Interstate 205 South - Happy Valley to Tualatin

The first Clackamas County exit on southbound I-205 is exit 16, Johnson Creek Blvd. Head west on Johnson Creek Blvd. to reach SE 82nd Ave/OR 213.

07/21/05

With fewer overpasses on this stretch of freeway, reassurance shields are mounted on ordinary signposts. This one is posted next to the left lanes, for some reason.

07/21/05

Distance sign for Sunnyside Road, the Milwaukie exit, and Webster Road. Though not elaborated on here, the Milwaukie exit is for OR 224 westbound to the suburb of Milwaukie.

07/21/05

Advance sign for exit 14, Sunnyside Road and Sunnybrook Blvd.

07/21/05

Use exit 14 to reach Clackamas Town Center (a large mall) and its satellite shopping center, Clackamas Promenade. Tonya Harding used to practice at Clackamas Town Center ice rink, but the rink, like the skater's career, has since been dismantled.

07/21/05

Gas and a "tourist attraction" (the Clackamas Aquatic Park) are also located at or near exit 14.

07/21/05

Exit 14, Sunnyside Road and Sunnybrook Blvd. This interchange was extensively refurbished in the early 2000s. Sunnybrook was extended across the freeway and new on/off-ramps added, presumably to relieve the crush of traffic that plagued the old Sunnyside Road interchange.

07/21/05

A view of exit 14 gore point signage and sign bridge just beyond. Notice the multi-lane off-ramp which now provides much better traffic control for motorists heading to the various destinations accessed here. Prior to its reconstruction, this interchange had been notorious for traffic tie-ups that clogged Sunnyside Road at almost any time of day.

07/21/05

Southbound Interstate 205 passes under the Sunnyside Road overpass.

07/21/05

Advance sign for the "Milwaukie exit" referred to in a previous distance sign. This will be exit 13, OR 224 westbound to Milwaukie.

07/21/05

Another post-mounted reassurance shield (this time next to the right lane) appears just prior to exit 13.

07/21/05

Though I-205 is nearly at the Milwaukie exit, it is again referenced on this distance sign. Distance is also given to Webster Road and the Estacada exit.

07/21/05

Exit 13, OR 224 westbound to Milwaukie. OR 224 westbound is the Milwaukie Expressway, a multi-lane highway with an interchange and several at-grade intersections. Advance sign for exit 12A, OR 224/ 212 eastbound is mounted next to the exit 13 sign.

07/21/05

Before reaching exit 12A, exit 12B provides access to Webster Road and Johnson City, a tiny incorporated community surrounded by mostly unincorporated Clackamas County neighborhoods.

07/21/05

Interstate 205 merges briefly with OR 224 east from a wye interchange with OR 213. OR 213 continues along the freeway south to Oregon City. OR 224 meanwhile departs the freeway at Exit 12A to join OR 212 east into nearby Clackamas.

08/27/06

Exit 12B departs Interstate 205 & OR 213 south and OR 224 east for McKinley Avenue and Roots Road to Johnson City and Webster Road. Webster Road travels west of Johnson City between OR 224 (Milwaukie Expressway) and Gladstone.

08/27/06

Exit 12A, OR 212/ 224 eastbound. Clackamas is an unincorporated urban area east of Milwaukie. OR 212 and 224 split about three miles east of I-205; OR 212 continues east through Damascus and Boring and eventually joins with US 26 southeast of Gresham. OR 224 heads southeast and leads to the community of Estacada.

07/21/05

Distance sign for Gladstone, Oregon City, and Downtown Oregon City at the Strawberry Lane overpass.

07/21/05

This small sign announces the corporate limits of the city of Gladstone, pop 11,450 (2001). Populations of towns aren't given on freeway signs in Oregon; this sign is no exception.

08/23/05

Overhead sign for exit 11, Gladstone. Another DMV can be accessed here.

07/21/05

Advance sign for Exit 10, OR 213/ Oregon City and Mollala. In addition to Salem, "Downtown Oregon City" is listed as a control destination on the sign to the left.

07/21/05

I-205 prepares to cross the Clackamas River and enter Oregon City. Incorporated in 1844, Oregon City (pop. 26,292 in 2002), is older than Portland. However, Oregon City's section of the Willamette River is not favorable for large boat traffic. Portland, with its prime location at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, was destined to be Oregon's leading city.

