Difference between revisions of "Oregon Route 127"

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(OR-127 shields have started appearing at intersections with Cornelius Pass Road)
(Shields have now been posted at OR-127's endpoints)
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{{Routebox|type=OR|number=127|name=Oregon Route 127|highway=Cornelius Pass Highway #127|map=OR_127-map.jpg|maintained_by=Oregon Department of Transportation|length=7.84|created=2020|start_terminus_dir=North|start_terminus={{Jct|type=US|number=30|page=US Route 30|route=US-30}} near Burlington|end_terminus_dir=South|end_terminus={{Jct|type=US|number=26|page=US Route 26|route=US-26}} in Hillsboro|prev_route={{Jct|type=OR|number=126|page=Oregon Route 126|route=OR-126}}|next_route={{Jct|type=OR|number=130|page=Oregon Route 130|route=OR-130|align=right}}}}
 
{{Routebox|type=OR|number=127|name=Oregon Route 127|highway=Cornelius Pass Highway #127|map=OR_127-map.jpg|maintained_by=Oregon Department of Transportation|length=7.84|created=2020|start_terminus_dir=North|start_terminus={{Jct|type=US|number=30|page=US Route 30|route=US-30}} near Burlington|end_terminus_dir=South|end_terminus={{Jct|type=US|number=26|page=US Route 26|route=US-26}} in Hillsboro|prev_route={{Jct|type=OR|number=126|page=Oregon Route 126|route=OR-126}}|next_route={{Jct|type=OR|number=130|page=Oregon Route 130|route=OR-130|align=right}}}}
'''Oregon Route 127''' is a state route that runs between [[US Route 30|US-30]] near Burlington and [[US Route 26|US-26]] in Hillsboro along the northern portion of Cornelius Pass Road. It is known internally to the Oregon Department of Transportation as the '''Cornelius Pass Highway #127'''. Originally a Multnomah and Washington County road, jurisdiction was transferred to ODOT on March 1, 2021<ref name="jt844">Oregon Department of Transportation/Washington County. "Jurisdictional Transfer Agreement #844," 23 November 2020, https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Get-Involved/OTCSupportMaterials/Consent_08_Attach_03_JT_844_Agreement.pdf, last accessed 9 February 2021</ref>. As of April 2, 2021, shields have not been posted along the highway, nor have mileposts been erected on Washington County's portion; however, at least one OR-127 shield has been posted along US-30 near the junction with the highway. In addition, OR-127 shields can been seen on traffic lights at intersections with cross-streets like NE Wagon Drive as of April 5, 2021.
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'''Oregon Route 127''' is a state route that runs between [[US Route 30|US-30]] near Burlington and [[US Route 26|US-26]] in Hillsboro along the northern portion of Cornelius Pass Road. It is known internally to the Oregon Department of Transportation as the '''Cornelius Pass Highway #127'''. Originally a Multnomah and Washington County road, jurisdiction was transferred to ODOT on March 1, 2021<ref name="jt844">Oregon Department of Transportation/Washington County. "Jurisdictional Transfer Agreement #844," 23 November 2020, https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Get-Involved/OTCSupportMaterials/Consent_08_Attach_03_JT_844_Agreement.pdf, last accessed 9 February 2021</ref>. As of April 2, 2021, mileposts been erected on Washington County's portion. However, as of May 28, 2021 the northern end has both a BEGIN and END OR-127 shield assembly, with the southern end having just an END OR-127 assembly. OR-127 shields also have been posted on both directions of US-30 near the junction with the highway, as well as on the sign blades at the intersection itself. In addition, OR-127 shields can been seen on traffic lights at intersections with cross-streets like NE Wagon Drive as of April 5, 2021.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==

Revision as of 23:03, 28 May 2021

OR 127.png
Oregon Route 127
Cornelius Pass Highway #127
OR 127-map.jpg
Route Information
Maintained by Oregon Department of Transportation
Length 7.84 mi.
Existed 2020 to present
Junctions
North End US 30.png US-30 near Burlington
South End US 26.png US-26 in Hillsboro
Navigation
OR 126.png OR-126 OR-130 OR 130.png

