Current and historic US Highway ends
in Astoria OR

Astoria is well-known among road enthusiasts, because it marks the west end of US 30: the only highway that has run from coast-to-coast ever since the dawn of the US routes in 1926. And then, in 1952, the west end of US 30 became the west beginning of US 26, and vice-versa. An intriguing place. But things are changing: US 26 was truncated in 2003, so it doesn't make it to Astoria anymore. Plus, there's talk of rerouting US 30 so that it no longer brings traffic through downtown. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, photos below are courtesy of Chris Elbert, Mark Long, and Jeff Morrison.

Let's begin by heading south on US 101 from Washington. Today traffic crosses the Columbia River via the impressive Astoria-Megler Bridge. Near the landing on the Oregon side, approach signage used to look like this...

Elbert, March 2004

...but now the reference to US 26 has been removed:

Elbert, November 2004

There you can see past the Astoria peninsula and across Youngs Bay. Ahead the road curves to the right and traffic essentially makes a 360-degree circle to descend to surface level at Marine Drive. At the stoplight there, you used to be welcomed to Oregon and Astoria with this signage:

Morrison, August 2001

That's an interesting shot, showing both the west beginning of US 30 and the historic west beginning of US 26. By early 2004, some of those signs had been changed a bit:

Elbert, March 2004

Part of US 101's approach to the Megler Bridge is visible in the background. By June of that year, the US 26 marker had been covered up:

Elbert, November 2004

Dave Strong was here in 1999, and had this to say: "US 30 ends with a complete lack of fanfare in Astoria. There are no special distance signs, and no 'end' marker." I'm happy to report that the year 2004 brought about a change - let's see how things look approaching the bridge westbound on Marine (US 30):

Elbert, November 2004

That "End US 30" signage is undoubtedly new; before that, there was most likely a "East US 26" marker in its place. The green overhead signs in the distance are shown close-up below:

Elbert, November 2004

(There's a goof on the left sign: that junction is actually with Business 101, not Alternate 101. That's the original route of US 101, before the new Youngs Bay Bridge was built. Come to think of it, "Alternate" would probably be a better choice than "Business", since the route doesn't pass through Astoria's central business district.) Anyway, that photo shows the intersection that marks the actual west end of US 30. Beyond this point was once the west beginning of US 26, but that's no longer the case. Barely visible in the distance is a reassurance marker; here's a closeup:

Elbert, March 2004

That's where US 101 passes under itself; I don't know whether that post used to also support a US 26 marker. (That assembly now includes mileage to various Lewis & Clark historic sites.) In another block or so, there used to be another ghost of US 26:

Elbert, March 2004

You can see where the shield had been covered up (that sign had been replaced by April 2006). Now, let's approach from the opposite direction (east on Marine, or northbound US 101):

Elbert, November 2004

That shot provides a good overview for what US 101 does: past the first overpass (concrete), traffic is directed to turn left. The road curves left again (back towards the camera) and then left again (viewer's right) to cross the concrete overpass. Then it curves left again (away from the camera), and finally one more lefthand curve puts traffic on the Megler Bridge (the second overpass). Approaching the first left turn is the signage below:

Elbert, April 2006

If OR DoT typically used "End" markers, this is probably where an "End US 26" sign would've been posted. But historically they haven't - the two exceptions I'm aware of are recent: the "End US 30" assembly shown above, and an "End US 26" sign at its new terminus (you can view photos from there on my US 26 page). The green signs ahead are shown close-up below:

Long, June 2004

That's the west beginning of US 30 (the sign tower at far right is shown in photos above). Ahead, eastbound traffic is routed onto one-way Commercial Street for a few blocks, and Chris reports there are a couple US 30 markers with directional arrows to help traffic navigate. Below is a photo of the first reassurance marker:

Elbert, November 2004

That was posted about about four miles east of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. Speaking of the bridge: it wasn't open to traffic until 1966. So what intersection marked the western terminus of US 26 and US 30 before then? View this page for photos and info.