In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 199 (US 199) is a spur of the already decommissioned U.S. Route 99. The route is officially known as the Redwood Highway No. 25, according to the Oregon highways and routes. Its south end is at the California state line just north of the Collier Tunnel in California, while its north end is at Interstate 5 near the Redwood Spur in Grants Pass.
Route description edit
US 199 leaves the national forest as it enters Oregon and descends into the Illinois Valley, passing O'Brien and the west end of OR 46 in Cave Junction. North of Cave Junction, US 199 leaves the Illinois River, which curves west towards the ocean, and follows several small creeks past Selma to Hayes Hill Summit (elevation about 1700 feet/500 m). The highway descends from the summit alongside Slate Creek past Wonder and Wilderville and ends up in the Rogue River Valley, where it enters Grants Pass.[1]
South of downtown Grants Pass, US 199 meets OR 99 and OR 238 and splits at a partial interchange. The main Redwood Highway turns north with OR 99, passing through downtown and ending at exit 58 of I-5, while the Redwood Spur, locally known as Grants Pass Parkway, continues straight, bypassing downtown to end at I-5 exit 55. Both of these are signed in both directions as US 199, while signage on US 199 itself at the split only shows "OR 99 north" for the mainline through downtown and "to I-5" for the bypass. On I-5, exit 55 is marked as "US 199", but exit 58 is "OR 99 to US 199".[2] The Oregon Transportation Commission's defined routing of US 199 takes it along the main Redwood Highway through downtown,[3] and the OTC calls the spur to exit 55 "US 199 Spur",[4] but, consistent with signs on I-5 (but not on the surface), the Oregon Department of Transportation calls the spur US 199[5] and the downtown route OR 99 only.[6]
The older route through downtown is a one-way pair on Sixth (southbound) and Seventh (northbound) Streets, entirely overlapping OR 99 to I-5 exit 58, where OR 99 continues with I-5 to the north. The Caveman Bridge, a concrete through arch bridge built in 1927, carries Sixth Street over the Rogue River, while the parallel Seventh Street Bridge is a utilitarian bridge from 1960. The Grants Pass Parkway (Redwood Spur) also crosses the river on a four-lane bridge built in 1990;[7] before that bypass was completed, the spur began downtown on E (southbound) and F (northbound) Streets. Soon after the old and new routes join, the spur ends at a trumpet interchange with I-5 (exit 55).[1]
History edit
From the Oregon Mountain, US 99 followed the Illinois River as it turned northeast and branches past O'Brien and Waldo to north of Kerby. The final stretch ran easterly to Jacksonville via Wilderville, along the present US 199, Fish Hatchery Road, and OR 238.[8][9][10]
As part of Oregon's initial state highway system, the road from Grants Pass southwest to Wilderville and then along the Crescent City Plank Road to the state line was named the Grants Pass-Crescent City Highway No. 25 in November 1917.[11] A new highway between Gasquet and Kerby was completed by the two states in September 1926,[12] and in June 1929 the new Hiouchi Bridge over the Smith River was dedicated, bypassing the remainder of the old road over Howland Hill.[13] In 1948, US 199 became part of the Winnemucca to the Sea Highway, organized to promote the route that has largely become Nevada State Route 140 and Oregon Route 140 from I-80 at Winnemucca, Nevada to Crescent City.[14]
Although the highways in California US 299 and US 399 became state routes in 1964, the shorter US 199, which crossed a state line, remained. US 99 has since become Oregon Route 99 through Grants Pass, and US 199 now ends at I-5. The spur east from downtown Grants Pass to I-5 was built at the same time as I-5,[15] and in 1991 it was moved from E and F Streets to bypass downtown on the new Grants Pass Parkway.[5]
Major intersections edit
The entire route is in Josephine County.
| Location | Mile[2] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41.69 | California state line | ||
| Cave Junction | 28.95 |  OR 46 – Oregon Caves National Monument
|
|
| 8.79- 7.67 |
Old Redwood Highway to Fish Hatchery Road – Wilderville, Murphy | ||
| 7.09 | Riverbanks Road (OR 260) – Robertson Bridge, Berlin, Griffin Park | ||
| Grants Pass | 0.20- 0.05 |
 OR 238 – Murphy, Jacksonville
|
|
| 0.35- 0.01 |
    OR 99 south (Rogue River Highway) to I-5 (Redwood Spur) – Portland, Medford
|
South end of OR 99 overlap | |
| -0.87 | .svg){kind=small} F Street to I-5
|
Former Redwood Spur | |
| -0.94 | E Street | Former Rogue River Loop Highway (OR 260) | |
| -2.63 | Scoville Road | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| -2.74 |  I-5 / OR 99 north – Portland, Medford
|
||
Redwood Spur edit
All intersections are in Grants Pass, Josephine County.
| Mile[2] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| -0.69 |  US 199 south – Rogue Community College, Cave Junction, Crescent City
|
Junction of the spur with the mainline |
| -0.64 | OR 238 – Murphy, Jacksonville
|
|
| -0.55 | OR 99 south – Rogue River
|
No turn southbound onto OR 99 (that movement is made via Parkdale Drive) |
| -0.48 | OR 99 north (US 199 north)
|
No turn northbound onto OR 99 (that movement is made by remaining on the US 199 mainline) |
| -0.03 | Parkdale Drive, Park Street – Rogue River, Grants Pass City Center | |
| 0.24 | M Street – Grants Pass City Center, Old Town | |
| 0.86 | F Street – Grants Pass City Center, Old Town | Former Redwood Spur |
| 1.99 | I-5 – Portland, Medford
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
References edit
- ^ a b Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed December 2007 via ACME Mapper
- ^ a b c Oregon Department of Transportation, Public Road Inventory (primarily the Digital Video Log), accessed December 2007
- ^ Oregon Department of Transportation, Descriptions of US and OR Routes, July 2007
- ^ Oregon Transportation Commission, Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting, Auguest 16-17, 2005
- ^ a b Oregon Department of Transportation, Bypass #7 - Grants Pass Parkway, US 199, Redwood Highway, Highway 25 (MP 0.35-0.25, Y-0.69-Y1.99)
- ^ Oregon Department of Transportation, Grants Pass 7th Street Bridge Improvement Project, accessed December 2007
- ^ National Bridge Inventory database, 2006
- ^ Howard McKinley Corning, Dictionary of Oregon History, 1956, p. 127
- ^ Roger Brandt, Illinois Valley News, Early day 'Road to the Sea' marked initial efforts to open valley-coastal commerce, March 15, 2006
- ^ U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Division of History Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, Redwood National Park: History Basic Data, Chapter 9B: Roads, September 1, 1969
- ^ Oregon Department of Transportation, History of State Highways in Oregon, January 2007, pp. 187-189
- ^ Oakland Tribune, New Redwood Highway Completed, September 12, 1926
- ^ Oakland Tribune, Governors to Dedicate New Hiouchi Span, June 21, 1929
- ^ Nevada State Journal, June 15, 1948
- ^ National Bridge Inventory database, 2006
External links edit
- WestCoastRoads - U.S. Highway 199: Oregon
[[Category:U.S. Route 99|1]] [[Category:Three-digit U.S. Highways|99-1]] [[Category:U.S. Highways in Oregon|99-1]] [[Category:Roads in Josephine County, Oregon|U.S. Route 99-1]]