the off peak hours. I like that Oregonians are generally pretty laid back, but that drawback seems to mean people in the left lane oblivious to others around them. Another potential reason is the enforcement of speeding. Oregon's fines are a bit stiffer than what I have seen in other states, and the grace area is much smaller.
Favorites:
US-101 along the South Coast
US-97 from Chiloquin to Klamath Falls (nice drive along Upper Klamath Lake)
OR-66 from Ashland-Klamath Falls
Also, a lot of OR-22 and US-20 from Silverton to Bend/Redmond is scenic, and of course Crater Lake
Least favorites:
I-5 from Wilsonville to Albany- took this route a couple hundred times as an OSU student, no scenery at all just farmland and buildings in Salem
217 during rush hour...of course
Quote from: ctroadgeek on July 10, 2012, 02:15:20 AMAnother potential reason is the enforcement of speeding.
Aside from the unmarked Ford Mustangs in Marion County...WHAT enforcement? ;-)
It's well known that there is virtually no speed enforcement on the freeways in Portland - OSP is so incredibly strapped for manpower that their troopers are focused mostly on I-84, U.S. 26, Oregon 212/224. There is no OSP office in Multnomah or Washington County (the OSP metro area office is in Clackamas near the I-205/224 interchange); western Washington County is patrolled out of the McMinnville office of all places, and generally they have their hands tied up dealing with Oregon 18 (especially through the Van Duzer Corridor, which passes through not only Polk and Lincoln Counties, but a sliver of Tillamook County as well.)
Portland Police doesn't have the time to patrol the freeways. Multnomah County generally focuses on east county so they will also patrol I-84 east of Troutdale but not west.
Beaverton will snag the speeders on U.S. 26 westbound as a money-making tool, only because there's a convenient place for them to sit on the Cemetery overpass, and park a bunch of cruisers and cycles on the wide shoulder just to the west (where the emergency access is to the MAX tunnel).
Neither Tigard, Tualatin or Lake Oswego have much interest patrolling a freeway on the edge of their cities. After all, if they pull someone over on the wrong side of the road, it's a long trip to the county courthouse (in Hillsboro or Oregon City). Wilsonville doesn't have its own police department, instead using Clackamas County Sheriff's deputies (even in the north of town which is in Washington County...but again that means having to go to court in Hillsboro.)
I always found Oregon cops easier to spot even when hidden versus California. The yellow license plates are kind of a giveaway.
Quote from: sp_redelectric on July 11, 2012, 11:52:27 PM
Quote from: ctroadgeek on July 10, 2012, 02:15:20 AMAnother potential reason is the enforcement of speeding.
Aside from the unmarked Ford Mustangs in Marion County...WHAT enforcement? ;-)
It's well known that there is virtually no speed enforcement on the freeways in Portland - OSP is so incredibly strapped for manpower that their troopers are focused mostly on I-84, U.S. 26, Oregon 212/224. There is no OSP office in Multnomah or Washington County (the OSP metro area office is in Clackamas near the I-205/224 interchange); western Washington County is patrolled out of the McMinnville office of all places, and generally they have their hands tied up dealing with Oregon 18 (especially through the Van Duzer Corridor, which passes through not only Polk and Lincoln Counties, but a sliver of Tillamook County as well.)
Portland Police doesn't have the time to patrol the freeways. Multnomah County generally focuses on east county so they will also patrol I-84 east of Troutdale but not west.
Beaverton will snag the speeders on U.S. 26 westbound as a money-making tool, only because there's a convenient place for them to sit on the Cemetery overpass, and park a bunch of cruisers and cycles on the wide shoulder just to the west (where the emergency access is to the MAX tunnel).
Neither Tigard, Tualatin or Lake Oswego have much interest patrolling a freeway on the edge of their cities. After all, if they pull someone over on the wrong side of the road, it's a long trip to the county courthouse (in Hillsboro or Oregon City). Wilsonville doesn't have its own police department, instead using Clackamas County Sheriff's deputies (even in the north of town which is in Washington County...but again that means having to go to court in Hillsboro.)
You're going to hate it when you finally do get pulled over if you speed. I've seen the OSP trolling I-205 around Gladstone many a time, and I've seen them on the Baldock Freeway between Tualatin and Tigard. I've seen the Portland Police pull someone over on the Banfield. Don't get complacent and think because the OSP's strapped for manpower or the Portland Police doesn't have time they won't pull you over if they need to issue onnne more ticket to qualify for free doughnuts and coffee at Krispy Kreme.
