U.S. Route 197 (US 197) is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 2.76 miles of its 69.93 miles (4.44 of 112.54 km) are within the state of Oregon. The highway starts in rural Wasco County in Central Oregon at an intersection with US 97. US 197 travels north as a continuation of

The Dalles-California Highway ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

No. 4 through the cities of Maupin, Tygh Valley, and Dufur to The Dalles. Within The Dalles, the highway becomes concurrent with US 30 and intersects Interstate 84 (I-84) before it crosses over 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 ...

The Dalles Bridge The Dalles Bridge is a bridge on U.S. Route 197 (US 197) that spans the Columbia River in the United States between The Dalles, Oregon and Dallesport, Washington. (for Washington state) Description The steel cantilever truss bridg ...

into Washington. The highway continues through the neighboring city of Dallesport in Klickitat County and terminates at a junction with State Route 14 (SR 14). US 197 was established in 1952 using the existing The Dalles-California Highway, itself created as a part of the initial named Oregon highways in 1917. US 197 traveled from its current northern terminus at Dallesport to US 97 in Maryhill along Primary State Highway 8 (PSH 8) and US 830, successors to the original State Road 8 designated along the corridor in 1907. The Dallesport–Maryhill section was transferred to SR 14 in 1979, but was not recognized by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) until 2006.

Route description

US 197 runs in Oregon and Washington and is maintained by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Oregon

US 197 begins at an intersection with US 97 at Shaniko Junction in Wasco County, located between the cities of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and Shaniko in Central Oregon. The highway, a continuation of

No. 4, travels northwest over the

Criterion Summit Criterion Summit, elevation about above sea level, is a mountain pass in the U.S. state of Oregon that is traversed by U.S. Route 197. It lies south of Maupin, approximately north of the intersection of Route 197 with U.S. Route 97. A sign and ...

and down along Stag Canyon through the community of

Criterion Criterion, or its plural form criteria, may refer to: General * Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States * Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England * Criterion Restaurant, in London, Eng ...

towards Maupin. US 197 crosses the

Deschutes River Deschutes River may refer to: *Deschutes River (Oregon) The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many ...

and a BNSF rail line on a

warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

truss bridge, becoming Deschutes Avenue as it passes

South Wasco County High School South Wasco County High School is a public high school in Maupin, Oregon, United States. Academics In 2008, 93% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school ...

and through the city of Maupin. The highway continues west into the Juniper Flat and intersects Oregon Route 216 (OR 216), designated as Wapinitia Highway No. 44, and forms a

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

. US 197 and OR 216 travel north and northwest to Tygh Valley, where OR 216 leaves the concurrency and heads east on Sherars Bridge Highway No. 290 towards

Grass Valley A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of b ...

. The lone highway continues north up Butler Canyon onto Tygh Ridge, passing through the Tygh Grade Summit. US 197 travels east of Dufur and down into the Columbia River Gorge, entering the city of The Dalles. The highway begins a concurrency with US 30, traveling north over an east–west BNSF rail line to a diamond interchange with

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 ...

. US 197 leaves the interchange and the state of Oregon on

, crossing over the

into Washington. An ODOT survey measuring traffic volume for any average day of the year, expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT), was conducted in 2011 on US 197 and calculated that the busiest section of the highway in Oregon was on The Dalles Bridge, serving 5,800 vehicles, while the least busiest section of the highway was north of its terminus at US 97, serving 390 vehicles.

Washington

US 197 enters Washington on The Dalles Bridge, a steel cantilever truss bridge that crosses the Columbia River downstream of The Dalles Dam, and travels into Dallesport in Klickitat County. The highway continues north for past

Columbia Gorge Regional Airport Columbia Gorge Regional Airport , also referred to as The Dalles Municipal Airport, is a public use airport in Klickitat County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located near Dallesport, Washington and two nautical miles (4 km) n ...

to its northern terminus, an intersection with SR 14. US 197 is defined by the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...

as SR 197, part of the Revised Code of Washington as
47.17.382
Every year, WSDOT conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume, expressed in terms of AADT. In 2012, WSDOT calculated that the Washington section of US 197 served between 3,700 and 6,100 vehicles, mostly on The Dalles Bridge.

History

US 197 within Washington was added to the state highway system in 1907 as State Road 8, later designated as PSH 8 in 1937, traveling east along the

from Vancouver to Maryhill. US 197 within Oregon is designated as a segment of

No. 4, created as part of the initial named state highway system, adopted 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 November 27, 1917. The highway traveled south from The Dalles through Central Oregon to the California state line south of Klamath Falls. Under the United States Numbered Highway system, approved by 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 ...

(AASHO) on November 11, 1926, State Road 8 in Washington was co-signed with US 830 from Vancouver to Maryhill and The Dalles-California Highway in Oregon was co-signed with US 97 from Shaniko Junction to the California state line. The

Oregon State Highway Department 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 ...

created a numbered state highway system to complement the U.S. route system on May 18, 1937, and The Dalles-California Highway from Shaniko Junction to The Dalles was numbered as OR 50. OR 50 was renumbered to OR 23 on May 26, 1950, and became the Oregon section of US 197 when it was established in 1952. US 197 traveled north onto the newly constructed

over the Columbia River to US 830 and PSH 8 northeast of Dallesport and traveled east with the two highways to end at US 97 in Maryhill. US 830 and its

with US 197 were removed from the U.S. route system in 1968, leaving US 197 concurrent with the successor to PSH 8, SR 14, after the 1964 state highway renumbering. The concurrency with SR 14 was removed from the Washington state highway system in 1979, but remained as a part of US 197 as defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) until September 22, 2006.

Major intersections

Notes

References

External links

US 197 at US Highway Ends
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 97-1 97-1 1 97-1 97-1 Transportation in Wasco County, Oregon Transportation in Klickitat County, Washington