U.S. Route 20 (US 20) is a major west–east cross-state highway in the northern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

, especially east 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, ...

. It connects

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 ...

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

on the central

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

to the

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

state line east of Nyssa.

Route description

US 20 starts at an

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

with US 101 in

, and travels eastward over the

Central Oregon Coast Range The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and t ...

to Corvallis. In Corvallis, it intersects

Oregon Route 99W Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees with ...

(OR 99W) and briefly travels

concurrent 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 ...

with OR 34 before proceeding northeast to Albany. From Albany, US 20 briefly travels concurrent with OR 99E before turning east through

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and

Sweet Home Sweet Home or Sweethome may refer to: Places in the United States * Sweet Home, Arkansas * Sweet Home Central School District in Amherst and Tonawanda, New York ** Sweet Home High School (Amherst, New York), a New York State public high school * ...

and entering the

. It intersects OR 126 west of

Santiam Pass Santiam is a place name of the U.S. state of Oregon, referring to the indigenous Santiam people. It may refer to: * Santiam Academy * Santiam Hospital * Santiam Junction, Oregon * Santiam Junction State Airport * Santiam Pass Santiam is a place nam ...

and the two routes travel concurrent through

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

. US 20 then continues eastward and southward to Bend, where it travels roughly parallel to US 97 for about before turning east through

Brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

and

Riley Riley may refer to: Names * Riley (given name) * Riley (surname) Places * Riley Park–Little Mountain, a neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada * Riley Creek (Ontario), a tributary of the Black River in Central Ontario, Canada * Ri ...

. At Riley, US 20 travels concurrent with US 395 through Hines and

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

to about northeast of Burns. From Burns, US 20 continues east through Juntura and

Vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...

. In Vale, US 20 travels concurrent with US 26, and the two highways continue east to Cairo Junction, south of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and turn south, where they then also travel concurrently with OR 201 to Nyssa. Eastward from Nyssa, US 20/US 26 continue to the

state line. The route throughout most of Oregon serves as an important link between

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

Oregon and far

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

to Boise, Idaho. Three Sisters from US 20 viewpoint

History

Under the initial 1925 plan for the United States Numbered Highway System, US 20 was originally planned to follow 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 ...

from Astoria to

Pendleton Pendleton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Pendleton, Lancashire, England *Pendleton, Greater Manchester, England ;United States *Pendleton, Indiana * Pendleton, Missouri *Pendleton, New York *Pendleton, Oregon *Pendleton, South Carolina *Pe ...

and continue southeast into Idaho. The

Oregon 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 ...

requested that US 30 be assigned to the Columbia River Highway instead and have US 20 truncated at

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

. 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 ...

ultimately agreed to truncate US 20 further to

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, but later extended it via central Oregon in 1940. A section of the Corvallis–Newport Highway between Chitwood to Eddyville was replaced 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) in the early 21st century to accommodate higher traffic volumes. The section, originally opened in 1917, was winding and had no shoulder for vehicle breakdowns. Construction on a straighter, route began in 2005 and was planned to be completed in 2009, but landslides and other hazards caused delays. In 2012, ODOT took over the project from the original design–build contractor after an agreement was reached in their liability dispute. The project was completed in October 2016 at a cost of $365 million.

Oregon highway designations

The Oregon section of US 20 consists of the following highways numbered using ODOT's internal numbering system (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 ...

), from west to east: * The Corvallis-Newport Highway No. 33; * Part of the Corvallis-Lebanon Highway No. 210; * The Albany-Corvallis Highway No. 31; * The Santiam Highway No. 16; * Part of the

McKenzie Highway Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to: People * Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Clan Mackenzie, a Sco ...

No. 15; * The McKenzie-Bend Highway No. 17; * The Central Oregon Highway No. 7.

Major intersections

Special routes

US 20 has 2 business routes in Oregon:

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

, and

in Bend.

References

External links

*
U.S. 20: Route crosses the Cascades and heads east
- ''The Oregonian'' {{compact state detail browse, type=US, route=20, state=Oregon, statebefore=, stateafter=Idaho 20 Oregon Transportation in Deschutes County, Oregon Transportation in Linn County, Oregon Transportation in Benton County, Oregon Transportation in Harney County, Oregon Transportation in Lincoln County, Oregon Transportation in Malheur County, Oregon