U.S. Route 97 in Oregon

U.S. Highway 97
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length:	289.31 mi (465.60 km)
Existed:	1930s – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 97 at California state line
	OR 66 in Klamath Falls OR 140 in Klamath Falls OR 58 near Chemult US 20 in Bend OR 126 in Redmond US 26 in Madras US 197 near Shaniko I-84 / US 30 in Biggs Junction
North end:	US 97 at Washington state line
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced Oregon Highways Interstate US State Named Scenic ← US 95 US 99 →

In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 97 is a major north–south United States highway which runs through the state of Oregon (among other states). In Oregon, it runs from the Oregon-California border, south of Klamath Falls, to the Oregon-Washington border on the Columbia River, between Biggs Junction, Oregon and Maryhill, Washington. Other than the northernmost stretch (which is known as the Sherman Highway), US 97 (along with U.S. Route 197) is known as The Dalles-California Highway. In May 2009, Oregon Senate passed a bill to rename U.S. Route 97 as "World War II Veterans Historic Highway".

With the exception of Interstate 5, US 97 is the most important north–south highway corridor in the state. It serves two major population centers (Klamath Falls and Bend), and is the main corridor east of the Cascade Mountains. While much of the highway remains in two-lane undivided configuration, significant sections have been upgraded to expressway or freeway status.

Route description

The run of US 97 in Oregon (running from south to north) starts at the border between Oregon and California, south of the city of Klamath Falls. The highway starts out as a two-lane road, running through the arid Klamath River basin. Approaching the city of Klamath Falls, 97 becomes a freeway just south of the junction with OR 140 and OR 66. The freeway then runs along the western edge of the downtown region, ending at an interchange with Oregon Route 39 near the Oregon Institute of Technology. Within Klamath Falls is a business route, which runs through downtown via Main Street/Klamath Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, then which turns back to the US 97 mainline via the East Side Bypass (this latter segment co-signed with OR 39). This section of Highway 97 has been identified as an important alternative to I-5 for traffic in the Medford area in the event of a major earthquake in the region.^[1]

Highway 97, once again primarily a 2-lane road, continues north along the eastern shore of Upper Klamath Lake. In the town of Chiloquin is an intersection with Oregon Route 62, which provides access to Crater Lake National Park from the southeast; further north is an interchange with Oregon Route 138 which provides access to the park from the northeast. Continuing north, near the town of Chemult is an interchange with Oregon Route 58, which heads northwest to Eugene and the Willamette Valley.

In La Pine is a junction with Oregon Route 31; this city marks the start of the Deschutes River recreation area; (Crane Prairie Reservoir, the river's source, is located due west of La Pine). North of La Pine, the highway becomes an expressway as it passes by the resort community of Sunriver and heads towards the city of Bend.

In Bend, the highway travels on a RIRO expressway known as the Bend Parkway (though transportation officials like to claim the Parkway is not a freeway—it has a lower speed limit than the non-Interstate maximum of 55 mph (90 km/h) in Oregon); a business route runs parallel to the Parkway along 3rd Street (the prior route of US 97 before the parkway was built). Expected interchange construction over the approaching years will increase the RIRO distance miles past the southern city limits of Bend, linking up with prior ODOT improvements and eliminating two of the five traffic signals along US 97 in Bend, and in the entire 44 miles (71 km)^[2] between La Pine and Redmond. Similar upgrades are possible at the northern boundary of Bend, dependent upon taxpayer and state approval.^[3][4] In Bend one finds interchanges with the Century Drive Highway, as well as U.S. Route 20. The busiest part of US 97 is in Bend, with an average of 42,000 cars a day. This is also the busiest section of road in Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains.

North of Bend, the highway continues as an expressway until it reaches the city of Redmond. US 97 follows a new alignment bypassing the downtown area, with the old route designated U.S. Route 97 Business. It maintains a standard 55-mile-per-hour (89 km/h) speed limit on the northern section of this parkway.^[5] In Redmond is an intersection with Oregon Route 126. Continuing north out of Redmond, one enters a high desert region marked by numerous deep river gorges, including the Crooked River gorge (which 97 passes over near the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint and rest area). Towns along the route include Terrebonne, which provides access to Smith Rock State Park, a climbing mecca, and Culver. North of Culver, the highway enters the agricultural community of Madras.

South of Madras is an intersection with U.S. Route 26 headed eastbound; the two routes share an alignment through the city. On the northern edge of town, 97 forks off to the right, heading northeast; and 26 continues northwest towards Portland. The importance of 97 as a transportation corridor diminishes north of Madras, as most traffic continues to Portland.

South of the community of Shaniko, US 97 forks off its only spur route, U.S. Route 197 which continues heading parallel to the Deschutes River towards Tygh Valley and The Dalles. Route 97 takes a more easterly course, passing through the high desert region of the Columbia Plateau. Towns along the route include Grass Valley and Wasco. Just south of Biggs Junction, the highway descends from the plateau into the Columbia River Gorge. In Biggs is an interchange with Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30; immediately north of the interchange is the Biggs Rapids-Sam Hill Bridge over the Columbia River. The river serves as the state line between Oregon and Washington.

US97 Carried over the Columbia River by the Sam Hil Memorial Bridge, seen from Biggs Junction

Highways comprised

US 97 comprises the following highways (see Oregon highways and routes), from south to north:

• Part of The Dalles-California Highway No. 4; and
• The Sherman Highway No. 42.

