Interstate 205 (Oregon–Washington)

Interstate 205
Route information
Length:	37.13 mi[1][2] (59.75 km)
Existed:	1975 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-5 in Tualatin, OR
	US 26 in Portland, OR I-84 / US 30 in Portland, OR
North end:	I‑5 in Salmon Creek, WA
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Oregon Highways Interstate US State Named Scenic State highways in Washington Interstate US State Scenic Former PSH 1964 renumbering Former ← OR 204 OR OR 205 → ← SR 204 WA SR 206 →

Interstate 205 (I-205) is a loop route that serves the Portland—Vancouver metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. I-205 is officially named the War Veterans Memorial Freeway in both states, and is known as the East Portland Freeway No. 64 in Oregon (see Oregon highways and routes). I-205 passes east of downtown Portland and Vancouver, thus serving as a bypass route of I-5, which runs directly through the downtown areas of both cities. The northern terminus of the highway is located north of Vancouver in the suburb of Salmon Creek, and the southern terminus is in the Portland suburb of Tualatin.

Route description

Beneath the I-205 bridge in Vancouver, looking toward Portland

Aerial view of the Glenn Jackson Bridge, taking I-205 across the Columbia River

I-205 starts in Tualatin, Oregon, at a semi-directional T interchange with I-5.^[3] From I-5, the highway heads east towards the towns of West Linn and Oregon City where it crosses the Willamette River between interchanges for Oregon Route 43 (OR 43) and OR 99E. In West Linn, there is a view point exit for the northbound lanes, providing a scenic overlook of Willamette Falls. In Oregon City, the highway curves northward, crossing the Clackamas River concurrent with OR 213 and entering the town of Gladstone.^[4]

OR 213 splits from I-205 again at exit 13 in Clackamas, and the next exit north on I-205 provides access to Sunnyside Road and Clackamas Town Center.^[5] North of Clackamas, the freeway crosses the Portland city limits, passing through the eastern portion of the city, where it intersects I-84 and U.S. Route 26 (US 26).^[6] On the northern side of the city, just before crossing the Columbia River on the Glenn Jackson Bridge, I-205 has an exit for Airport Way, which provides access to Portland International Airport.^[7]

On the Washington side of the river, I-205 serves the eastern parts of the city of Vancouver, and has interchanges with two freeways, State Route 14 (SR 14) just north of the Columbia, and SR 500 near Vancouver Mall.^[7][8] From the SR 500 interchange, I-205 curves northwest back towards I-5, where it ends in the town of Salmon Creek. This interchange with I-5 is not complete, as there is no direct access from I-5 northbound to I-205 southbound, or from I-205 northbound to I-5 southbound. These missing movements are completed via Northeast 134th Street, one exit to the south.^[9]

A bicycle and pedestrian trail follows I-205 for much of its distance in the Portland metropolitan area, and connects to the Springwater Corridor trail near the Foster Road exit.

History

I-205's bike path, crossing the Glenn Jackson Bridge

The final section of I-205 to be completed, the section between SE Division Street and the southern interchange of the Glenn Jackson Bridge over the Columbia River, opened to traffic in March 1983.^[10] The approximately 10-mile (16 km) section on the Washington side of the river had opened in summer 1982,^[10] and the bridge opened in December 1982.^[11]

Construction of I-205 included a graded but unfinished transitway between SE Foster Road and NE Columbia Boulevard. The section between NE Columbia Boulevard and the I-205/I-84 junction became part of the MAX Red Line, and the section from E Burnside Street to SE Foster Road is used as part of the Green Line. The short portion between these sections was used by the first rail line, now the Blue Line.

Bike path

The Interstate 205 Bike Path is a bicycle and pedestrian trail running along Interstate 205 from Vancouver, Washington to Oregon City, Oregon, United States. It parallels the highway and the I-205 Transitway. It has a paved surface.^[12] It was constructed in the early 1980s, and is over 11 miles (18 km) long, running from SE Evergreen Highway and 120th Avenue on the Vancouver side of the Columbia River to a mile south of Clackamas Town Center.^[13] The multi-use path is managed by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The MAX Green Line, which opened in fall 2009, parallels much of the Interstate 205 Bike Path.