No wonder the Krispy Kreme off of Cornell Rd. is still doing well, what with that speed trap right before Murray Blvd. on US 26 westbound. ;-)
Quote from: Bickendan on July 12, 2012, 01:24:26 AMI've seen the OSP trolling I-205 around Gladstone many a time
Because the OSP office is at the junction of I-205 and 224 now...
QuoteI've seen them on the Baldock Freeway between Tualatin and Tigard
There's a median pullout on I-5 (Baldock Freeway? Nobody calls it that, not even ODOT!!), right smack between I-205 and Tualatin-Sherwood Road. Popular for them to bust folks coming out of the 65 zone and not dropping down to 55. But the good part is that you can see the officer before he can gun you. So you have to be blind to get caught there. But once you pass him, it's extremely difficult to do any sort of speed enforcement north of there owing to a jersey barrier, a lack of any police pullouts, heavy traffic (especially heavy merging traffic), and in some cases some narrow shoulders. Plus, OSP has a "worksite" at the Tualatin Police station so troopers sometimes work there.
That said...maybe I've been lucky because after 19 years I have yet to get a speeding ticket in Oregon. I very much enjoyed my Montana speeding ticket (my one and only). It didn't even register on my driving records as it was essentially equal to a parking ticket. Could have just handed the cop a $20 bill - if I had a $20 bill on me.
^Which would be considered bribing an officer if in Portland!
Sure enough, Friday afternoon Portland's finest had a motor officer sitting on I-5 southbound at the Hood onramp.
That said, I was with a friend of mine who has a tendancy to buy retired police cruisers, and for some reason people don't like to drive fast around him.
And...yes...giving a $20 to an officer in Portland would probably result in a Taser shock. If not worse.
My favorite is definitely US 101 on the Oregon Coastline. It doesn't get any prettier than that. My least favorite... I honestly don't know. Maybye somewhere along the lines of I-5 in Seattle because of its ugliness and late-in-the-day traffic.
Quote from: 707 on July 17, 2012, 02:14:28 AMMy favorite is definitely US 101 on the Oregon Coastline.
Is there a stretch of 101 in Oregon that qualifies as a "freeway" or even an "expressway"? Even the Lincoln Beach divided stretch has a 45 MPH speed limit with intersections...I guess there are the 101/18 and 101/26 interchanges.
The Cannon Beach Bypass comes close to a Super-2 feel, and it includes the Sunset Junction (US 26).
101 from Coos Bay to Coquille (the original route prior to the 1961 bypass heading to Bandon) is an early postwar expressway design other than the last four miles of two lane road heading into Coquille. Some parts have been modernized but there are enough divided sections with differing elevations to let a person see how 101 followed the terrain instead of taming it. The improved sections show the modern way to build a road.
ODOT classifies 101 and the old section which became state route 42 as expressway. Plans to extend the 4-lane to Coquille have been discussed in the past but ODOT gives this region of Oregon short shrift. Lots of yak-yak over various proposals but no action.
Rick
Quote from: kkt on June 26, 2012, 06:55:01 PM
Quote from: meestersam on June 25, 2012, 09:31:56 PM
And driving I-5 south from the ship canal bridge into downtown Seattle through the convention center is just stunning, day or night.
And you usually have plenty of time to enjoy the view, because it's stop & go...
Ha, exactly.
I have been thinking about this thread and how 5 through Seattle gets a bum rap. The view of downtown from the south is also quite nice. The first clear day when I turned around the curve at Exit 161 and saw Mount Rainier looming in the distance was really something else. Maybe I'm still on an emotional high from moving here and I'll learn to hate I-5 without mitigation soon enough.
I've seen lots uglier roads than I-5 through Seattle. For instance, I was just in the Bay Area, and the Nimitz through Oakland. Narrow lanes, tangent sections running into each other with no curve connecting them, no shoulders, lots of garbage on the sides of the road, and of course heavy traffic and lots of drivers who play chicken while cutting in.
Mt. Rainier makes a lot of things better. I hope you go for a closer look, if you haven't already.
I-84 in Oregon:
Columbia River Gorge, esp btw jeo Portland and The Dalles. Besides the scenery, you won't find a quicker transition from rainforest to desert anywhere else. Pendleton to La Grande is pretty, too. Be sure to admire the expansive view at Emigrant / Cabbage Hill.
The remainder can be nice. Heading westbound along the Columbia at sunset is great. There are some good spots in eastern Oregon, too (see Baker Tower in Baker City).