US 97 Business in Klamath Falls, from south to north, comprises:

• Part of the Klamath Falls-Lakeview Highway No. 20 concurrent with Oregon Route 39;
• The Esplanade Spur, concurrent with Oregon Route 39; and
• Part of the Klamath Falls-Malin Highway No. 50.

US 97 Business in Bend runs from its intersection with the main highway at East 1st Street north of Bend, south on East 1st Street, Deschutes Place, and Wall Street to Newport Avenue, concurrent with U.S. 20 Business, then continues south on a Wall Street-Bond Street couplet and east on Franklin Avenue until it rejoins the main highway at East 3rd Street.

Major intersections

Mileposts are measured from north to south. They do not reflect actual mileage due to realignments.

County	Location	mi[6][7]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Klamath	​	291.73	469.49		US 97 south	Continuation into California
	​	282.87	455.24		Merrill, Malin	Former Lower Klamath Highway
	​	280.16	450.87		Miller Island Road (Midland Highway)
	Klamath Falls	277.47	446.54	South end of freeway
		277.13	446.00	277	OR 66 / OR 140 – Lakeview, Medford
		276.74	445.37		Green Springs Drive	Northbound exit only
		275.06	442.67		US 97 Bus. north – Klamath Falls City Center
		273.62	440.35		Oregon Avenue, Lakeshore Drive
		272.79	439.01		US 97 Bus. south / OR 39 south – Klamath Falls, Reno, Oregon Institute of Technology, Winema National Forest Headquarters	No southbound entrance
		272.56	438.64	North end of freeway
	Modoc Point	257.83	414.94		Modoc Point Road	Former Modoc Point Highway
	Lobert Junction	251.74	405.14		OR 62 west – Fort Klamath, Crater Lake
	​	249.08	400.86		OR 422 west – Chiloquin, Sprague River
	​	247.54	398.38	247	OR 422 – Chiloquin, Crater Lake	Interchange
	Mazama Junction	216.12	347.81		Sun Mountain Road	Former OR 232
	Diamond Lake Junction	213.09	342.94		OR 138 west (North Umpqua Highway) – Diamond Lake, Roseburg, Medford
	​	195.05	313.90		OR 58 west – Oakridge, Eugene	Interchange
Deschutes	​	169.68	273.07		OR 31 east – Silver Lake, Lakeview
	Sunriver	153.08	246.36	153	Century Drive	Interchange
		151.30	243.49	151	Cottonwood Road	Interchange
	​	143.45	230.86	143	Baker Road, Knott Road	Interchange
	Bend	140.87	226.71	141	US 97 Bus. north (3rd Street) to US 20 east – Burns	Intersection closed due to construction[8]
		139.68	224.79	South end of freeway
		139.17	223.97	139	Reed Market Road – Old Mill District
		138.24	222.48	138	Downtown Bend, Mount Bachelor
		137.13	220.69	137	Revere Avenue – Downtown Bend
		136.31	219.37	136	Butler Market Road	No northbound exit
		135.46	218.00	135B	Empire Boulevard – State Offices	No southbound exit
		134.97	217.21	135A	US 20 east / US 97 Bus. south – Bend Business District, Burns	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
					US 20 west – Sisters, Salem	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		134.75	216.86	North end of freeway
	Redmond	123.60	198.91	124	Airport Road, Yew Avenue – Redmond Airport	Interchange
		121.45	195.45		OR 126 west – Sisters, Eugene, Salem, Redmond City Center	South end of OR 126 overlap
		121.21	195.07		OR 126 east (Southeast Evergreen Avenue) – Prineville, John Day	North end of OR 126 overlap
		119.17	191.79	119	US 97 Bus. south / North Canal Boulevard – North Redmond	Interchange
	​	118.52	190.74		OR 370 east (O'Neil Highway) – O'Neil, Lone Pine
Jefferson	​	105.73	170.16		OR 361 north – Culver, Round Butte Dam
	​	97.29	156.57		US 26 east – Prineville, Mitchell, John Day	South end of US 26 overlap
	Madras	92.45	148.78		OR 361 south (D Street) – Metolius, The Cove Palisades State Park
		92.08	148.19		US 26 west (Northeast 5th Street) – Mount Hood, Portland	North end of US 26 overlap
	​	74.83	120.43		OR 293 east – Antelope, John Day Fossil Beds, Fossil
Wasco	Shaniko Junction	67.17 68.66	108.10 110.50		US 197 north – Maupin, The Dalles
	Shaniko	56.53	90.98		OR 218 east – Antelope, Fossil
Sherman	Grass Valley	28.36	45.64		OR 216 west (Krusrow Street) – Sherars Bridge, Tygh Valley
	​	10.34	16.64		Old Sherman Highway – Wasco	Former US 97 north
	​	8.82	14.19		OR 206 – Wasco, Condon, Fulton Canyon	Interchange
	​	7.50	12.07		Wasco (Wasco-Heppner Highway)	Former US 97 south
	Biggs	0.03	0.048		Deschutes State Park (Celilo-Wasco Highway)
	Biggs Junction	−0.13	−0.21		I-84 / US 30 – The Dalles, Rufus, Pendleton	I-84 exit 104.
Columbia River		−0.18– −0.43	−0.29– −0.69	Sam Hill Memorial Bridge US 97 continues into Washington
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.S. Route 97 in Oregon.

Route map: Bing / Google

• KTVZ - World War II Veterans' designation for Hwy. 97

U.S. Route 97
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