Talk:Mount Hood Highway

Did the ramp/approach structure from the Marquam Bridge ever exist? The bridge book and [1] show the southern half of the east end of both bridge decks not connecting to anything, but I'm not sure if anything ever connected to them before they were used to widen the I-5 approach--67.160.146.193 22:52, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

Also, I think this page should really be titled Mt. Hood Freeway. The Mt. Hood Highway extends from the Ross Island Bridge, around Mount Hood to Hood River [2]. While the Freeway would probably have been a part of the highway, it is not its only section.--67.160.146.193 01:57, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

I-5/Mt. Hood ramp structures

The ramp structure never was built out from the stubs on the Marquam Bridge's eastside. That picture you linked in shows exactly what the upper deck ussed to look like. There's a bigger one out there somewhere. I once found it on ODOT's website, but since they revamped their site, I can't seem to find aything that used to be there...

There was never any stubs out on I-205, since that portion was built after the Mt. Hood was axed. Part of the reason Multnomah County allowed I-205 to be built was that ODOT promised not to build any structure that could ever be connected to the Mt. Hood.

Ajbenj 03:24, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Thank you, I didn't think so. I may go ahead and fix the article, which sounds like there was one. Oh, and my picture (yes, that's me above) is Google Images' thumbnail of the picture from the old ODOT site. --Jason McHuff 19:40, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

One other thing: Am I correct that the "Mt. Hood Highway" designation is still used today, at least internally? The article starts out saying its "historical". And now that info about that roadway is here, I guess the page title can stay the same. --Jason McHuff 19:45, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

According to ODOT, the "Mount Hood Highway" refers to US 26 between the current interchange with I-5, out to the intersection with OR35 near Government Camp, and then OR35 north to Hood River. The term is commonly used (by motorists unfamiliar with ODOT's internal designations of things) to refer to most of that route; though Powell Boulevard and the Ross Island Bridge generally are not considered to be part of the Mt. Hood Highway by the average motorist (though they part of the ODOT-designated highway).

I'll go ahead and restructure the article so this article refers to the current route; and Mt. Hood Freeway (currently a redirect to here) refers to the proposed (and killed) freeway. --EngineerScotty 03:34, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Division street

Dammit, SPUI... I live in Beaverton... you mean I have to drive all the way across town to take a picture of the US 26 sign on Division Street?  :) Isn't that original research?  :) :) --EngineerScotty 04:25, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm. I'm looking at the ODOT video log right now, and the sign on the ramp from I-205 north, pointing US 26 east on Division Street, seems to confirm that. On the other hand, signage westbound in Gresham clearly puts US 26 on Powell Boulevard. How exactly is it signed? --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 04:39, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

And yet signage on US 26 east at I-205 points US 26 east on Powell. Are there any signs for US 26 east on the ramp from I-205 north to Powell, or do the signs only appear after crossing Powell? --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 04:42, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

I can't remember. What I do remember is that shortly after that part of I-205 opened (and for a while, the northern terminus of the Oregon section of I-205 was at Powell IIRC), it was for several years ILLEGAL to turn right onto Powell from I-205 N, or to turn right onto I-205 NB from Powell heading west. Likewise for Division and I-205 south. After neighbors complained, ODOT changed the signage to allow these right turns; the opposing left turns (like from Powell westbound to I-205 south) are still illegal.

This has long been a bit strange...and confusing. Powell is the official state highway (Division is a county road), yet it's two lanes for most of the distance between I-205 and Gresham. Clearly, ODOT is trying to route traffic onto Division.

Oh well... I think that when they finally build the Sunrise Corridor all the way out to US-26(that's currently a redirect to Oregon State Route 212, maybe I'll write an article one of these days), I think that they should sign IT as US 26 (along with OR-224 into Milwaukie, and McGloughlin north to the Ross Island Bridge) and make Powell Boulevard US-26 business. Of course, my wishes aren't encyclopedic, but this is a talk page so what the hell.  :)

Talk to you later... EngineerScotty 07:20, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

OK - so on the ramp from I-205 north to Powell, the only US 26 east signage is if you look across the intersection at the overheads for Division? Then, when you turn right on Division, what kind of signage is there? How frequent is it, and where does it point you to rejoin real US 26? Is there any westbound signage on Division? --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 23:31, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

I don't know without driving over to take a look...it's on the opposite side of town from where I am. To rejoin US 26 from Division heading East, one hangs a right on Burnside in Gresham, which then runs directly onto 26. (Traffic coming east on Powell has to turn right at an intersection onto the expressway that runs out of Gresham).

Just curious--do you live in the Portland area, or are you working with maps and ODOT cams? If the latter, I'm impressed...

A google map of the area I'm talking about is here, note that it only marks Powell as US26. --EngineerScotty 23:41, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

The latter. Do you know if that turn onto Burnside is signed?

How's this:

The Mt. Hood Highway and US 26 run along the two-lane Powell Boulevard from Interstate 205 east into Gresham. When I-205 was built, the ramps at Powell Boulevard were configured to only allow traffic towards the west, with US 26 east pointed along the four-lane Division Street, about 1/2 mile (1 km) to the north. (Right turns were even banned to and from the I-205 north ramps at first.) Division Street runs east into Gresham, where it meets Burnside Road, at which a right turn to the southeast leads into the Mt. Hood Highway and US 26. Despite this signage pointing US 26 east on Division Street, traffic already on US 26 is pointed straight along Powell Boulevard (the Mt. Hood Highway), in agreement with ODOT's route description.

Oregon Department of Transportation, Digital Video Log

Oregon Department of Transportation, Descriptions of US and OR Routes (PDF)

Feel free to edit it. --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 01:51, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

I'll add it. --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 19:00, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Looks good --EngineerScotty 20:27, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

End of Route 35

According to the route log, Route 35 ends at I-84 west of Hood River. Looking at the video log, signage ends it at US 30. Signage on I-84 itself shows Route 35 with no TO at the interchange east of Hood River, but I guess they figured they didn't need the TO because the road between that interchange and the Highway 26/Highway 100 intersection is officially a spur of Highway 2. --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 08:06, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Merge proposal

• Support, the articles say that the alignments of the two routes are very similar. Even if they're not 100% identical, if they're very similar, any differences between the two can be noted in a sentence or two in the route description. – TMF 17:58, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

• Support, there is no major distinction between the topics except for some minor accounting details. What a person looks for in one article is likely to be in both. —EncMstr (talk) 20:44, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
• Support - Per above. Dough4872 00:28, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

• Comment, I think this should be reconsidered. The Byway is not coextensive with the the Mount Hood Highway. They are not even in the same category. See this map of the Byway. The Byway is, basically, a tourist attraction. It also includes a section of the Historic Columbia River Highway and the road from Government Camp to Timberline Lodge. If I remember correctly it includes a few other meanders that aren't on the map. The Mount Hood Highway is a transportation artery defined by ODOT. It is not an important route except when Washington State Route 14 and I84 are both closed. This happens when the gorge ices up although you'd have to be desperate to take the route over the passes. –droll [chat] 01:54, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

P.S. I don't mean to say that highways 26 or 35 are unimportant. Both are important arteries. But they are the best way to travel from Hood River to Portland. –droll [chat] 08:55, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

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