Oregon Route 6

For the unsigned Highway 6, see Old Oregon Trail Highway.

Oregon Route 6
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length:	51.25 mi (82.48 km)
Existed:	1942 (Rerouted 1957) – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 101 and OR 131 in Tillamook
	OR 47 in Banks
East end:	US 26 in North Plains
Highway system
Oregon highways Routes • Highways ← I-5 OR 7 →

Oregon Route 6 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon that runs between the city of Tillamook on the Oregon Coast, to the Willamette Valley, near Banks. It (or portions thereof) is also known as the Wilson River Highway No. 37 (see Oregon highways and routes), named after the river its westernmost segments run parallel to.

Route description

The highway near Banks looking east towards Portland

OR 6 begins (at its western terminus) at a junction with U.S. Route 101 and Oregon Route 131 in downtown Tillamook. From there it winds eastward though the Northern Oregon Coast Range along the Wilson River, and through a portion of the Tillamook State Forest. The stretch through the Coast Range is well known for its scenic beauty (as well as frequent accidents; the highway is a highly traveled route despite numerous twists and turns and steep grades). Emerging from the Coast Range, it passes through a few foothill communities. At the base of the Coast Range, Oregon Route 8 forks off to the east, heading towards the communities of Gales Creek and Forest Grove; whereas OR 6 continues to the northeast. OR 6 soon passes south of the city of Banks, where it has an interchange with the Nehalem Highway (OR 47), and Wilkesboro. A few miles east of Banks, OR 6 ends at an interchange with U.S. Route 26, the Sunset Highway. Travelers generally continue east on US 26 (which is a freeway east of the interchange) into Portland.

OR 6 passes through some of the areas devastated during the Tillamook Burn, a series of fires that occurred in the 1930s, '40s, and early '50s in eastern Tillamook County.

History

During the Great Depression workers from the Works Progress Administration assisted in the construction of the road.^[1] Before 1957, OR 6 included the entirety of today's Oregon Route 8, plus an additional stretch into downtown Portland. With the completion of the Sunset Highway (and the new alignment through Banks), the route through Gales Creek and the Tualatin Valley was renumbered as OR 8; and OR 6 was placed on the alignment it has today.

The section from Glenwood east to the US 26 junction was a former and temporary routing of US 26, continuing north through Timber. This routing was used by US 26 while the final stretch was completed.

Major intersections

Note: mileposts do not reflect actual mileage due to realignments.

County	Location	Mile[2]	Destinations	Notes
Tillamook	Tillamook	0.0	US 101 / OR 131 – Bay City, Astoria, Hebo, Newport, Netarts, Oceanside, Cape Lookout State Park
Washington	Glenwood	38.95	Timber, Vernonia
		42.28	OR 8 east (Gales Creek Road) – Forest Grove
	Banks	49.09	OR 47 – Banks, Forest Grove	Interchange
		51.62	US 26 east – Portland	Interchange

References

1. ^ Robbins, William G. (2002). "Subtopic : Oregon in Depression and War, 1925-1945: The Most Visible of Relief Agencies". The Oregon History Project. Oregon Historical Society. http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/narratives/subtopic.cfm?subtopic_ID=106. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
2. ^ Oregon Department of Transportation, Public Road Inventory (primarily the Digital Video Log), accessed April 2008

External links

• Oregon Highways
• ORoads: Oregon Highway 6