Oregon Route 127 is a state route that runs between US-30 near Burlington and US-26 in Hillsboro along the northern portion of Cornelius Pass Road. It is known internally to the Oregon Department of Transportation as the Cornelius Pass Highway #127. Originally a Multnomah and Washington County road, jurisdiction was transferred to ODOT on March 1, 2021[1]. As of April 2, 2021, mileposts been erected on Washington County's portion. However, as of May 28, 2021 the northern end has both a BEGIN and END OR-127 shield assembly, with the southern end having just an END OR-127 assembly. OR-127 shields also have been posted on both directions of US-30 near the junction with the highway, as well as on the sign blades at the intersection itself. In addition, OR-127 shields can been seen on traffic lights at intersections with cross-streets like NE Wagon Drive as of April 5, 2021.

History

Prior to Jurisdictional Transfer

Cornelius Pass Road was built at some point in the 19th century by Thomas R. Cornelius, a prominent Oregon politician and soldier for whom the town of Cornelius is named[2]. The Multnomah County side, a twisting road up the western bank of McCarthy Creek, was mostly widened[3], paved[4] and straightened[5] in the early 1930s, with the final half-mile paved in 1936[6]. At the time, Cornelius Pass Road was described as a "well-surfaced oiled macadam ... road up an easy grade to the summit of the west hills" through "prosperous, well-kept farming country, a bit of woods, and views of the Coast Range."[7]

The Washington County portion of Cornelius Pass Road was a part of Market Road #22, which ran from Hillsboro through Orenco and West Union to the Multnomah County Line near Rockton and Skyline Blvd. The original alignment ran mostly down the western side of Rock Creek along what is now Old Cornelius Pass Road. A newer, gentler alignment to the east was built between 1946[8] and 1948[9], including an additional 1.5 miles in Multnomah County. A portion of Germantown Road near West Union was reconfigured as a southward extension of Cornelius Pass Road around that same time.

Ever since the Sunset Highway #47 opened to traffic October 8, 1948[10], Cornelius Pass Road has traveled over it on a bridge. Aerial images from the early 1950s show the highway had a primitive "interchange" with Cornelius Pass Road. This was changed into a trumpet/parclo interchange, likely with the twinning of the Sunset Highway in the mid-1960s. The interchange was rebuilt around 1988-89, and two additional ramps in a half-diamond configuration were opened in 2005[11].

In the late 1980s, Cornelius Pass Road was suggested as a possible route for a "Westside Bypass" travelling from I-5 near the junction of I-205 in Tualatin through the Aloha area and the West Hills into Washington state, though numerous proposals have failed to gain steam due to opposition[12].

Prior to jurisdictional transfer, Cornelius Pass Road was comprised of Multnomah County Roads #891, #891-A and #1642[9] and Washington County Roads #2459 and part of #1172[1]. In addition, the 2016 Multnomah County Road Log shows it as County Road #172[13].

Jurisdictional Transfer

This ODOT map from 2015 identifies Cornelius Pass Road as a possible jurisdictional transfer candidate.

In 2015, the Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill 117, which set up a task force to identify and recommend candidates for the jurisdictional transfer of highways and roads to and from the state of Oregon[14]. While many roads were identified for possible transfer from the state to cities and counties, a few county roads were recommended for transfer to ODOT for maintenance. A March 16, 2015 letter from Paul Mather, ODOT Highway Administrator, to the Senate Committee on Business and Transportation included maps showing candidate transfers across the state; the map for the Portland area included Cornelius Pass Road as a possible transfer from county to state maintenance[15].

The transfer was included as part of House Bill 2017 called "Keep Oregon Moving" which was passed as part of the 2017 legislative session and signed by Gov. Kate Brown[16]. Because the road crosses a county line, two separate jurisdictional transfer agreements had to be created, #844 for Washington County[1] and #845 for Multnomah County[9], each requiring the county to make safety improvements. Multnomah County realigned some curves (including a sharp S-curve near Skyline Blvd.), widened shoulders, added and replaced mileposts, and installed guardrails on their portion in the summers of 2019 and 2020 at a cost of $5.65 million[17]. On the Washington County side, the intersection of Cornelius Pass Road, Old Cornelius Pass and Germantown Road was improved, including adding a traffic signal, between October 2019 and May 2020 at a cost of $1.1 million[18][19].