Highlights

Future

Because of tremendous growth in the Portland metropolitan area and the suburb of Vancouver, the Washington and Oregon departments of transportation (WSDOT, ODOT) are currently planning improvements on I-205 to improve traffic flow between the two states. In Vancouver, WSDOT and Clark County's Regional Transportation Commission are planning several new ramps to new arterials, grade-separating existing ramps with new ramps, and additional lanes. In Portland, ODOT is beginning to plan improvements, but no details have been released yet.

Another solution being floated around is a light rail line serving most or all the entire I-205 corridor, though the plan is being met with opposition from Clark County residents. Additionally, statements have been made by the Columbia River Crossing group that the Glenn Jackson Bridge was not properly engineered to carry light rail.

Exit list

State	County	Location[1]	mi[1][2]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Oregon	Washington	Tualatin	0.00	0.00		I-5 – Salem, Portland	Exit 288 on I-5
	Clackamas	​	3.16	5.09	3	Stafford Road – Lake Oswego
		West Linn	6.40	10.30	6	10th Street
			8.82	14.19	8	OR 43 – West Linn, Lake Oswego
		West Linn–Oregon City city line	9.13	14.69	Abernethy Bridge over the Willamette River
		Oregon City	9.29	14.95	9	OR 99E – Downtown Oregon City, Gladstone
			10.24	16.48	10	OR 213 south – Oregon City, Molalla	Southern end of concurrency with OR 213
		Gladstone	11.05	17.78	11	Gladstone
		​	12.67	20.39	12	OR 212 east to OR 224 east – Damascus, Estacada	Northbound signage
					12A	OR 212 east – Damascus	Southbound signage
					12B	Roots Road — Johnson City
		​	13.11– 13.32	21.10– 21.44	13	OR 213 north (82nd Avenue) / OR 224 – Milwaukie	Northbound signage; northern end of concurrency with OR 213
						OR 224 – Estacada, Milwaukie	Southbound signage
		​	13.95– 14.53	22.45– 23.38	14	Sunnybrook Boulevard / Sunnyside Road
		​	16.24	26.14	16	Johnson Creek Boulevard
	Multnomah	Portland	17.85	28.73	17	Foster Road
			18.89– 19.60	30.40– 31.54	19	US 26 (Powell Boulevard) / Division Street
			20.33– 21.23	32.72– 34.17	20	Washington Street / Stark Street	Northbound signage
					21A	Glisan Street
						Glisan Street / Stark Street	Southbound signage
			20.99– 21.39	33.78– 34.42	21B	I-84 west / US 30 west – Portland
			22.22– 22.61	35.76– 36.39	22	I-84 east / US 30 east – The Dalles
			23.68	38.11	23A	US 30 Byp. east (Sandy Boulevard)
					23B	US 30 Byp. west (Killingsworth Street)
			24.65	39.67	24	Airport Way – Portland Airport	Signed as Exits 24A (west) and 24B (east) northbound
Columbia River			26.56	42.74	Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge Oregon–Washington state line
Washington	Clark	Vancouver	27.06	43.55	27	SR 14 – Vancouver, Camas
			28.30	45.54	28	Mill Plain Boulevard	Signed as exits 28A (east) and 28B (west) northbound
					28C	Northeast 112th Avenue	Northbound exit only
			29.31	47.17	29	Northeast 18th Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			30.87	49.68	30A	Northeast Gher Road, Northeast 112th Avenue	Southbound exit is via exit 30
			30.87	49.68	30	SR 500 – Vancouver	Signed as exits 30B (east) and 30C (west) northbound
			31.08	50.02	30	Vancouver Mall (Fourth Plain Boulevard)	No northbound exit
		​	33.01	53.12	32	Padden Parkway, Northeast Andresen Road – Battle Ground
		​	36.72	59.10	36	Northeast 134th Street – WSU Vancouver
		​	37.13	59.75		I‑5 north – Seattle	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-5 south exit 7 (WA)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map: Bing / Google

Auxiliary routes of Interstate 5
California 105 1051 205 3055 405 505 605 805 9052 Oregon 105 205 3054 405 5054 Washington 205 405 6053 705
1Former 2Future 3Proposed 4Unbuilt 5Unsigned