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34-683: Much of the highway is part of the Mount Hood Scenic Byway , a National Scenic Byway which connects Troutdale with Hood River via the southern flank of Mount Hood. The Byway's route includes parts of present-day U.S. Route 26 and Oregon Route 35 and the historic Barlow Road through the Mount Hood Corridor . It also forms a loop with the Historic Columbia River Highway , an All-American Road . The portion from Sandy to Barlow Pass on

68-432: A National Scenic Byway a road must have one of six intrinsic qualities. To be designated an All-American Road, a road must have at least two of the six qualities. A corridor management plan must also be developed, with community involvement, and the plan "should provide for the conservation and enhancement of the byway's intrinsic qualities as well as the promotion of tourism and economic development". The plan includes, but

102-552: A reason for the development and promotion of alternative forms of transportation in Portland. The MAX light rail system, the Portland Transit Mall , and the city's notable bicycle-friendly policies are said by some Portlanders to have stemmed from the freeway revolt. Only a few physical signs remain of the canceled freeway, mostly in the form of incomplete connecting ramps or ramp stubs . Some previous evidence of

136-588: A spur of the Columbia River Highway No. 2 ( Interstate 84 ), bringing US 30 back onto that freeway . Officially Route 35 heads west from there on US 30 through Hood River to end at I-84 west of that town, but all signage ends at the end of the Mount Hood Highway. The general public uses the name Mount Hood Highway to refer to much the same route, excluding the portions inside Portland and western Gresham (which are referred to by

170-456: A spur to Jonsrud Viewpoint on Bluff Road, then backtracks to US 26. It continues along U.S. Route 26 for about thirty miles, then leaves the highway proper in favor of the business loop through Government Camp . The Byway follows a spur just east of Government Camp to Timberline Lodge . After returning to US 26, it continues to the junction with Oregon Route 35 where it exits US 26 and goes north on OR 35 for about 40 miles (64 km). At

204-744: Is not a state-maintained Highway, to reach the Stadium Freeway ( Interstate 405 ). After crossing the Willamette River on the Ross Island Bridge, the Highway is locally known as Powell Boulevard through Portland and Gresham . State maintenance ends at the Portland/Gresham border, beginning again where the Highway turns southeast at Burnside Street east of downtown Gresham. Soon after that turn, Highway 26 uses

238-585: Is not limited to: Corridor management plans for All-American Roads must also include: The final step is when the highway (or highways) is approved for designation by the United States Secretary of Transportation . Mount Hood Freeway The Mount Hood Freeway is a partially constructed but never to be completed freeway alignment of U.S. Route 26 and Interstate 80N (now Interstate 84 ), which would have run through southeast Portland, Oregon . Related projects would have continued

272-523: Is pointed straight along Powell Boulevard (the Mount Hood Highway), in agreement with ODOT's route description. East of Sandy, the highway is a (mostly) four-lane undivided highway approaching the slopes of Mount Hood; as the highway climbs up towards Government Camp it reduces to two and three lanes. It is four lanes again through Government Camp. East of Government Camp is an interchange with Oregon Route 35 , where US 26 heads southeast on

306-488: The Marquam Bridge ) to about SE 50th Avenue adjacent to the south side of Division St. It would then have shifted to Powell Blvd. ( Route 26 ) near SE 54th Avenue. By the initial plan, the freeway would have ended at SE 122nd Avenue, though extensions were considered. In 1962, this section was formally submitted for inclusion in the U.S. Interstate Highway System as part of Interstate 80N, today's I-84 . I-205

340-541: The Warm Springs Highway towards Madras and the Mount Hood Highway heads north with Route 35. Route 35 winds over Bennett Pass and around the eastern side of Mount Hood, and descends into the Hood River Valley. The Mount Hood Highway designation ends at the intersection with the Historic Columbia River Highway , which carries U.S. Route 30 to the west. To the north, the road continues as

374-596: The Interstate system and signed only as U.S. Route 30 . By the time planners began to think seriously about building the Mount Hood Freeway in the 1970s, the neighborhoods in and near its path mobilized grass-roots efforts against the freeway. The movements gained citywide and local support which changed the political landscape in local elections. Soon, it seemed as if the Federal government and some in

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408-483: The Mount Hood Freeway alignment past a stack interchange at I-205, continuing to follow Powell Blvd. before skirting Gresham to the south and connecting to the existing route. The final segment of the proposal continued southeast from Gresham and ran to the outskirts of Sandy. This section was actually constructed (and is an expressway -grade highway), with a single interchange at the junction with Oregon Route 212 . The new highway would have carried US 26 along

442-555: The Oregon State Highway Department (now the Oregon Department of Transportation ) were the only ones who wanted the freeway. The freeway's promoted virtue of a speedy commute was debunked by the freeway's opponents. On one hand, it was seen as benefiting only suburban Gresham and East Multnomah County at the expense of Portland's neighborhoods. On the other hand, many opponents stated that

476-578: The Troutdale Bridge crosses the Sandy River . For the first twenty miles (32 km) of the route, it follows a southwestern path along city streets: west on Glenn Otto Park Road into downtown Troutdale, connecting with Halsey Street, south along 238th Street (which veers to become 242nd Street), Burnside Street, Orient Drive, Dodge Park Boulevard, Lusted Road, and Ten Eyck Road. The Byway continues into Sandy on US 26, heads west briefly on

510-589: The United States and are unique and important enough to be tourist destinations unto themselves. As of January 21, 2021, there are 184 National Scenic Byways located in 48 states (all except Hawaii and Texas ). The NSBP was established under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, which provided $ 74.3 million in discretionary grants. On May 18, 1995, FHWA specified

544-475: The completed part of the Mount Hood Freeway (built only to surface expressway standards) to Sandy , where it runs through downtown on a one-way couplet . The section of Powell Boulevard from Interstate 205 east into downtown Gresham carries only two lanes. When I-205 was built, the ramps at Powell Boulevard were configured to only allow traffic towards the west, with US 26 east pointed along

578-456: The completion of I-205, no major freeways have been built in the Portland metropolitan area . A total of 415 parcels in the future path of the Mount Hood Freeway were acquired by the state government, costing $ 7.8 million in 1975. They were gradually resold for re-integration after the proposal was defeated. Some believe the Mount Hood Freeway is one of the things most recognizable as

612-431: The designation on January 19, 2021, of 34 new roads as National Scenic Byways, in addition to 15 new All-American Roads. National Scenic Byways go through a nomination procedure. They must already be designated state scenic byways to be nominated (However, roads that meet all criteria for national designation but not state designation may be considered for national designation on a case-by-case basis). For designation as

646-478: The eastern outskirts of Hood River, OR 35 intersects with U.S. Route 30 and the Historic Columbia River Highway . From west to east: National Scenic Byway 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

680-639: The entire alignment, while I-80N was to be re-routed along the portion between I-5 and I-205. The I-80N designation would have been removed from the Banfield Freeway, and the route would be duplexed over I-205 between the segments. US 26 would be taken off Powell Blvd, the Ross Island Bridge , and downtown Portland streets, continuing on I-5 and I-405 to the Sunset Highway . The Banfield Freeway section would have been taken out of

714-410: The existing alignment of US 26 on Powell Boulevard, and would have required the destruction of 1,750 long-standing Portland homes and one percent of the Portland housing stock. Plans for the freeway triggered a revolt in Portland in the late 1960s and early 1970s, leading to its eventual cancellation. Plans for other proposed freeways in Portland were also scrapped, including Interstate 505 . Funds for

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748-453: The four-lane Division Street, about 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.80 km) to the north. (Right turns were even banned to and from the I-205 north ramps at first.) Division Street runs east into Gresham, where it meets Burnside Road, at which a right turn to the southeast leads into the Mount Hood Highway and US 26. Despite this signage pointing US 26 east on Division Street, traffic already on US 26

