1999 Eugene Arterial & Collector Street Plan

New Search

the agricultural commerce that formed the basis of Oregon's first fifty years of existence. The timber industry emerged as an equal, if not greater, eco- nomic engine driving the development and popula- tion of the state. In 1913 the Oregon Highway Department was established and their motto was to "get Oregon out of the mud" by building a system of graveled and paved highways that connected the many communities around the state, including the "Skinner's mudhole" now know as Eugene. Historic Influences in the Eugene Area Since many of the early communities in Oregon were established near rivers and major streams, it was very common to have privately operated ferries, but the operation and maintenance costs of these were high and they were unreliable, particu- larlyduring high water periods. One of the major efforts in the early days of the state highway depart- ment was the construction of bridges to replace many of these inadequate, inefficient ferries. In the Eugene area, the early bridges into and out of the area which are still in place include the Franklin Street bridge and the Ferry Street bridge over the Willamette River, and the Coburg Road bridge over the McKenzie River. The early growth of Eugene from the downtown area slowly outward, along with the geography of the river and the early bridge locations, contributed to the radial pattern of roadways that came to make up most of the city's major arterial network During the 1920's and 30's, the 36 counties in the state established a market road system, designed to enable farmers to transport their produce and livestock from farm to market before it spoiled or died. This network formed the backbone of our existing rural highway and principal county road system, most of which still exists today. Examples of farm access roads that later evolved into arterials include Harlow Road, Cal Young Road, and Garden Way in the Willakenzie area. Recent History After World War II, the number of registered auto- mobiles expanded rapidly, particularly in Western Oregon. In the 1950's, the Interstate and Defense Highway system was developed and throughout the next two decades freeway construction dominated the northern and western portions of the state. Many of the U.S. Highway routes became Oregon routes as the interstates were completed and several communities which had developed around the highway now found themselves "bypassed" by this new, limited access facility. Often the U.S. or Oregon route through a community was their Main Street, and frequently contained much of the primary commercial district. Eugene's Highway 99 North is an example of a state highway that was originally built as a bypass itself (replacing River Road as the main north-south route through Eu- gene), only to be bypassed later by Interstate 5. During the 1970's, throughout the state of Oregon, a move toward legislation of land use planning and a growing concern for protecting the area's dimin- ishing natural resources, altered or interrupted much of the future road system that had been envisioned over those previous two decades. In Eugene, the connection of Interstate 105 to 6th/7th Avenue at Jefferson and Washington streets, which had been considered temporary, became perma- nent. The construction of Delta Highway and Beltline Road by Lane County were the last Limited access freeway-type facilities built in the Eugene area. The adoption of the T-200.0 Plan in the late 1970's marked a significant policy decision to place greater reliance on alternative transportation modes to reduce the need for adding roadway capacity, and to emphasize improvements to existing streets rather than construction of new corridors. The resulting pattern of major streets during the past 20 years has remained essentially unchanged, with incremental additions to the network rather than extensive new roadways.