Oregon Route 224 is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

which runs through some of Portland's southeastern suburbs and ends in the Cascades.

Route description

The northwestern terminus is an interchange with OR 99E in Milwaukie, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Portland. It continues east as the Milwaukie Expressway, but is formally part of the Clackamas Highway No. 171 (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 ...

). After crossing Interstate 205 in Clackamas, it becomes the Sunrise Expressway for about two miles. Then, the highway continues east as a four-lane

arterial An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

, resuming its designation as the Clackamas Highway, and which it shares with OR 212. East of Clackamas, OR 224 splits off OR 212, and continues south as the Clackamas Highway, passing through hilly farmland. About north of Estacada, it overlaps OR 211. On the eastern edge of Estacada, OR 224 separates from OR 211, and heads southeast into the

Mount Hood National Forest The Mount Hood National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, located east of the city of Portland and the northern Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting fo ...

, here you are in the mountains heading to the small community of Ripplebrook, its southeastern terminus, where state highway maintenance ends. Drivers may continue along the paved

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

Road 46 to OR 22 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, though snow makes the road impassable approximately early November through early May. USFS Road 46 was formerly signed as a portion of OR 224, but was never a state-maintained highway.

History

This is the second route in Oregon with the designation 224. There was an earlier version of OR 224 connecting US 99W (modern

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 ...

) south of Monmouth to

Oregon Route 223 Oregon Route 223 is a state highway in the U.S. State of Oregon, which runs between the town of Wren, Oregon and the city of Dallas, Oregon. It is known as the Kings Valley Highway No. 191 (see Oregon highways and routes) and is long. It ...

near Lewisville following today's Elkins Rd. In those days, Oregon Route 223 followed today's Airlie Rd and Maple Grove Rd between Falls City and Pedee). This incarnation of OR 224 existed from the inception of the Oregon Route System in 1932 until sometime between 1942 and 1944. The Clackamas Highway was realigned onto a section of I-205 in 1971. The easternmost of OR 224 in Mount Hood National Forest was closed to traffic during the 2020 Labor Day wildfires, which damaged pavement, guardrails, and nearby trees. It is reopened to traffic on May 1, 2022, 19 months after its closure.

Sunrise Expressway

The Sunrise Expressway (known as Sunrise Corridor during construction) is a

limited-access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...

in Clackamas. It serves as an extension of the Milwaukie Expressway portion of OR 224. Planning for the expressway started in the 1980s. Plans weren't approved until 2010, with construction starting in 2013. Costing $130 million, the expressway opened on July 1, 2016. A

multi-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

for use by bicyclists and pedestrians was constructed along the highway. It is the newest highway constructed in the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

since OR 213 bypassed

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

in 1989.

Major intersections

References

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224 Year 224 ( CCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iulianus and Crispinus (or, less frequently, year 977 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 224 for this ...

Transportation in Clackamas County, Oregon