After the counties completed their construction projects, Washington County approved the transfer on October 12, 2020[20], with Multnomah County following suit on December 17, 2020[21]. The Oregon Transportation Commission approved the transfers at their meeting on January 21, 2021[22]. ODOT officially took over jurisdiction of Cornelius Pass Road on March 1, 2021, save for the 1946 bridge over Rock Creek in Washington County which will be transferred once the county replaces it[1][8].

Gallery

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Oregon Department of Transportation/Washington County. "Jurisdictional Transfer Agreement #844," 23 November 2020, https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Get-Involved/OTCSupportMaterials/Consent_08_Attach_03_JT_844_Agreement.pdf, last accessed 9 February 2021
  2. Baron, Connie. "Paths Linking Past and Present," The Oregonian, 6 March 2008, p. 10
  3. The Morning Oregonian. "County Road Jobs Will Be Available," 30 May 1931, p. 12
  4. The Morning Oregonian. "$569,645 Survives Ax in Road Budget," 3 October 1931, p. 17
  5. The Sunday Oregonian. "1933 Road Fund Set at $796,330," 4 September 1932, p. 2
  6. The Morning Oregonian. "Paving Favored on Rocky Butte," 7 April 1936, p. 9
  7. The Sunday Oregonian. "Let's Go for a Ride," 18 March 1934, sec. 5, p. 1
  8. 8.0 8.1 Washington County. "Cornelius Pass Road Bridge Over Rock Creek: About," https://www.co.washington.or.us/LUT/TransportationProjects/cornelius-pass-road-bridge-over-rock-creek.cfm, last accessed 10 February 2021
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Oregon Department of Transportation/Multnomah County. "Jurisdictional Transfer Agreement #845," 6 November 2020, https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Get-Involved/OTCSupportMaterials/Consent_09_Attach_03_JT_845_Agreement.pdf, last accessed 9 February 2021
  10. Schmidt, Donna. "The 16-Year Making of the Sunset Highway," Times Portrait of Washington County, 1 & 2 March 1989, p. 10B
  11. The Oregonian. "U.S. 26 Work Continues," 10 January 2005, p. B2
  12. Green, Ashbel S. "State Agency, 1000 Friends Appeal Westside Bypass," The Oregonian, 22 November 1988, p. B12
  13. Multnomah County. "PCI by Road Section (A to Z)/ADT," 21 December 2016, p. 4, https://multco.us/file/33797/download, last accessed 8 February 2021
  14. Senate Bill 117, Oregon State Legislature, 2015 Session, https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2015R1/Measures/Overview/SB117, last accessed 8 February 2021
  15. Mather, Paul letter to Oregon Senate Committee on Business and Transportation, 16 March 2015
  16. Oregon Department of Transportation. "NW Cornelius Pass Road Jurisdictional Transfer," last updated 17 December 2020, https://www.oregon.gov/odot/projects/pages/project-details.aspx?project=CornPassTransfer, last accessed 8 February 2021
  17. Multnomah County. "Cornelius Pass Road Safety Improvements," last updated 18 December 2020, https://multco.us/roads/webform/cornelius-pass-road-safety-improvements, last accessed 8 February 2021
  18. Washington County. "Cornelius Pass Road/Germantown Road Intersection: About," https://www.co.washington.or.us/LUT/TransportationProjects/corneliuspassgermantown.cfm?page=About, last accessed 8 February 2021
  19. Washington County. "Cornelius Pass Road/Germantown Road Intersection: News," https://www.co.washington.or.us/LUT/TransportationProjects/corneliuspassgermantown.cfm?page=Activity, last accessed 8 February 2021
  20. Washington County Coordinating Committee. October 2020 Agenda, 12 October 2020, p. 2, https://www.co.washington.or.us/LUT/Divisions/LongRangePlanning/PlanningPrograms/TransportationPlanning/upload/WCCC-Agenda_Packet4_2020-1012.pdf, last accessed 8 February 2021
  21. Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. "Multnomah County Board approves transfer of Cornelius Pass Road to ODOT," 17 December 2020, https://multco.us/multnomah-county/news/multnomah-county-board-approves-transfer-cornelius-pass-road-odot, last accessed 8 February 2021
  22. Oregon Transportation Commission agenda, 21 January 2021, p. 3