I-82 in Washington:
Yakima to Ellensburg, especially, but the rest has its own appeal to me. The Yakama nation has a restaurant in Toppenish that serves a native menu. The Teapot Dome gas station is nearby and being restored. And there's a great vista point not too far off the highway in Prosser. http://goo.gl/maps/5MOQA (http://goo.gl/maps/5MOQA)
Most of I-5 in southern Oregon is pretty, but as mentioned elsewhere lacks climbing lanes. This is how it used to be done, son! Canyonville is a quaint little town. From a highway-evolution perspective, one spot in Medford is interesting (http://goo.gl/maps/4qQCg (http://goo.gl/maps/4qQCg)): they built a new SPUI and removed the older interchange just to the north. There are a bunch of motels and fast-food places that had a perfect end-of-the-ramp location that are not so blessed anymore.
I like the Snoqualmie stretch of I-90 in Washington, but haven't driven it recently enough to be specific.
Also, I'm not sure if it really counts as the Northwest.. but I would recommend the stretch of I-15 between Great Falls and the ID-MT line to anyone. Gorgeous in a lot of spots, with more history and anachronism than you can shake a stick at. (Roadside "radon health mines", an expansive historic district in Butte, huge mining headframes interspersed with houses, unpaved towns at several exits.)
Perhaps I am giving I-5 in Seattle an unnecessary hard time. I guess its just the rush hour traffic that makes me put it down. I will say though, I-5 in Seattle certainly beats the I-95 Cross Bronx Expressway in New York. It's filled with potholes, nowhere near the width of I-5 (which is six lanes where I-95 in the Bronx is four) and don't even get me started on the small tunnels and traffic.
Quite a while since my trip up north, but here's mine:
Best
~ I-5 in Seattle
This section of I-5 is really pretty, especially going northbound toward Seattle. The views are great and it was even better driving through that section during sunset. The I-5 Express Lanes were also a nice experience.
~ I-5 in southern Oregon
All the hills are so pretty...
~ US-26 in Portland
Driving east from Tillamook, it's amazing to see how quickly the rural areas turned into urban Portland.
Worst
~ I-5 in the Willamette Valley
Really boring stretch of freeway, very reminiscent of the Central Valley a couple hundred miles south.
Best:
- I-84 in the Columbia Gorge - Duh.
- I-90 through the Snoqualmie Pass
- The Sunset Highway from Sylvan through the Vista Ridge Tunnels - I love the fact that it's such a dense forest, but then you pass through a tunnel and BAM! you're in Portland.
- WA-7 south of I-5 to South 38th - For a similar reason as above, though not as picturesque as the Sunset.
- I-5 from Ashland to Sweet Home, save for Medford, Canyonville, and Roseburg - I happen to like this section, but then again I love forests.
- I-5 from Burlington to Bellingham - For the same reason as above, though not as hilly as the prior stretch
- The TCH from Hope to Kamloops
- Most of I-205, but especially between I-5 (Tualatin) and West Linn (Exit ８).
- I-5 entering Portland from the South, especially once the construction ends between Terwilliger and Corbett Ave.
Worst:
- OR-217 - SO CONGESTED. 50 MPH, poorly-spaced interchanges, no room to expand, and two lanes except for Walker to the Sunset.
- I-5 through Portland or Seattle - As a native Portlander, it pains me to say that Seattle's stretch is better, though not by much. Portland at least eschews with the random left-lane exits, but is only two lanes most of the way and clogged.
- I-705 - I went to school in Tacoma, so I know this freeway well. The part where it becomes Ruston Way is nice... but it isn't a freeway, so it doesn't count. Exception: The pedestrian bridge featuring the Dale Chihuly glass.
- I-5 between Albany and Coburg - This is not only the most boring road I've driven on, but because it's so flat it's hard to gauge my speed, so I end up going 85 without realizing it. Plus, when it rains, the road reflects the gray from the sky, making it a little bit dangerous.
- I-5 from JB Lewis-McChord to Fife - My god. If there's any accident along that stretch it takes hours to get past it. It also doesn't help that the I-5/WA-16 interchange is under construction again... and now working in I-705/WA-7. And god help you if you try to exit onto WA-512 from I-5 south.
- WA-518 if you're trying to get to SeaTac from I-5 North. Good lord, so many close calls and short merges.
- I-84 and I-82 in and around Hermiston - Your nose can tell you why that's on there.
- WA-16 used to be on this list before they added another Galloping Gertie.
- Any freeway in and around Vancouver, BC. Especially BC-99 south to the border (clogged through the tunnel/bridge between Richmond and Delta), but especially the TCH from North Vancouver to Fraser Heights at least.