End of historic US highway 830
Approx. time
period
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East Terminus
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West Terminus
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1926-1933
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(near Goldendale, WA)
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(near Naselle, WA)
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1933-1949
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(northeast of Maryhill, WA)
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(near Naselle, WA)
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1949-1968
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(north of Maryhill, WA)
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(near Naselle, WA)
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(about 133 k)
Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive
collection of historical road atlases, much of the info below is
based on the research of Robert Droz; click
here to view his site. Photo credits: Chris
Elbert; Mike
Wiley
US 830 was an original 1926 route, and it lasted until 1968. It
was entirely in Washington, running along the north bank of the
Columbia River, connecting US 97 to US 101 near Naselle. It never
connected with its implied "parent" (US 30), but that route ran (and
still does run) along the south bank in Oregon, right across the
river.
This first photo below is looking west on WA hwy. 4 where it ends at US 101:
Wiley, Aug. 2001 (Elbert reports unchanged as of Apr. 2006)
That's essentially where the west end of US 830 used to be (the town of Naselle
is about 5 miles behind the camera). However, Chris points out that this junction
was realigned at some point, as you can see on the USGS topo below:
The purple roads were revised sometime after the original map was drafted,
but the brown lines still indicate the former alignment of the raised roadbed.
In 2006 Chris observed that some of the old asphalt still remains.
Below we're on northbound US 101:
Wiley, Aug. 2001 (Elbert reports unchanged as of Apr. 2006)
The west beginning of US 830 was straight ahead. Below we're heading south
on US 101:
Elbert,
Apr. 2006
US 101 continues to the right, and to the left is the west beginning of WA
hwy. 4. That essentially where US 830 once began. Let's have a closer look at
that sign:
Elbert,
Apr. 2006
Notice anything strange about that? Astoria is served by US 101, so why is
Astoria traffic directed to use WA 4? It's because you save about six miles
by using WA 4 and WA 104 instead of US 101. OK, so then why isn't the shorter
route re-designated as US 101? Hmm... well, my guess would be: tradition and
politics. For one thing, the shortcut wasn't opened to traffic until the 1960's,
so prior to that the only option heading north from Astoria was via Chinook.
But now that the "Naselle shortcut" is an option, coastal towns along
old US 101 would undoubtedly be opposed to having US 101 traffic completely
bypass their corner of the state. However, there is an "Alternate US 101"
that allows through traffic to bypass Ilwaco and Seaview anyway.
(Thanks to Mark
Bozanich for the following): Until the mid-1930's there was no
highway running along the north bank of the Columbia between Lyle and
Maryhill. So when US 830 was first commissioned, traffic was routed
northeast out of Lyle, along what is now known as the Centerville
Highway: through its eponymous town, ending at US 97 about 4 miles
south of Goldendale. The photo below shows the signage at that
point:
Elbert, Dec. 2004
Goldendale is to the left via northbound US 97; to the right is
the junction with WA hwy. 14, which leads to Vancouver. The backside
of that sign is visible in the photo below, which is looking west
across US 97, along the historic east beginning of US 830:
Elbert, Dec. 2004
In about 1933, US 830 was rerouted east of Lyle, following the
north bank of the Columbia River, largely along what is now WA hwy.
14. So then its endpoint was still at US 97, but further south of
Goldendale, closer to Maryhill. Originally US 97 followed an older
alignment up the Columbia Hills north of Maryhill. North of modern
hwy. 14, this route is now known as the "Old Maryhill Loops Road",
so-called because of the tortuous switchbacks that almost seem to be
stacked on top of each other (Chris
Elbert, who has done extensive research and taken numerous photos
in the area, tells me it was recently re-paved and opened to
non-motorized traffic). South of hwy. 14, US 97 partially followed
what is now a county road used to access the Stonehenge replica.
However, Chris believes the middle segment of that road is newer, and
that old US 97 followed a different route slightly downslope from
there (now mostly abandoned). Following are some of his photos); this
first one is looking west on Stonehenge Road:
Elbert, summer 2004
Chris' best guess is that this used to be southbound US 97, which
continued down the canyon at left, winding up at the old ferry
landing in Maryhill (US 97 traffic crossed the Columbia via ferry
until about 1962). Straight ahead would've been the east beginning of
US 830. Below we're looking the opposite direction (west on
Stonehenge):
Elbert, summer 2004
That likely shows the former east end of US 830, because US 97
came up from the lower right and continued ahead and to the
right.
It was about 1949 when this route was bypassed in favor of modern
US 97. At that time US 830 was reconfigured too, and then its east
end was a little ways to the north and west from here (where today's
WA 14 meets US 97). You can view photos from that junction on
this
page.
Page created 12 April 2002; last updated 23 April 2006.
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