Rose City Freeway
Encyclopedia
The Rose City Freeway was a proposed freeway alignment through the Northeast sector of Portland, Oregon
. The freeway's path would have begun at the I-5/I-405
interchange near the Fremont Bridge's east approach. From the elevated stack interchange
, it would transition to grade, moving roughly northeast to Prescott Street. To establish a northern cross-town freeway belt, a second section of freeway was to follow NE Prescott Street east to I-205
. Although functionally the same freeway, this section was going to be named the Prescott Freeway.
A successful freeway revolt surrounding the controversial St. Helens Freeway (I-505) and Mount Hood Freeway in the late 1970s impacted all Portland area freeway plans.
The unfinished freeway structure now serves as the Kerby Avenue exit on the Fremont Bridge's lower deck. Although removing the structure was once considered, nearby Legacy Emanuel Hospital lobbied to connect it to the surface street grid in order to have emergency access to the Fremont Bridge.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. The freeway's path would have begun at the I-5/I-405
Interstate 405 (Oregon)
Interstate 405 is a short Interstate Highway in Portland, Oregon. It forms a loop from Interstate 5 that travels through downtown Portland west of the Willamette River.-Route description:...
interchange near the Fremont Bridge's east approach. From the elevated stack interchange
Stack interchange
A stack interchange is a free-flowing grade separated junction between two roads.In countries where one drives on the right, left turns are handled by semi-directional flyover/under ramps...
, it would transition to grade, moving roughly northeast to Prescott Street. To establish a northern cross-town freeway belt, a second section of freeway was to follow NE Prescott Street east to I-205
Interstate 205 (Oregon-Washington)
Interstate 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, and is also known as the East Portland Freeway...
. Although functionally the same freeway, this section was going to be named the Prescott Freeway.
A successful freeway revolt surrounding the controversial St. Helens Freeway (I-505) and Mount Hood Freeway in the late 1970s impacted all Portland area freeway plans.
Remnants
The present north I-405/I-5 interchange is actually an incomplete full stack interchange. A short section of freeway was built past the interchange which transitioned to grade. Ramp stubs exist which would have connected both northbound and southbound I-5 to the eastbound Rose City Freeway. Also the NB I-5 to SB I-405 ramp was built with enough clearance to allow installation of the extra ramps needed to make a full connection to the planned freeway. All of this was built along with the Fremont Bridge, which opened in 1973.The unfinished freeway structure now serves as the Kerby Avenue exit on the Fremont Bridge's lower deck. Although removing the structure was once considered, nearby Legacy Emanuel Hospital lobbied to connect it to the surface street grid in order to have emergency access to the Fremont Bridge.
External links
- Willamette Week: Highway to Hell: Retrospective article on Portland's cancelled freeways.