| SR-62 | |||
| Get started | Medford | ||
| End | chiloquino | ||
| Length | 84 mi | ||
| Length | 134 km | ||
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State Route 62 is a state route in the US state of Oregon. The road forms an east-west route in the south of the state, arching from Medford through Crater Lake to Chiloquin. State Route 62 is 134 kilometers long. The road also has the administrative road number 22.
- See necessaryhome.com for a list of Oregon zip codes by city.
Travel directions
The start of the Rogue Valley Expressway at Medford.
State Route 62 begins in Medford, southern Oregon’s largest city, at a junction with Interstate 5. The first stretch of the road is an urban arterial, but after that, State Route 62 is a 2×2 lane expressway with two grade separations up to White City. State Route 62 also has 2×2 lanes through White City, but from Eagle Point the road becomes a single lane. The road then heads north through a valley surrounded by low mountains. State Route 62 here follows the beautiful valley of the Rogue River to the east and northeast. The mountains become higher in this sparsely populated area and eventually have peaks of more than 2000 meters.
State Route 62 then leads to Crater Lake, which is also a national park. Crater Lake is a large lake in a caldera at 1,883 meters above sea level. State Route 62 doesn’t reach directly to the lake, but heads south along it, reaching nearly 1,900 feet above sea level. The road then descends and heads southeast, ending at Chiloquin on US 97, just north of the regional town of Klamath Falls.
- See BABYINGER for a list of Oregon public libraries by county.
History
The Rogue Valley Expressway between Medford and White City.
State Route 62 was created in 1932. The road had early tourist interest as access to Crater Lake National Park, the only national park in Oregon. