U.S. Route 26

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U.S. Route 26
Length:	1,485 mi[1] (2,390 km)
Formed:	1926[1]
West end:	US 101 near Seaside, OR
Major junctions:	I-5 at Portland, OR I-84 at Boise, ID I-15 at Idaho Falls, ID I-25 at Casper, WY
East end:	I-80 / N-61 at Ogallala, NE
United States Numbered Highways List – Bannered – Divided – Replaced

U.S. Route 26 is an east–west United States highway. It started in Ogallala, Nebraska, and gradually grew to reach the West Coast in Oregon. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and Oregon. The highway's eastern terminus is in Ogallala, Nebraska at an intersection with Interstate 80. Its western terminus is south of Seaside, Oregon at an intersection with U.S. Route 101. Prior to 2004, the route's last 20 miles (32 km) were co-signed with U.S. Route 101 from the highways' junction south of Seaside north to Astoria where its intersection with U.S. Route 30 was also U.S. 30's western terminus.^[2]

Much of the highway follows the path of the historic Oregon Trail. At its peak, immediately before the establishment of the interstate highway system, US 26 was 1,557 miles (2506 km) in length, and terminated in Astoria, Oregon.

[edit] Route description

[edit] Oregon

US 26 at the entrance to Picture Gorge in Eastern Oregon. The John Day River is to the right of the roadway.

Starting at a junction with U.S. Highway 101 near Seaside, Oregon, U.S. Highway 26 heads southeast through the Coast Range to Portland. In the western Portland area, US 26 is a freeway known as the Sunset Highway. After passing through the Vista Ridge Tunnel, heading into downtown Portland, it intersects with Interstate 405 and runs along the interstate southbound for about a half-mile before exiting onto surface streets at the waterfront, meeting Oregon Route 43 at Macadam Avenue before crossing Interstate 5 and then crossing the Willamette River to meet at an interchange with Oregon Route 99E, and then heads east on Division St. (westbound proceeds down Powell Boulevard) where it crosses Interstate 205 before merging onto Powell Boulevard and heading east to Sandy on what is known as the Mount Hood Highway No.5 (see Oregon Routes and Highways), a four-lane divided highway that was supposed to be the Mount Hood Freeway, which was never built.

After passing through Sandy, Highway 26 (Known as the Mount Hood Highway) continues on towards Government Camp and Bennett Pass, where it eventually meets up with Oregon Route 35. The Mount Hood Highway continues north along Oregon Route 35, while Highway 26 heads southeast towards Madras, where it intersects with U.S. Route 97. It then continues southeast to Prineville, where it meets Oregon Route 126 and heads east through John Day where it meets U.S. Route 20 in Vale. The remainder of Highway 26 follows U.S. Route 20 to the Idaho state line.

[edit] Idaho

From Alpine, Wyoming, the road proceeds to Idaho Falls and joins Interstate 15. It departs at Blackfoot for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, then skirts the north edge of Craters of the Moon National Monument before joining Interstate 84 in Bliss. It joins further with U.S. Highway 20 at Mountain Home and remains with Highway 20 into Oregon.

[edit] Wyoming

US 20/26 at the entrance to Hell's Half Acre (Wyoming).

Heading westward, the first city in Wyoming US 26 runs through is Torrington. About 50 miles (80 km) further west, US 26 joins Interstate 25 and remains co-signed with it until reaching Casper. From Casper to Shoshoni US 26 is co-signed with U.S. Highway 20. After that, US 26 enters Grand Teton National Park before curving southwestward and eventually entering Idaho.

[edit] Nebraska

The eastern terminus of US 26 is in Ogallala, Nebraska at Interstate 80. From there, it runs northwestward parallel to the North Platte River and intersects with U.S. Highway 385 in Bridgeport. The largest city US 26 runs through in Nebraska is Scottsbluff, which is just 22 miles (35 km) from the Wyoming border. US 26 also goes past the Chimney Rock National Historic Site. All told, there are 145 miles (233 km) of US 26 in the state of Nebraska.

[edit] History

U.S. Highway 320 was part of the initial 1926 system, connecting US 20 at Shoshoni with US 87W at Riverton, Wyoming. It became WYO 320 in 1938, which was extended southwest to Lander in 1940 when US 287 (which had replaced US 87W) was realigned. The original part of US 320/WYO 320 became part of an extension of US 26 in 1950, and the rest of WYO 320 became part of WYO 789 in 1954.^[3]

This section requires expansion.

[edit] See also

• U.S. Route 126

[edit] References

		edit Main U.S. Routes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
40	41	42	43	44	45	46		48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59
60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79
80	81	82	83	84	85		87		89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99
101		163					400				412				425
Lists		U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Bypassed - Portal

Browse numbered routes
< N-25A	NE		N-27 >