U.S. Route 26


U.S. Highway 26 is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon, to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. Numbered 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 at an intersection with Interstate 80. Its western terminus is south of Seaside at an intersection with US 101. Prior to 2004, the route's last were cosigned with US 101 from the highways' junction south of Seaside north to Astoria where its intersection with US 30 was also US 30's western terminus. Long segments of the highway follow the historic Oregon Trail. At its peak, immediately before the establishment of the Interstate Highway System, US 26 was in length and terminated in Astoria.

Route description

Oregon

Starting at a junction with US 101 near Seaside, US 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 Tunnels, heading into Downtown Portland, it intersects with I-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 I-5. After crossing the Willamette River and meeting at an incomplete interchange with OR 99E, US 26 then heads east on Powell Boulevard where it crosses I-205 and continues east to Sandy on what is known as the Mount Hood Highway No. 26, a four-lane divided highway that was supposed to be the Mount Hood Freeway, which was never built just south of Division Street.
After passing through Sandy, US 26 continues on toward Government Camp and Bennett Pass, where it eventually meets up with OR 35. The Mount Hood Highway continues north along OR 35, while US 26 heads southeast toward Madras, where it intersects with US 97. It then continues southeast to Prineville, where it meets OR 126 and heads east through John Day where it meets US 20 in Vale. The remainder of US 26 follows US 20 to the Idaho state line.

Idaho

From the Oregon state line, US 26 continues to follow US 20 to Boise, with short concurrencies with US 95 near Parma and I-84 at Caldwell. At Boise, US 26/US 20 merges with I-84 for about until Mountain Home, where US 20 splits from US 26/I-84. About later in Bliss, US 26 splits from I-84, joining US 93 at Shoshone with the concurrent routes joining US 20 at Carey. US 20/US 26/US 93 skirt the north edge of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and then through Arco where US 93 splits north. Near Idaho National Laboratory, US 26 again splits from US 20 to the southeast, proceeding to Blackfoot, where US 26 joins I-15 for about before splitting just south of Idaho Falls toward Alpine, Wyoming.

Wyoming

From Alpine, US 26 is cosigned with US 89 east and north to Hoback Junction, then cosigned with US 89, US 189, and US 191 to Jackson. US 189 ends in Jackson, and the other three highways continue their concurrency through Grand Teton National Park up to Moran. At "Glacier View Turnout", a view of Teton Glacier, on the north of Grand Teton, can be seen. At Moran, US 26 turns east, concurrent with US 287. Crossing the Continental Divide at Togwotee Pass, US 26 passes through Dubois, the end of the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway, and at Diversion Dam Junction, US 26 and US 287 separate; US 26 continues southeast to Riverton, then northeast to Shoshoni. From Shoshoni to Casper, US 26 is cosigned with US 20. US 20/US 26 has a bypass north of Casper, the eastern half of which is concurrent with I-25 and US 87. US 20/US 26/US 87 parallels I-25 from Casper to Glenrock; east of Glenrock, US 26 is cosigned on I-25. US 26 follows I-25 to Dwyer Junction, where it turns east to continue along the Old Oregon Trail. US 26 passes through Guernsey, Fort Laramie, Lingle, and Torrington before entering Nebraska. US 85 is concurrent with US 26 between Lingle and Torrington.

Nebraska

US 26 runs southeastward parallel to the North Platte River. The largest city US 26 runs through in Nebraska is Scottsbluff, which is just 22 miles from the Wyoming border. US 26 also goes past Chimney Rock National Historic Site. US 26 intersects with US 385 in Bridgeport and then continues to its eastern terminus in Ogallala, Nebraska at I-80. All told, there are of US 26 in the state of Nebraska.

History

Between 1952 and 2003, US 26 ran concurrently with 101 from Seaside, Oregon up to Astoria, where it abruptly ended at the Astoria-Megler bridge. In 2003, this concurrency was truncated and US 26 now began just south of Seaside.
U.S. Highway 320 was part of the initial 1926 system, connecting US 20 in Shoshoni with US 87W in Riverton, Wyoming. It became Wyoming Highway 320 in 1938, which was extended southwest to Lander in 1940 when US 287 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.

Major intersections

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;Wyoming
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