Oregon Route 126 - History

History

In 1926, the route between Florence and Ontario, Oregon was designated as U.S. 28. The Junction City-Florence section of the highway ran roughly along what are now Oregon routes 36 and 126.

In 1937, the same year a new U.S. 99 alignment between Eugene and Junction City opened, U.S. 28 was truncated and its western terminus moved to Glenwood (between Eugene and Springfield).

In 1951, U.S. 28 was eliminated from the federal highway route system. The highway was redesignated U.S. Route 26 between the Oregon-Idaho border and Prineville (and then continuing north and west through Portland to Astoria. The former U.S. 28 section between Prineville and Eugene was then designated U.S. Route 126.

In 1957 the long-awaited direct route between Eugene and the coast, known as "Route F," was completed. The state of Oregon formally named the new route the Eugene-Mapleton Highway, but did not assign a it a route number until 1965, when it became Oregon 126. Federal highway authorities agreed to the duplication as a temporary one, as U.S. 126 would soon disappear under the ongoing elimination of three-digit U.S. routes lying entirely within one state.

In 1972, the federal government dropped U.S. 126 from its highway system. The state of Oregon promptly redesignated the Prineville-Eugene section of the former U.S. route, and the Mapleton-Florence section of Oregon 36, as Oregon 126.