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ORoads: Oregon Route 42

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Oregon Route 42
Oregon Route 99
OR-42 Navigation:
Info/Map | Definition | History | Evolution | Rediscovering OR-42 | Route Log | ODOT Traffic Cameras | Pictures (coming soon)
Oregon Route 42 Info and Map
OR-42's Routing from Cannon Beach Jct. to the Idaho Border at Nyssa
Lengths: 73.31 miles (1963 current alignment)
142.71 miles (1961 alignment)
132.07 miles (1958 alignment)
131.88 miles (1956 alignment)
58.67 miles (1932 alignment)
Type: Mostly Undivided Highway, western end Divided Highway
Lifespan: 1932-present
Western Terminus: US-101 near Coos Bay
Eastern Terminus: I-5 near Green
Cities Served: Coquille, Myrtle Point, Winston
Intersects: OR-42S
Multiplexes:

OR-99

(Winston to Green; Hwy #35 MP 76.22-73.37, 2.85 miles)

Oregon Highway Name/Numbers: Coos Bay-Roseburg Highway #35
Oregon Route 42 Official Definition

"Over the Coos Bay-Roseburg Highway from its junction with the Oregon Coast Highway, US101, north of Coquille, easterly via Coquille, Myrtle Point, Camas Valley, and Winston to its junction with the Pacific Highway, I-5, south of Roseburg (common with OR99 east of Winston)."

~ ODOT, Descriptions of US and Oregon Routes, March 2007

Oregon Route 42 History

OR-42 was created at the inception of the Oregon route numbering system in 1932, running 58 miles from US-101 in Coquille to US-99 in Winston, just south of Roseburg. This road was (and still is) known as the Coos Bay-Roseburg Highway, though it didn't actually go between those two cities. The highway connected Roseburg to the Oregon Coast as it wended its way through the Coast Range, passing through small towns like Remote.

The route would stay this way until 1956, when US-99 began its upgrade to Interstate standards to accomodate I-5. For some unknown reason, OR-42 was extended southerly over at least 21 miles of US-99 between Winston and Canyonville, then southeasterly over all of OR-227 between Canyonville and Trail, ending at a junction with OR-62 close to Crater Lake in the Cascades. A 1956 Oregon state map confirms this, and this change was kept through 1961. OR-42 was even kept with US-99 when it was moved onto what is now I-5 in 1958, though for some reason it was moved back onto old US-99 by 1961. By 1963, OR-227 had returned to the Canyonville-Trail section, US-99 had returned to the section between Green and Round Prairie, and OR-42's eastern terminus was moved to Green, 3 miles northeast of Winston, at I-5, with only a short duplex with US-99 between Winston and Green. This duplex remains today with OR-99.

Meanwhile, on its western end, US-101 was built on a closer alignment to the coast between Coos Bay and Bandon by 1961, extending OR-42 10 miles along the northern half of former US-101 and creating OR-42S along the southern 16 miles of the bypassed section. With this extension, OR-42 was at the peak of its length across Oregon at almost 143 miles, though it only lasted a year or two.

Oregon Route 42 Route Evolution
1948  •  1956  •  1958  •  1961  •  1963
This map shows OR-42's alignment in 1948.

In 1948, OR-42 ran from US-101 in Coquille to US-99 in Winston. Most of this routing has stayed the same since its creation in 1932.

This map shows OR-42's alignment in 1956.

OR-42 is extended southeasterly by 1956, all the way to the junction of OR-62 in Trail. It is cosigned with US-99 between Winston and Canyonville.

This map shows OR-42's alignment in 1958.

US-99 is moved onto the new section of highway between Green and Round Prairie in 1958, taking OR-42 with it. It is still signed all the way to Trail. Also notice a newer US-101 being built between Coos Bay and Bandon.

This map shows OR-42's alignment in 1961.

By 1961, OR-42 was placed back on the old US-99 between Winston and Round Prairie along the Dillard Highway #235, while US-99 remained on the new freeway. US-99 and OR-42 are still cosigned between Round Prairie and Canyonville.

This map shows OR-42's alignment in 1963.

By 1963, OR-42's termini have moved to where they are today. It was extended 10 miles west to Coos Bay, but shortened 83 miles on its eastern end.

It is important to note that all map segments are copyrighted by their respective owners, and that these map segments are used for educational and historical purposes only. Hosted by ImageShack.

Rediscovering Oregon Route 42

Coming soon