The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately
scenic highway
A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoint ...
in the U.S. state of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
between
Troutdale and
The Dalles
The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...
, built through the
Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the sta ...
between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United States, it has been recognized in numerous ways, including being listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, being designated as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
by the
U.S. Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
, being designated as a
National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
by the
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, and being considered a "destination unto itself" as an
All-American Road
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by C ...
by the
U.S. Secretary of Transportation
The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...
. The historic roadway was bypassed by the present
Columbia River Highway No. 2
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
(
Interstate 84) from the 1930s to the 1950s, leaving behind the old two-lane road. The road is now mostly owned and maintained by the state through the
Oregon Department of Transportation
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...
as the Historic Columbia River Highway No. 100 (still partially marked as
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
; see
Oregon highways and routes
The state highway system of the U.S. state of Oregon is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the Highway Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Highways and routes
The state highway system consists of abo ...
) or the
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), officially known (in state law) as the State Parks and Recreation Department, is the government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon which operates its system of state parks. In addition, it has pro ...
as the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail.
The original highway was promoted by lawyer and entrepreneur
Sam Hill and engineer
Samuel C. Lancaster, to be modeled after the great scenic roads of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. From the very beginning, the roadway was envisioned not just as means of traveling by the then popular
Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
, but designed with an elegance that took full advantage of all the natural beauty along the route.
When the
United States highway
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
system was officially established in 1926, the highway became the part of
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
. Since then, modern
Interstate 84 has been built parallel to the highway between
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
and The Dalles, replacing it as the main travel route and resulting in the loss of some of the original sections of road.
History
Planning and construction
![National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Columbia River Scenic Highway 1984](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/National_Historic_Civil_Engineering_Landmark_Columbia_River_Scenic_Highway_1984.jpg)
The
Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the sta ...
is the lowest crossing of the
Cascade Mountains
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
, carved by the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
during the Cascades'
uplift
Uplift may refer to: Science
* Geologic uplift, a geological process
** Tectonic uplift, a geological process
* Stellar uplift, the theoretical prospect of moving a stellar mass
* Uplift mountains
* Llano Uplift
* Nemaha Uplift
Business
* Uplif ...
. Rafting down the gorge from
The Dalles
The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...
was one of the most expensive and dangerous parts of the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
, traveled by thousands of
emigrant
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
s to the
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...
, until the
Barlow Road
The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...
opened in 1846 around the south side of
Mount Hood
Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...
. A wagon road was finally built through the gorge in the 1870s, when
The Dalles and Sandy Wagon Road was constructed along the south shore from The Dalles to the
Sandy River east of Portland. However, this road had steep (20%)
grade
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also ref ...
s and a crooked and narrow alignment, and it was not until 1882 that the
Oregon Railway and Navigation Company
The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a ...
finally opened a water-level route, partially destroying the wagon road. With the onset of the automobile and the
good roads movement
The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. A key player was the United States Post Office Department. Once a commitment was made for Rural F ...
of the early 20th century, a road was once again needed, and
Multnomah County
Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...
began constructing a 20-foot (6 m) roadway with 9% grades, but ran into difficulties relating to the railroad's location. At
Shellrock Mountain to the east, long believed to be an impassable barrier, Governor
Oswald West
Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon.
He was called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the mo ...
used
prison labor in 1912 to prove that it was possible to build a road, at least temporarily.
![America's Great Highway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/America%27s_Great_Highway.jpg)
The eventual highway was primarily designed by
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
and
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
Samuel C. Lancaster, a lifelong friend of good roads promoter
Samuel Hill
Samuel Hill (13 May 1857 – 26 February 1931), usually known as Sam Hill, was an American businessman, lawyer, railroad executive, and advocate of good roads. He substantially influenced the Pacific Northwest region's economic dev ...
. His first contribution to the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
was as a consultant for
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
's
Olmsted boulevard system, part of its preparations for the 1909
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. In 1908, the two traveled to Europe for the
First International Road Congress
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...
, where Hill represented the state of Washington. Hill was especially impressed by
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
's
Axenstrasse
The Axenstrasse is an two-lane middle section with ongoing traffic between the A4 motorway and the A2 motorway, and part of European route E41 between the resort of Brunnen in the canton of Schwyz to the village of Flüelen in the canton of Ur ...
, a road built along
Lake Lucerne
__NOTOC__
Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central ...
in 1865 that included a
windowed tunnel, and wanted to build a similar scenic highway through the Columbia River Gorge. With Lancaster's help, Hill built the experimental
Maryhill Loops Road
The Maryhill Loops Road was an experimental road in south central Washington, United States, built by Good Roads promoter Samuel Hill with the help of engineer and landscape architect Samuel C. Lancaster. Laid in 1911 as the first asphalt road in ...
from the river east of the gorge up the
Columbia Hills to his planned
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
utopian community
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...
at
Maryhill
Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road.
The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station.
History
Hew Hill, ...
. The road was the first
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
road in the state, designed with gradual
horseshoe curve
A horseshoe curve is a class of climbing curve in a roadbed which reverses turn direction (inflection) twice on either side of a single tight curve that varies through an angle of about 180 degrees or more.
Such curves are more commonly found ...
s to avoid steep grades. However, Washington's lawmakers denied his request for a cross-state trunk route on the river's north bank, and Hill crossed the river to Oregon, the last of the states in the far
Western U.S.
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
to create a
highway department. With the help of his life-size model at Maryhill, he convinced the state legislature to create the
State Highway Commission in 1913, which would work with the
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
to build roads. The
Multnomah County
Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...
commissioners agreed later that year that the state should design the route to distance it from county
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, and set aside an initial $75,000.
![HCRH gorge view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/HCRH_gorge_view.jpg)
In laying out the highway, Lancaster sought not only to create a transportation artery, but to make the gorge's "beautiful waterfalls, canyons, cliffs and mountain domes" accessible to "men from all climes". According to
locating engineer John Arthur Elliott,
Lancaster began surveying near the
Chanticleer Inn, where Larch Mountain Road, part of Multnomah County's existing road network, began climbing the hills of the gorge. For five months, from September 1913 to January 1914, he laid out a route for about 21 miles (34 km) to the
Hood River County line west of
Cascade Locks
Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the l ...
. The alignment generally had a maximum
grade
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also ref ...
of 5% and
curve radius of 200 feet (60 m), and was wide enough for 18 feet (5.5 m) of
macadam (later
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
) and two 3-foot (1 m)
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
shoulder
The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...
s. To accomplish this, Lancaster used curves similar to the road he had designed at Maryhill where the highway descended from
Crown Point.
![HAER HCRH OR-36-H-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/HAER_HCRH_OR-36-H-1.jpg)
To carry rainwater off the road, Lancaster designed a comprehensive drainage system, including raising the center of the road, installing
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
curb
A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway.
History
Although curbs have ...
s and
gutter
Gutter may refer to:
Water discharge structures
* Rain gutter, used on roofs and in buildings
* Street gutter, for drainage of streets
Design and printing
* Gutter, in typography, the space between columns of printed text
* Gutter, in bookbi ...
s as on a city street, and taking the road over heavy flows on
culverts. Eleven larger
reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
bridges and several full or
half viaducts were specially designed for the Multnomah County portion of the highway, taking the road over streams or along steep hillsides with a minimum of earthmoving.
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
was used for
retaining wall
Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides.
Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...
s, which kept the highway from falling off the hillside, and
guard walls, which kept drivers and pedestrians from falling off the road. At
Oneonta Bluff, the highway passed through the first of five tunnels, as the land to the north was taken by the rail line. With the completion of the
Oneonta Tunnel and a number of bridges, the road was open to traffic west of
Warrendale, near
Horsetail Falls, by October 1914. In April 1915, Multnomah County voters approved the cost of covering the initial macadam with a patented long-lasting
bituminous mixture known as
Warrenite, which was completed to the county line by the end of the summer.
For the section west of the Chanticleer Inn, Multnomah County generally made improvements to existing roads. Base Line Road (Stark Street) stretched east from Portland almost to the Sandy River; the roadway east of Troutdale Road to the river, including the present Sweetbriar Road, was somewhat circuitous. An old wooden
Pratt
Pratt is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include:
A–F
* Abner Pratt (1801–1863), American diplomat, jurist, politician, lawyer
* Al Pratt (baseball) (1847–1937), American baseball player
* Andy Pratt (baseball) (bor ...
through truss
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
bridge over the Sandy collapsed on April 25, 1914, and its steel replacement was built as part of the Columbia River Highway project. A new extension of Base Line Road, built in 1915, gradually descended the riverbank to the bridge.
Between the river and the inn, existing roads were incorporated into the highway, which bypassed other sections such as Nielson Road and Bell Road. The county built a second approach to the highway in 1916, using the existing
Sandy Boulevard to Troutdale and a 1912 through truss bridge that connected to Woodard Road. A new roadway bypassed Woodard Road's steep grades, following the riverbank to the east end of the 1914 bridge. The entire length of the highway in Multnomah County was maintained by the county until January 16, 1930, when the state took over maintenance of the Sandy Boulevard route. (Stark Street was never a state-maintained highway,
[ though for a time it was signed as U.S. Route 30 Alternate.)
]
Beyond Multnomah County, State Highway Department engineer John Arthur Elliott surveyed a route along the river through Hood River County in 1913 and 1914, mostly using the 1870s wagon road where available. County voters approved a bond issue in mid-1914 to pay for construction west of the city of Hood River, helped by highway promoter Simon Benson
Simon Benson (September 9, 1851 – August 5, 1942) was a noted Norwegian-born American businessman and philanthropist who made his mark in the city of Portland, Oregon.
Biography
Background
Simon Benson was born Simen Bergersen Klæve in th ...
's purchase of the entire issue and promise to pay any overruns. The most difficult location was at Mitchell Point, where the old road included grades of up to 23% to take it over a saddle
The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...
, and the railroad occupied the only available land between the cliff and the river. Elliott solved the problem by building the Mitchell Point Tunnel—a windowed tunnel like on Switzerland's Axenstrasse—through the cliff, with a viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
on the west approach. Construction began in March 1915, and the Mitchell Point section was opened to traffic in early September, at a cost of about $47,000. To dedicate the completed highway between Portland and Hood River, two ceremonies were held at Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84 ...
and Crown Point on the same day in June 1916.
Between Hood River and The Dalles, construction was delayed by rugged terrain west of and debate over the best route east of Mosier. Elliott considered several options west of Mosier, including a route close to the railroad, which had again taken the best location along the river, and a route over the Mosier Hills, closer to the existing county road (now Old Dalles Drive and Hood River Road). The former, while shorter, would be, in Elliott's words, "passing a section made up of views which would leave a lasting impression on the traveler". Elliott had left the State Highway Department by 1917, when new locating engineer Roy A. Klein surveyed a third alignment. It was closer to the river than the old county road, yet higher than Elliott's river alignment, in order to avoid closing the rail line during blasting. Just after leaving Hood River on a 1918 bridge over the Hood River, which had replaced an older wooden truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
, the highway climbed via a series of loops, similar to the ones at Crown Point. From there it followed the course of the river, partway up the hillside. Near the east end, the Mosier Twin Tunnels, completed in 1920, carried the road through a portion of the hill; the eastern of the two included two windows, similar to the five at Mitchell Point. Because of its beauty, photographers like William Henry Jackson
William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, the progenitor of Am ...
, Benjamin A. Gifford, Arthur Prentiss and Carleton Watkins
Carleton E. Watkins (1829–1916) was an American photographer of the 19th century. Born in New York, he moved to California and quickly became interested in photography. He focused mainly on landscape photography, and Yosemite Valley was a ...
documented the construction of this highway.
The final piece to The Dalles was laid out by J. H. Scott of the State Highway Department. It followed an inland route, climbing existing county roads to the Rowena Crest, where it used a third set of loops to descend to river level at Rowena
Rowena in the Matter of Britain was the daughter of the purported Anglo-Saxon chief Hengist and wife of Vortigern, "King of the Britons". Presented as a beautiful ''femme fatale'', she won her people the Kingdom of Kent through her treacherous ...
. There it picked up a former alignment of the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company
The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a ...
most of the way to The Dalles. Most of the bridges in Wasco County were designed by Conde McCullough
Conde Balcom McCullough (May 30, 1887 – May 6, 1946) was an American civil engineer who is primarily known for designing many of Oregon's coastal bridges on U.S. Route 101. The native of South Dakota worked for the Oregon Department of Tr ...
, who would later become famous for his work on U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
, the Oregon Coast Highway. A completion ceremony for the Columbia River Highway was held on June 27, 1922, when Simon Benson symbolically helped pave the final portion near Rowena. By then, the roadway was part of a longer Columbia River Highway, stretching from Astoria on the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
east to Pendleton as Highway No. 2 in a large network of state highways. In the State Highway Department's fifth biennial report, published in 1922, it reported that construction costs to date on the Columbia River Highway totaled about $11 million, with the state contributing $7.6 million, the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
$1.1 million, and the counties $2.3 million ($1.5 million of which was from Multnomah County). In 1926, the American Association of State Highway Officials
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...
designated the road as part of U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
. The first realignment was made by 1935 at the west entrance to The Dalles, where a more direct route along West 2nd Street bypassed the old alignment along West 6th Street, the Mill Creek Bridge, and West 3rd Place.
Water-level bypass
Even as construction was ongoing on the east end of the Columbia River Highway, the design had become obsolete, as motorists wanting to get to their destination greatly outnumbered tourists taking a pleasure drive. There were also problems with rockfall
A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity/sheets of rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or walls of mi ...
, especially west of the Mosier Twin Tunnels. By 1932, Lancaster proposed a new water-level route, while keeping the old road as a scenic highway. The first such bypass was necessitated by the federal government's creation of Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon, ...
on the Columbia River. The dam would flood the railroad, and the highway would need to be moved so the railroad could take its place. The highway's new two-lane alignment, completed in 1937, crossed the old road several times between the community of Bonneville (just east of Tanner Creek
Tanner Creek is a small tributary of the Willamette River in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Named after a tannery owned by one of the city's founders, it begins in what is now the Sylvan–Highlands neighborhood in the Tualatin Mountains ...
) and Cascade Locks
Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the l ...
. The realignment had the effect of closing the old road to all but the most local of traffic, since the construction of the east portal of the new Toothrock Tunnel, just west of a new bridge over Eagle Creek, had destroyed a section of road on the hillside.
By the end of the 1940s, the original cross section of 18 feet (5.5 m) of pavement and two 3-foot (1 m) shoulders had been modified to 24 feet (7.5 m) of pavement. The Mosier Twin Tunnels were similarly widened from 8⅔ feet (2⅔ m) to 10 feet (3 m) in each direction in 1938 to accommodate larger trucks, but this was not enough, and traffic signal
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic.
Traffic light ...
s were later installed at the tunnels to regulate one-way traffic
One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typical ...
. A 1948 bypass of the Oneonta Tunnel was made possible by moving the railroad slightly north on fill; the railroad benefited by removing the risk of the thin tunnel wall collapsing onto the track. Oneonta Tunnel was sealed in 1948 but revealed again fifty-five years later as part of the Historic Columbia River Highway restoration project.
More comprehensive bypass planning began by 1941, when the State Highway Commission adopted surveys for the new highway.
Restoration and current use
Starting in June 2006, the Oregon Department of Transportation, using about $1.5 million in state and federal money, began restoring the Oneonta Tunnel to its 1920s appearance. The tunnel officially reopened March 21, 2009 for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
The Eagle Creek Fire
The Eagle Creek Fire was a destructive wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge, largely in the U.S. state of Oregon, with smaller spot-fires in Washington. The fire was started on September 2, 2017, by a 15-year-old boy igniting fireworks durin ...
swept through the Gorge in September 2017, causing rockslides that closed the historic highway for a year. The highway remained closed between Bridal Veil and Ainsworth State Park until November 23, 2018 for restoration and reconstruction work.
Route description and historic designations
Although the city of Troutdale has named the old highway "Columbia River Highway" west to 244th Avenue, where it is cut by I-84
Interstate 84 may refer to:
* Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N
* Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts)
Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...
, signs for the scenic byway begin at exit 17 of I-84, and point south on Graham Road to the west end of downtown Troutdale. Modern milepoint
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...
zero of the Historic Columbia River Highway No. 100 is located at the west end of the Sandy River bridge, historic milepost 14.2.[
Modern highways, including I-84, and other developments have resulted in the abandonment of major sections of the historic original highway. In the interest of ]tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
and historical preservation, seventy-four miles of the original road—from Troutdale to The Dalles—have been established as the Historic Columbia River Highway (HCRH). Forty miles of the route are open to motor vehicles:
*The 24 westernmost miles starting in Troutdale (at the eastern edge of urban Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
) provide access to dozens of hiking trails, Crown Point Vista House, and numerous waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
s such as Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84 ...
. This section forms a loop with the Mount Hood Scenic Byway
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
.
*The 16 easternmost miles ending in The Dalles.
The remaining portions of the HCRH designated for non-motorized use are now known as the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
. These are being developed as money becomes available. Roughly seven miles between Hood River and Mosier have been open to non-motorized traffic since 2000, passing through the historic Mosier Tunnels.
Once restoration is complete, the highway will serve as a scenic and alternative bicycle route for I-84 and US 30 between The Dalles and Portland. Currently, cyclists wishing to travel between these two towns must ride on the shoulders of I-84 for much of the distance, or the much more dangerous and narrow State Route 14 on the Washington side of the river.
The Columbia River Highway is the nation's oldest scenic highway. In 1984 it was recognized as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
by the American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
. In 2000 it was designated a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
by the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
as "an outstanding example of modern highway development".
The Columbia River Highway Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1983. It includes 38 contributing structures on .[
]
See also
*Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the sta ...
*List of National Historic Landmarks in Oregon
This is a complete List of National Historic Landmarks in Oregon. The United States National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes buildings, structures, districts, objects, and ...
* List of Registered Historic Places in Oregon
References
External links
*
Historic Columbia River Highway
: History, Features, Historic Photos and Postcards, Hiking, Camping, Cycling
*
50th Anniversary Exhibit
of the Oregon State Archives
The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or the Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. The Oregon State Archives is ...
Heritage Preservation Services
of the National Park Service
National Historic Landmark data sheet
National Scenic Byways Program page
Oregon Department of Transportation page
Oregon Parks and Recreation state trail page
Heritage Preservation Services
National Park Service
Federal Highway Administration
Friends of the Historic Columbia River Highway
(Historical) Oregon State Highway System Map Oregon State Highway Commission
(as adopted: November 27, 1917)
Official State Map of Oregon
ODOT Transportation Development Division Geographic Information Services Unit
History of State Highways in Oregon
ODOT Salem Headquarters, Right of Way Engineering (August 4, 2017)
{{Authority control
Auto trails in the United States
Historic trails and roads in Oregon
All-American Roads
Columbia River Gorge
U.S. Route 30
National Historic Landmarks in Oregon
Named state highways in Oregon
Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah)
Scenic highways in Oregon
State parks of Oregon
Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
National Register of Historic Places in Multnomah County, Oregon
National Forest Scenic Byways
Transportation in Multnomah County, Oregon
Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
Transportation in Wasco County, Oregon
Transportation in Hood River County, Oregon
National Register of Historic Places in Wasco County, Oregon
Tourist attractions in Multnomah County, Oregon
Tourist attractions in Wasco County, Oregon
Tourist attractions in Hood River County, Oregon
National Register of Historic Places in Hood River County, Oregon
Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon