U.S. Route 730 (US 730) is an east–west

United States Numbered Highway 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 h ...

, of which all but 6.08 miles of its 41.78 miles (9.78 of 67.24 km) are within the state of

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 ...

. The highway starts in rural Morrow County in

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost countie ...

at an interchange with Interstate 84 (I-84) and US 30, located east of the city of Boardman. US 730 travels east along 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 ...

as a continuation of Columbia River Highway No. 2 into

Umatilla County Umatilla County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The population of 81,826 ranks it as the 14th largest in Oregon, and largest in Eastern Oregon. Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton remain ...

, intersecting I-82 and US 395 in the city of Umatilla. US 730 and US 395 form a short

concurrency 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 ...

within the city before the highways part, and US 730 continues northeast into

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The highway travels through rural

Walla Walla County Walla Walla County ( ) is a county located in the southeast of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 62,584. The county seat and most populous city is Walla Walla. The county was formed on April 25, 1854 and i ...

and ends at an intersection with US 12 south of Wallula. US 730 was created with the original US Highway System on November 11, 1926, traveling on the existing Columbia River Highway, established in 1917, from US 30 in Umatilla to US 410 south of Wallula. The Washington section of US 730 was added to the state highway system in 1923 as a branch of

State Road 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3 (disambiguation)#Roads, M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3 (disambiguation)#Roads, N3. For roads numbered 3A, see ...

, later becoming a branch of Primary State Highway 3 (PSH 3) in 1937. The highway was concurrent with US 395 from 1937 until 1985, traveling from Cold Springs Junction to US 410. US 30 was moved to a new route bypassing Umatilla and Irrigon in 1946, allowing for US 730 to be extended southwest to Boardman, later to an interchange with I-84.

Route description

US 730 runs in

and

and is listed as part of the National Highway System, a system of roads important to the nation's economy, defense and mobility, from its western terminus at

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts), passing through New York and Connecticut {{road disambiguation ...

east of Boardman to the end of its concurrency with US 395 in Umatilla. As 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 ...

in both states, the roadway is maintained 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) and

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

(WSDOT). US 730 has the highest designation of any

, or U.S. Route, and is the shortest existing highway in the system. The highway is defined by the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, w ...

as SR 730, part of the

Revised Code of Washington The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the compilation of all permanent laws currently in force in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Temporary laws such as appropriations acts are excluded. It is published by the Washington State S ...

as §47.17.821.

Oregon

US 730 begins at a

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...

with I-84 and US 30 at Boardman Junction, located east of the city of Boardman in Morrow County. The highway, a continuation of Columbia River Highway No. 2, travels northeast across a

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

rail line and passes the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge on the

before reaching the city of Irrigon. From Irrigon, US 730 continues northeast along the Columbia River into

and becomes 6th Street in the city of Umatilla. The highway intersects I-82 and US 395 in a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade separation, grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. ...

and forms a short concurrency with US 395. US 730 continues east through the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of McNary and the northern terminus of Oregon Route 207 (OR 207) in rural Umatilla County. The highway turns northeastward along

Lake Wallula Lake Wallula is a reservoir on the Columbia River in the United States, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It was created in 1954 with the construction of McNary Dam. It reaches from McNary Dam near the city of Umatilla, Oregon, to ...

and intersects OR 37 at Cold Springs Junction, providing connections north to the Warehouse Beach Recreation Area and Hat Rock State Park on the Columbia River and south to the city of Pendleton. US 730 heads into Washington, traveling between a Union Pacific rail line and the canyon walls of the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...

. An ODOT survey measuring traffic volume conducted in 2011 on US 730 calculated that the busiest section of the highway in Oregon was at its interchange with I-82, serving 11,800 vehicles, on average, while the least busy section of the highway was at the Washington state line, serving 2,500 vehicles.

Washington

US 730 continues north from Oregon along Lake Wallula and around Clover Hill, reaching Wallula Junction in

. The highway intersects its

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A Bypass route, bypass or beltway is not considered a spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the ...

and turns east towards its eastern terminus at US 12 south of the community of Wallula. In 2012, WSDOT calculated that the Washington section of US 730 served between 1,500 and 2,400 vehicles per day, on average.

History

The highway that became US 730 within Oregon has been designated by the

Oregon State 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 ...

as the easternmost segment of Columbia River Highway No. 2 since November 27, 1917, created as part of the initial named state highway system. The segment of US 730 within Washington was added to the state highway system in 1923 as a branch of

and kept its designation as a branch of PSH 3 during the creation of the primary and secondary highway system in 1937. The United States Numbered Highway System was adopted on November 11, 1926, by 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 ...

(AASHO) and included US 730, traveling northeast along the Columbia River from US 30 in Umatilla to US 410 south of Wallula. The highway was originally planned to be numbered as US 420, but was changed after US 30 was substituted in place of US 20 along the Columbia River. US 395 was extended south from

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, in 1937, becoming concurrent with US 730 between Cold Springs Junction and its eastern terminus at US 410 south of Wallula. US 30 was moved to a new section of the Old Oregon Trail Highway No. 6, bypassing the cities of Irrigon and Umatilla, on November 25, 1946. US 730 was subsequently extended west to a new junction with US 30 and later relocated uphill due to the construction of the

John Day Dam The John Day Dam is a concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River in the northwestern United States. The dam features a navigation lock plus fish ladders on both sides. The John Day Lock has the highest lift (at ) of any ...

. The highway's western terminus was moved farther south to an interchange with I-80N in 1967. During the westward extension of US 12 from

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), ...

into Washington, the Oregon state government suggested to AASHO a route that included the entirety of US 730 in 1962, while Washington state suggested routing US 12 over US 410 and State Route 12 (SR 12) to

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. AASHO approved the extension of US 12 into Washington on June 20, 1967, routing it along US 410 and SR 14 to its present terminus in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. US 395 was re-aligned to a concurrency with I-82 in 1985, crossing the Columbia River on the Umatilla Bridge and having a shorter concurrency with US 730. The old route of US 395 from Cold Springs Junction to Pendleton, part of Pendleton-Cold Springs Highway No. 236, became Oregon Route 37. The highway's eastern terminus in Wallula is planned to be moved further north to a new interchange with US 12 after the completion of the

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

– Walla Walla divided highway in the 2020s.

Major intersections

Spur route

U.S. Route 730 Spur (US 730 Spur) is a

in rural

Walla Walla County, Washington Walla Walla County ( ) is a county located in the southeast of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 62,584. The county seat and most populous city is Walla Walla. The county was formed on April 25, 1854 and ...

, that connects it to US 12 westbound towards Wallula, while US 730 is directed towards eastbound US 12 towards the city of Walla Walla. WSDOT included the road in its annual traffic survey in 2012 and calculated that 1,300 vehicles used the spur route.

Notes

References

External links

*
US 730 at US Highway Ends

{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 30-7 30-7 7 30-7 30-7 Transportation in Morrow County, Oregon Transportation in Umatilla County, Oregon Transportation in Walla Walla County, Washington