Featured Article Summary #94

Interstate 205 (I-205) is a north–south highway that runs as an eastern bypass of I-5 through the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington area. It is 37 miles long and connects back to I-5 at both ends, south in Tualatin, Oregon and north in Salmon Creek, Washington, while also serving places like Portland International Airport. Along parts of its route, the highway is paired with a multi-use trail and segments of the MAX Light Rail system. Plans for an eastern bypass were first proposed in 1943 and later included in early Interstate Highway plans, with I-205 officially designated in 1958. Construction started in 1967, including the Abernethy Bridge, and the freeway reached Portland in 1977; the Columbia River crossing and the rest of the route were completed by 1983, with later ramp additions linking to I-84. I-205 mainly acts as a bypass of I-5 in the Portland area, serving Vancouver, Washington, and the eastern suburbs of Portland, Oregon. It is recognized as important on the National Highway System, and Oregon’s part is also known as the East Portland Freeway and the Veterans Memorial Highway. ODOT and WSDOT maintain the road and track traffic using annual average daily traffic (AADT), which in 2018 and 2019 ranged from about 47,000 to 170,900 vehicles depending on the location. The busiest Columbia River crossing on I-205 is the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge, which carried more traffic than the older I-5 Interstate Bridge in 2019. I-205 starts at an interchange with I-5 in eastern Tualatin, Oregon, then goes east into Clackamas County, passing suburbs, forests, and farmland. It follows the Willamette River through West Linn, crosses it on the Abernethy Bridge into Oregon City, and continues north past the Amtrak station to join OR 213. North of Clackamas, it intersects several highways, runs near MAX light-rail tracks, and reaches Portland in Multnomah County. I-205 runs through eastern Portland, parallel to OR 213 along 82nd Avenue and the I-205 Transitway carrying the MAX Green Line. It passes through neighborhoods including Lents and Powellhurst-Gilbert, then continues north past major streets and rail lines, intersects I-84 and US 30 near Gateway, and crosses the Columbia River on the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge into Washington. In Vancouver, Washington, I-205 serves the northeastern area and Clark County suburbs, connecting with SR 14, Mill Plain Boulevard, and Northeast 18th Street. It continues through residential areas to an interchange with SR 500 near Vancouver Mall, then narrows and ends at I-5 near Salmon Creek, using a partly unfinished set of connections via Northeast 134th Street. A multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail runs along I-205 on the Oregon side of the Portland area, connecting to the Springwater Corridor near the Foster Road exit. It parallels the highway for 19 miles from Oregon City to Southeast 23rd Street in Vancouver, including a 12‑foot path in the middle of the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge. ODOT maintains the trail, though some cleanup tasks were moved to the City of Portland in 2018, and plans to replace the trail with light rail were not approved.