US Route 320

US Route 320
Salmon River Highway #39 Willamina-Salem Highway #30 Pacific Highway East #1E Silver Creek Falls Highway #163 North Santiam Highway #162
Route Information
Maintained by Oregon State Highway Department
Length	≈140 mi.
Existed	May 9, 1958 to June 26, 1958
Junctions
West End	US-101 at Otis
	OR-22 at Valley Junction  OR-18 at Wallace Bridge  OR-18 Business at Wallace Bridge  OR-223 near Dallas  US-99W at Rickreall  OR-51 at Brunks Corner  OR-221 in West Salem  OR-219 in Salem  US-99 Business in Salem  I-5/  US-99 Business in Salem  OR-214 near Shaw  OR-226 at Mehama
East End	US-20 at Santiam Junction
Navigation
←  OR-293 OR-331  →

US Route 320 was a proposed US route that ran between US-101 at Otis and US-20 at Santiam Junction. If approved, it would have taken over a portion of OR-18 (the Salmon River Highway #39) between Otis to the Wallace Bridge near Willamina and most of OR-22 (consisting of the entirety of the Willamina-Salem Highway #30 and North Santiam Highway #162 and a small portion of the Silver Creek Falls Highway #163) from Valley Junction to Santiam Junction. Within Salem, it would have also been co-signed with US-99 Business (Salem) (Pacific Highway East #1E) for 0.5 miles. It was approved by the OSHC in 1958, but AASHO denied the petition later that year. It was rediscovered in a post by Kurumi on misc.transport.road in 2005, with supporting documentation made available later via AASHTO's Route Numbering Archive.

History

Highway History Prior to Proposal

The proposed US-320 would have run along all or some of five separate state highways. In 1958:

1. The portion between Otis and Wallace Bridge was the westernmost section of the Salmon River Highway #39. The origin of this section can itself be broken down into two sub-units: (A) Otis to Valley Junction and (B) Valley Junction to Wallace Bridge. Sub-unit (A) was constructed as a forest highway project that was acquired by the state on October 30, 1930. Sub-unit (B) was originally part of the McMinnville-Tillamook Highway #32 (known as the Yamhill-Nestucca Highway #32 prior to March 24, 1920). Sub-units (A) and (B) both became part of the Salmon River Highway #39 by 1939.
2. The portion between Wallace Bridge and Salem consisted of the entirety of the Willamina-Salem Highway #30. This highway was also cobbled together from two different sub-units: (C) Wallace Bridge to Dallas and (D) Dallas to Salem. Sub-unit (C) was originally part of the Dallas-Coast Highway #192 until 1953. Sub-unit (D) had been known as two other names in the past, both Highway #30: the Salem-Independence Highway from 1917 to 1919, and the Salem-Dallas Highway from 1919 to 1953. the year it was combined with sub-unit (C).
3. The portion within Salem was a tiny part of the Pacific Highway East #1E. Prior to March 10, 1937, this was the route of the original Pacific Highway #1.
4. Another portion within Salem was the southernmost portion of the Silver Creek Falls Highway #163. The highway was designated on November 13, 1931 and wasn't rolled back to its current terminus until the early 1970s.
5. The portion between the junction of the Silver Creek Falls Highway #163 and Santiam Junction was the entirety of the North Santiam Highway #162. The highway was designated in three separate sections starting on November 13, 1931 and was likewise constructed piecemeal, with construction interrupted by disputes with a railroad, disagreements with the US Army Corps of Engineers, and World War II. A largely curvy road when it was first completed, it underwent improvements and realignments in the postwar era.

Route History Prior to Proposal

Between Otis and Wallace Bridge, US-320 had originally been designated OR-18 on June 22, 1932; that same day, the portion between Wallace Bridge and Salem was designated OR-22. The portion from Salem to Santiam Junction was designated OR-222 around 1934; it wouldn't become an eastward extension of OR-22 or gain its cosign with US-99 Business until about 1952.

In addition, the route between Salem and Santiam Junction had been proposed as a possible US-14N around 1936.

US-320 Proposal

At the May 9, 1958 meeting of the Oregon State Highway Commission, State Highway Engineer W. C. Williams presented numerous requests made by cities, including the capital Salem, for a new east-west US route. He then presented a proposal for US Route 320 which would satisfy those requests. The route would have begun at the junction of present-day OR-22 and US-20 at Santiam Junction, and would have followed OR-22 through Salem until its junction with OR-18 at Wallace Bridge near Willamina. From there, it would continue along OR-18's alignment westward until the junction of US-101 in Otis, where OR-18 ended at the time. In downtown Salem, it would share 0.5 miles of alignment with US-99 Business.

The committee unanimously approved the proposal.

The Engineer presented a request from a number of cities, including the City of Salem, that the following described state highway route be designated as US Route No. 320:

"Beginning at the junction of the presently designated US Route 20 with ORE 22 (North Santiam Highway) near the summit of the Cascade Range at Santiam Pass, Linn County, thence northerly and westerly via ORE 22 to the city of Salem, thence following OR 22 and ORE 18 to a connection with US 101 at Otis, Lincoln County."

He recommended approval of such US Route designation and that he be authorized to present a request for the same to the Route Numbering Committee of the American Association of State Highway Officials. Following discussion the Commission unanimously approved such route number designation and authorized the Engineer to recommend it to the AASHO Committee.

-OSHC Minutes, 1958-05-09

On May 12, Williams sent the necessary copies of the route creation application to AASHO for review; it was received May 14. In the application, Williams explains the state's rationale for the new route:

At the present time Salem, the capital of the state, is not served by any east-west US route. The route as proposed herein would provide, through its connection with US20, a US route connecting Salem with the eastern portions of the state and with far eastern points. Through the extension to US101 a direct route would be provided to the major resort area of the Oregon Coast, a major attraction to tourists from the eastern part of the country. The highways comprising the proposed route have been under reconstruction during the past few years and it is believed that this is now an attractive route for trans-state travel.

A. E. Johnson, AASHO's Executive Secretary, acknowledged receiving Oregon's application on May 15, and submitted the application to the route numbering committee on May 20 for consideration on June 26. Unfortunately for the state, the committee rejected the application because it violated Item 5 under Established Policies in AASHO's Purpose and Policy in the Establishment and Development of United States Numbered Highways (violation highlighted in bold below):

5. No new U. S. route located wholly in one State shall be established. U. S. routes, less than three hundred miles in length, heretofore established and located wholly in one State, shall be eliminated either by consolidation with other U. S. routes or by reverting to State routes, as rapidly as the State Highway Department and the Executive Committee of the American Association of State Highway Officials can reach agreement with reference thereto.

After the route was rejected by AASHO, W. C. Williams received the news in a July 9 letter from Executive Secretary Johnson. The routes of OR-18 and OR-22 were therefore unchanged, and remain so to this day.

Miscellany

• Originally US-630 was proposed to be US-320 had US-30 been numbered US-20 as originally proposed.
• A different US-320 existed in Wyoming from 1926 through 1939, surviving today as a part of US-26 and WY-789.