Oregon Route 120 (OR 120) is a

unsigned Unsigned can refer to: * An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label ** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists ** Unsigned band web, online community * Similarly, the c ...

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

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 ...

. The highway is internally known by 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 ...

(ODOT) as Swift Highway No. 120. OR 120 runs from a

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

railroad crossing near North Columbia Boulevard to an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) and OR 99E. The Swift Highway No. 120 was created in 1931, while the OR 120 designation was created in 2002.

Route description

OR 120 begins at a

railroad crossing north of an interchange with North Columbia Boulevard. The road continues northeast as North Portland Road and follows

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

tracks. About half of a mile (0.8 km) from where the highway begins, OR 120 crosses the

Columbia Slough The Columbia Slough is a narrow waterway, about long, in the floodplain of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its source in the Portland suburb of Fairview, the Columbia Slough meanders west through Gresham and Portland to ...

Bridge. OR 120 continues to follow BNSF Railway tracks and passes through wetlands before having a

T-intersection A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T ...

with North Marine Drive. The road continues southeast as North Marine Drive, following 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 ...

shoreline. After the highway turns southeast, the road goes under the

Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge The Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge, also known as the BNSF Railway Bridge 8.8, is a swing-span, through truss bridge in Portland, Oregon, United States. Currently owned and operated by BNSF Railway, it crosses an anabranch of the Columbia Rive ...

. The highway ends at an intersection with OR 99E and the ramps for exit 307 on

I-5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

. The

Portland Expo Center The Portland Expo Center, officially the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center, is a convention center located in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened in the early 1920s as a livestock exhibition and auction facil ...

is located near this interchange. The highway is entirely within the city limits of

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 ...

. OR 120 is

for its entire length. OR 120 is internally known by ODOT as Swift Highway No. 120. The entire length of OR 120 is part of the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

History

The Swift Highway No. 120 was established as a secondary highway by the

Oregon State Highway Commission 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 Depart ...

on December 3, 1931. On November 22, 1966, a section of the Swift Highway between North Columbia Boulevard and an

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 ...

railroad crossing was truncated. During the

Oregon Transportation Commission 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 Depa ...

meeting on July 24, 2002, the commission approved the OR 120 designation to be placed on the Swift Highway. On July 22, 2008, maintenance for portions of the highway were transferred from ODOT to the city of

. The sections that were transferred are from the highway's western terminus to the southeastern end of the

bridge, and the northeastern end of the Columbia Slough Bridge to the end of concrete pavement near the

Major intersections

References

External links

{{attachedKML, display=title,inline
OR 120
at ORoads 2002 establishments in Oregon 120 Transportation in Portland, Oregon Transportation in Multnomah County, Oregon