Oregon Route 99E is an Oregon state highway that runs between Junction City, Oregon and an interchange with I-5 just south of the Oregon/Washington border, in Portland. It, along with OR 99W, makes up a split of OR 99 in the northern part of the state. This split existed when the route was U.S. Route 99, when the two branches were U.S. 99W and U.S. 99E. (Another such split occurred in California, but with the decommissioning of U.S. 99, that state elected to rename its U.S. 99W as Interstate 5, rather than preserve the directional suffix.)

Oregon Route 99E marker
Oregon Route 99E
Map
Route 99E; mainline in red, business route in blue
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length109.78 mi (176.67 km)
Existed1972–present
Major junctions
South end OR 99 / OR 99W in Junction City
Major intersections
North end I-5 / OR 120 in Portland
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountiesClackamas, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah
Highway system
OR 99 OR 99W

Currently, OR 99E and OR 99W do not reconvene at a northern junction in Oregon; OR 99W has been truncated from its original route, and ends in North Portland at an interchange with OR 99E and Interstate 5; nor is OR 99 (without a suffix) signed anywhere in Portland.

Route description

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Oregon 99E, 211 and 214 Direction Sign

OR 99E has its southern terminus in Junction City. Almost immediately after leaving the city limits the route crosses the Willamette River, and serves Willamette Valley towns such as Harrisburg and Tangent. North of Tangent, the route enters the city of Albany and serves as a main thoroughfare through town (for about a mile, OR 99E shares an alignment with US 20). At the northern end of Albany, OR 99E joins I-5.

OR 99E remains co-signed with I-5 until Salem where it again splits off from the interstate, serving many towns in northern Marion County. (A business route through Salem, OR 99E Business, consists of a section of OR 22 and the Salem Parkway; a previous alignment of OR 99E along Commercial Street, Fairgrounds Road, and Portland Road is often erroneously referred to as "99E" even though it is no longer part of the Oregon Route system). North of Salem, OR 99E serves the northern Willamette Valley, passing through cities such as Woodburn, Hubbard, and Canby, before entering the Portland metro area in Oregon City. The stretch between Canby and Oregon City is notorious for frequent and serious accidents.

Starting in Oregon City, and continuing through the suburban communities of Gladstone, Oak Grove and Milwaukie, OR 99E is known as McLoughlin Boulevard (after fur trader John McLoughlin). The road crosses the John McLoughlin Bridge just south of Gladstone. North of Milwaukie (and an interchange with OR 224), OR 99E is a high-capacity urban expressway.

In Portland, OR 99E continues as the McLoughlin Boulevard expressway until passing beneath the Ross Island Bridge (US 26), where it runs on the couplet of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (formerly Union Avenue) and Grand Avenue. It is the main north–south arterial through the central east side of the city. North of NE Broadway, OR 99E continues as MLK Jr. Boulevard and passes through several Northeast Portland Neighborhoods until its terminus at an interchange with I-5 and OR 120 in Delta Park, just south of the Columbia River crossing. (The interchange also involves Interstate Avenue, which was the prior route of OR 99W before the latter route was truncated).

History

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OR 99E was originally part of U.S. Route 99E (US 99E), which was created alongside US 99W in 1930 as part of a split of US 99 between Junction City and Portland.[1] The parallel highways ran through the Willamette Valley and the suffixed designations were proposed by cities on the west side.[2] In the 1950s and 1960s,[citation needed] I-5 (also signed as US 99 Bypass) was built parallel to US 99E and absorbed the Albany–Salem section of the highway to form a concurrency.[3] US 99, US 99E, and US 99W were decommissioned in December 1971 and replaced by their state counterparts the following year.[4][5]

Major intersections

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Note: mileposts do not reflect actual mileage due to realignments. Not all interchanges are shown on the I-5 overlap; for a full list see the I-5 exit list.
CountyLocationmi[6]kmDestinationsNotes
LaneJunction City32.3752.09 
 
 
 
OR 99 south / OR 99W north – Junction City, Eugene, Monroe, Corvallis
LinnHalsey19.3631.16  
 
OR 228 to I-5 – Brownsville, Sweet Home
Tangent7.8112.57  
 
OR 34 to I-5 – Corvallis, Lebanon
Interchange
Albany2.423.89 
 
US 20 west – Albany City Center, Corvallis
Southern end of US 20 overlap; interchange
2.173.49Jackson Street – Sunrise DistrictInterchange
1.402.25 
 
 
 
 
US 20 east to I-5 south – Lebanon, Eugene
Northern end of US 20 overlap
0.00
234.69
0.00
377.70
 
 
I-5 south – Eugene
Southern end of I-5 overlap
238.24383.41 
 
OR 164 north – Scio, Millersburg
Marion244.68393.77 
 
OR 164 south – North Jefferson
Salem249.35401.29Commercial StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
253.87408.56  
 
 
OR 22 / OR 99E Bus. north – Detroit Lake, Stayton
256.28412.44  OR 213 (Market Street) – Silverton, Lancaster Mall
258.68
46.08
416.31
74.16
 
 
I-5 north – Portland, Oregon State Fair, L. B. Day Amphitheatre, Salem City Center
Northern end of I-5 overlap
44.4671.55 
 
To I-5 / Chemawa Road (OR 99E Bus. south) – Chemawa, Keizer, Silverton
Woodburn32.8752.90 
 
OR 214 south – Woodburn City Center, Mt. Angel, Silverton
Southern end of OR 214 overlap
31.7051.02 
 
  
 
OR 214 north / OR 211 to I-5 – Newberg, Molalla
Northern end of OR 214 overlap
27.2643.87  
 
OR 551 to I-5 – Wilsonville
Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
ClackamasOregon City12.5620.21  OR 43 (Main Street) – Oregon City, West Linn, Lake Oswego, Portland
11.7318.88  I-205 – West Linn, Salem, Seattle, The DallesInterchange
Milwaukie5.468.79  OR 224 – Clackamas, Damascus, EstacadaInterchange
MultnomahPortland4.397.07Tacoma Street to Johnson Creek Boulevard – Sellwood BridgeInterchange
3.705.95Bybee Boulevard – Westmoreland, Sellwood, Eastmoreland, Reed CollegeInterchange; southbound exit and entrance
2.614.20Milwaukie Avenue – WestmorelandInterchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
2.333.75Holgate Boulevard – Reed College
1.492.40  US 26 (Powell Boulevard) – Ross Island Bridge, Gresham, Mount HoodInterchange
0.691.11Hawthorne BridgeSouthbound interchange and northbound at-grade intersection
0.390.63  Morrison Bridge to I-5Salem, SeattleSouthbound interchange and northbound at-grade intersection
0.000.00  Burnside Bridge to I-5Access via Couch Street
−0.18−0.29 
 
 
 
  I-84 east / US 30 east – Portland Airport, The Dalles
Southbound access is via Everett Street
−0.59−0.95Multnomah Street – Steel Bridge, Lloyd Center
−0.84−1.35 
 
To I-5 / Broadway – Memorial Coliseum, Broadway Bridge
−3.75−6.04 
 
US 30 Byp. (Lombard Street) – St. Johns Bridge, Astoria, Portland Airport, Hood River
−4.01−6.45Columbia Boulevard – Portland Meadows, Portland Airport
−4.46−7.18To Vancouver Way / Schmeer Road / Gertz RoadInterchange; southbound exit and entrance
−4.68−7.53Vancouver Avenue – Portland MeadowsSouthbound exit and entrance
−4.87−7.84To Gertz Road / Northeast 6th DriveInterchange; southbound exit and entrance
−4.88−7.85To Vancouver Way – Portland AirportNorthbound exit and entrance
−5.75−9.25Marine Drive east – Delta ParkInterchange
−5.97−9.61  I-5 – SeattleExit 307 on I-5
−6.09−9.80 
 
OR 120 west (Marine Drive) – Expo Center
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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KML is from Wikidata
  1. ^ Executive Committee (May 26, 1930). "Minutes of Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 159. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  2. ^ "Highway Signs To Be Reality". Corvallis Gazette-Times. May 23, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Official Highway Map of Oregon (Map). Oregon State Highway Department. 1965. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via State Library of Oregon Digital Collections.
  4. ^ U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (December 3, 1971). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 27. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via Wikisource.
  5. ^ Official Oregon Highway Map (Map). Salem: Oregon State Highway Division. 1972. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via State Library of Oregon Digital Collections.
  6. ^ Oregon Department of Transportation, Public Road Inventory Archived 2008-02-24 at the Wayback Machine (primarily the Digital Video Log), accessed April 2008