07/21/05

Another advance sign for Exit 10 to OR 213 south to Oregon City and Molalla is located just past the Clackamas River crossing.

07/21/05

I-205 southbound reaches exit 10, southbound OR 213. Notice the unorthodox upper and lowercase font used for the cardinal direction. Though never cosigned, OR 213 has piggy-backed with I-205 since merging with the freeway unnoticeably just south of exit 13. After exiting, OR 213 skirts the eastern edge of Oregon City and eventually ends up in the small Willamette Valley town of Molalla. From there it continues through rural parts of the valley until it reaches its southern terminus in Salem.

07/21/05

Advance sign for exit 9, OR 99E/ Downtown Oregon City and Gladstone.

07/21/05

Another distance sign for Downtown Oregon City, West Linn and 10th Street.

07/21/05

The right hand sign is an exit only sign for exit 9, OR 99E. On the left is an advance sign for exit 8, OR 43 northbound, West Linn and Lake Oswego.

07/21/05

Exit 9, OR 99E/ Downtown Oregon City and Gladstone. After exiting, turn right on OR 99E to head across the Clackamas River into Gladstone. Turn left to follow 99E south into downtown Oregon City. Prior to the 1970s, OR 99E was US 99E. Splitting just south of the interstate bridge in north Portland, US 99E and US 99W followed parallel courses through the Willamette Valley, rejoining to form US 99 at Junction City north of Eugene.

07/21/05

I-205 southbound crosses its third river, the Willamette, just west of Oregon City. Advance sign for exit 8, OR 43 northbound/ West Linn and Lake Oswego.

07/21/05

The freeway enters the corporate limits of West Linn, pop. 23,970 (2004).

08/23/05

Just across the Willamette, I-205 arrives at exit 8, OR 43 to West Linn and Lake Oswego. There is no cardinal direction indicated, but this is the southern terminus of OR 43; head north through West Linn and travel along the Willamette River to Lake Oswego.

07/21/05

Past the OR 43 exit, the landscape surrounding I-205 starts to take on a more rural feel.

07/21/05

Now on the west bank of the Willamette River, I-205 southbound gradually ascends a ridge. Northbound travelers in the opposite lanes are treated to views of the river and Oregon City.

07/21/05

The usual array of fast-food restaurants await hungry travelers at exit 6 in West Linn.

07/21/05

Notice the dry grass on the right embankment. Despite its rainy reputation, the Pacific Northwest has fairly dry summers. Grass turns brown quickly and grass and brush fires are fairly common along various stretches of interstate freeway during the hot, dry months of July and August.

07/21/05

Advance sign for exit 6, second West Linn exit and 10th Street.

08/23/05

Exit 6, West Linn/ 10th Street.

08/23/05

Beyond Exit 6, southbound I-205 travels through a woodland corridor. Making a gradual bend to the west since Gladstone, past West Linn, the freeway heads in a generally westward direction.

07/21/05

08/23/05

Advance sign for the next exit, exit 3, Stafford Rd/ Lake Oswego.

07/21/05

Distance sign for Interstate 5 and Salem.

08/23/05

The Tualatin River, the last river southbound I-205 crosses.

07/21/05

Exit 3, Stafford Road/ Lake Oswego. Though only minutes from major urban build-up, the landscape surrounding Stafford Road is decidedly rural. The suburb of Lake Oswego is several miles north and does not border I-205 at any point.

08/23/05

It is only 2 miles to the most important freeway in Oregon (and arguably of the entire Pacific Coast), Interstate 5. Though Tigard is repeatedly listed as a control city, I-205 never touches it. Instead, the southern terminus is the city of Tualatin.

08/23/05

1 mile advance sign for Jct. I-5.

08/23/05

Signs begin to segregate traffic headed for either northbound or southbound I-5. I-205 also passes into Washington County at this point.

08/23/05

Tualatin, the actual southern terminus point of I-205, is finally mentioned on a sign.

07/21/05

With I-5 rapidly approaching, I-205 now splits into separate northbound and southbound lanes.

07/21/05

Non-numeric exit sign for northbound I-5.

07/21/05

On the lanes approaching northbound I-5 is this advance sign for I-5 exit 289/ Tualatin and Sherwood.

07/21/05

A look at the lanes headed for I-5 southbound. Unlike its WS-DOT maintained northern terminus in Clark County, Washington, there are no "end Interstate 205" shields here.

08/23/05