U.S. Route 20 (US 20) is a major west–east cross-state highway in the northern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, especially east of the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

. It connects

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

in Newport on the central

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

to the

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

state line east of Nyssa.

Route description

US 20 starts at an

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...

with US 101 in Newport, and travels eastward over the

Central Oregon Coast Range The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States ro ...

to Corvallis. In Corvallis, it intersects

Oregon Route 99W Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees wi ...

(OR 99W) and briefly travels

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with OR 34 before proceeding northeast to Albany. From Albany, US 20 briefly travels concurrent with OR 99E before turning east through

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and Sweet Home and entering the

. It intersects OR 126 west of

Santiam Pass Santiam Pass is a mountain pass in the Cascade Range in central Oregon in the United States. It is located on the border between Linn and Jefferson counties, about northwest of Sisters, between the prominent volcanic horns of Three Fingered ...

and the two routes travel concurrent through

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

. US 20 then continues eastward and southward to Bend, where it travels roughly parallel to US 97 for about before turning east through

Brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

and

Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...

. At Riley, US 20 travels concurrent with US 395 through Hines and

Burns Burns may refer to: Astronomy * 2708 Burns, an asteroid * Burns (crater), on Mercury People * Burns (surname), list of people and characters named Burns ** Burns (musician), Scottish record producer Places in the United States * Burns, ...

to about northeast of Burns. From Burns, US 20 continues east through Juntura and

Vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municip ...

. In Vale, US 20 travels concurrent with US 26, and the two highways continue east to Cairo Junction, south of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and turn south, where they then also travel concurrently with OR 201 to Nyssa. Eastward from Nyssa, US 20/US 26 continue to the

state line. The route throughout most of Oregon serves as an important link between Central and Southern Oregon and far

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

History

Under the initial 1925 plan for the

United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these ...

, US 20 was originally planned to follow the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

from Astoria to Pendleton and continue southeast into Idaho. The

Oregon Highway Commission The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Dep ...

requested that US 30 be assigned to the Columbia River Highway instead and have US 20 truncated at

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, Idaho, Power County, containing the city's airport. It is t ...

. The

American Association of State Highway Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...

ultimately agreed to truncate US 20 further to

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

, but later extended it via central Oregon in 1940. A section of the Corvallis–Newport Highway between Chitwood to Eddyville was replaced by the

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway De ...

(ODOT) in the early 21st century to accommodate higher traffic volumes. The section, originally opened in 1917, was winding and had no shoulder for vehicle breakdowns. Construction on a straighter, route began in 2005 and was planned to be completed in 2009, but landslides and other hazards caused delays. In 2012, ODOT took over the project from the original

design–build Design–build (or design/build, and abbreviated D–B or D/B accordingly), also known as alternative delivery, is a Project delivery method, project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which t ...

contractor after an agreement was reached in their liability dispute. The project was completed in October 2016 at a cost of $365 million. In 2017, the Oregon legislature designated Oregon’s 451-mile stretch of U.S. Route 20 as the state’s official Medal of Honor Highway. Twelve roadside signs were placed along the route to honor Oregon’s Medal of Honor recipients. Oregon was the first state to designate a border-to-border route as its official Medal of Honor Highway. Supporters hope other states will extend the Medal of Honor designation from the Oregon border to highway’s eastern terminus in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

.Warner, Gary A.
"Medal of Honor Highway saluted near Bend"
''The Bulletin'', Bend, Oregon, 16 January 2018.

Oregon highway designations

The Oregon section of US 20 consists of the following highways numbered using ODOT's internal numbering system (see

Oregon highways and routes The state highway system of the U.S. state of Oregon is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the Highway Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Highways and routes The state highway system consists of a ...

), from west to east: * The Corvallis-Newport Highway No. 33; * Part of the Corvallis-Lebanon Highway No. 210; * The Albany-Corvallis Highway No. 31; * The Santiam Highway No. 16; * Part of the McKenzie Highway No. 15; * The McKenzie-Bend Highway No. 17; * The Central Oregon Highway No. 7.

Major intersections

Special routes

US 20 has 2 business routes in Oregon:

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, and

in Bend.

References

External links

*
U.S. 20: Route crosses the Cascades and heads east
- ''The Oregonian'' {{compact state detail browse, type=US, route=20, state=Oregon, statebefore=, stateafter=Idaho 20 Oregon Transportation in Deschutes County, Oregon Transportation in Linn County, Oregon Transportation in Benton County, Oregon Transportation in Harney County, Oregon Transportation in Lincoln County, Oregon Transportation in Malheur County, Oregon