U.S. Route 197 (US 197) is a north–south

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 ...

, of which all but 2.76 miles of its 69.93 miles (4.44 of 112.54 km) are within the 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 starts in rural

Wasco County Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who ...

Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the ...

at an intersection with US 97. US 197 travels north as a continuation of The Dalles-California Highway No. 4 through the cities of Maupin, Tygh Valley, and Dufur to

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 ...

. Within The Dalles, the highway becomes

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 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 Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. The highway continues through the neighboring city of Dallesport in

Klickitat County Klickitat County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,735. The county seat and largest city is Goldendale. The county is named after the Klickitat tribe. History Klickitat Count ...

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 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, t ...

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 The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...

(AASHTO) until 2006.

Route description

US 197 runs in Oregon and Washington and is maintained 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) and

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

(WSDOT).

Oregon

US 197 begins at an intersection with US 97 at Shaniko Junction in

, 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

. The highway, a continuation of The Dalles-California Highway 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 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 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 ...

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 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

, entering the city of

. The highway begins a concurrency with US 30, traveling north over an east–west BNSF rail line to a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

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

. An ODOT survey measuring traffic volume for any average day of the year, expressed in terms of

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

(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 A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

that crosses the Columbia River downstream of

The Dalles Dam The Dalles Dam is a concrete-gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River, two miles (3 km) east of the city of The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It joins Wasco County, Oregon with Klickitat County, Washington, 300 miles (309&nbs ...

, and travels into Dallesport in

. 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 The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the compilation of all permanent laws currently in force in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Temporary laws such as appropriations acts are excluded. It is published by the Washington State S ...

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 Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. US 197 within Oregon is designated as a segment of The Dalles-California Highway 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

through

to the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

state line south of

Klamath Falls Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

. Under the

United States Numbered 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, 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

(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