Existed: 1957 – present Length 604.6 km | West end: I-5 in Portland Constructed 1957 | |
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East end: I-84 at Idaho state line | ||
2k16 ep 15 interstate 84 in oregon the columbia river gorge
Interstate 84 (I-84) in the U.S. state of Oregon, also known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, travels east–west, following the Columbia River and the rough path of the old Oregon Trail from Portland east to Idaho. For this reason, it is also known as most of the Columbia River Highway No. 2 and all of the Old Oregon Trail Highway No. 6 (see Oregon highways and routes). It also follows along or near U.S. Route 30. The entire highway carried the designation Interstate 80N (I-80N, or Interstate 80 North) until 1980, when this was changed to I-84.
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Route description
Interstate 84 begins in Portland, Oregon where it connects with Interstate 5 on the east side of the Willamette River. It continues east, crossing Interstate 205, before curving to the north to join the Columbia River. It continues along the river, passing Interstate 82 in Hermiston, and U.S. Route 395 in Pendleton. It then curves to the south, until it gets to the Idaho border. It continues into Idaho.
The Cabbage Hill grade east of Pendleton is a 6% grade, with several hairpin curves in both directions and a separation between directions of almost two miles (3 km).
Banfield Expressway
The T.H. Banfield Expressway is the portion of Interstate 84 between its western terminus at Interstate 5 and its intersection at Interstate 205 in Portland, Oregon, United States. The expressway, originally built as part of US 30, is named for Thomas H. "Harry" Banfield (1885–1950), a former Oregon State Highway commissioner.
Prior to the creation of the Banfield, surface streets were the only routes from Portland to the country. Under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the federal government had started providing federal assistance to expressway projects. As a result, planners designed a freeway system in Portland. The first step in building this new freeway system was to construct the Banfield, which would stretch from Portland to Troutdale. On October 1, 1955, the Banfield Expressway opened to traffic. It was Oregon's first freeway. The highway was rebuilt during the 1980s, and the MAX Light Rail line was added along the north side at the same time.
History
Improvements to the Columbia River Highway and Old Oregon Trail Highway had been planned since the 1930s, but World War II delayed those plans. The Oregon State Highway Division started implementing these improvements segment by segment beginning in the 1950s as bond funding became available. One of the segments completed in the early 1950s was the Banfield Expressway in Portland.
When the Federal Interstate and Defense Highways Act was passed in 1956, U.S. Route 30 was scheduled to be superseded by Interstate 80N, on an alignment closer to the river on flat terrain. The segment between Portland and The Dalles was mostly complete by 1963, but it would take until 1968 for construction of the highway to meet Interstate highway standards. The highway was designated Interstate 80N until May 1980, when it was changed to Interstate 84 to eliminate confusion with the western section of the non-suffixed I-80, which split from I-80N in Salt Lake City and continued west to San Francisco as I-80. Construction on the remaining segments continued until January 3, 1975, when the segment of Interstate 84 from Portland to the Idaho border was completed to Interstate standards. Oregon In 2016 ODOT has installed a variable speed zone on a 30-mile stretch of Interstate 84 between Baker City, Or and Ladd Canyon. The new electronic signs collect data regarding temperature, skid resistance, and average motorist speed to determine the most effective speed limit for the area before presenting the limit on the sign. This speed zone was scheduled to be activated November 2016.