782-532: The freeway would be obsolete the minute it opened , jamming with traffic volumes that the freeway was not designed for. Efforts to make the freeway more acceptable made their way into the later proposals. Among the proposals were increased landscaping and bike paths along the route as well as parks and community centers built over the freeway's "air rights" and a "transitway" with three-level stations (separate levels for local buses and express buses) for an express busway . These efforts, however, were not enough to sell

816-519: The intrinsic qualities that would serve as criteria for designating road as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads. In September U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Peña announced the first 14 National Scenic Byways and six All-American Roads. On June 9, 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) provided $ 148 million to states so they could develop state roads to take advantage of

850-490: The program. On August 10, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which provided $ 175 million to states and Indian tribes. On October 16, 2009, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood designated 37 new roads as National Scenic Byways and five new All-American Roads. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved

884-517: The project (and other canceled freeways) were spent on other transportation projects, including the first section of the MAX Light Rail system. When the freeway was canceled, a segment was already completed southeastwards from East Burnside Road and Southeast Powell Blvd in Gresham, continuing to Sandy, which remains in use today. The freeway would have run from the Willamette River (at

918-577: The project. Approval for the Mount Hood Freeway was withdrawn by the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on February 21, 1974, which was followed by a similar action from the Portland City Council in late July. After the project's cancellation, local transportation planners began to look at completing I-205 . Disputes with the new freeway-adverse Multnomah County Commission had left a 9-mile (14 km) gap between

952-486: The route through the neighboring suburb of Gresham , out to the city of Sandy . The original plans for the freeway were presented by the Oregon State Highway Department as part of a 1955 report that proposed 14 new highways in the Portland metropolitan area . (Urban planner Robert Moses drafted Portland's original postwar infrastructure plan.) The proposed route was to run parallel to

986-532: The south flank of Mount Hood is aligned to the land portion of the historic Oregon Trail . It was developed in the 1840s as the Barlow Road . The highway begins in Portland at the west end of the Ross Island Bridge , with access to the Oswego Highway ( Oregon Route 43 ), Pacific Highway ( Interstate 5 ) and Pacific Highway West ( Oregon Route 10 ). US 26 itself heads west on Arthur Street, which

1020-590: The street name of Powell Boulevard). Between 1955 and 1978, the 15-mile (24 km) segment of the route through southeast Portland was proposed to be moved from Powell Boulevard to a new similar alignment known as the Mount Hood Freeway . Due to intense local opposition , this proposed freeway was cancelled. From Troutdale, the Mount Hood Scenic Byway starts at the end of the Historic Columbia River Highway where

1054-587: The two completed sections. I-205 ended in the south just across the Clackamas County line and stopped at the Columbia River in the north. After the successful battle over the Mount Hood, activists were pushing for I-205's cancellation, while some neighborhoods and businesses wanted it further east or west (depending on the proposal). After some negotiation, I-205's Multnomah County segment

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1088-533: Was established by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation's scenic but often less-traveled roads and promote tourism and economic development. The National Scenic Byways Program (NSBP) is administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Some scenic byways are designated All-American Roads , which must meet two out of the six intrinsic qualities. The designation means they have features that do not exist elsewhere in

1122-561: Was finalized, reducing interchanges, eliminating a possible provision for a Mount Hood Freeway interchange, and resulting in the alignment of today's I-205. An unfinished, grade-separated transitway and a bike path were added to I-205, part of the Mount Hood Freeway ideas that actually influenced another freeway. The transitway is now being used as the route for the TriMet MAX Red Line and the MAX Green Line . Since

1156-480: Was in the planning stages at the time the Mount Hood Freeway was first proposed. The I-205 routing was originally envisioned for the 52nd Avenue corridor, but ended up being built farther east at about 93rd Avenue. All plans for the Mount Hood Freeway allowed for a future I-205 connection at various spots. Another segment of the proposal was called the Mount Hood Expressway . It would have continued

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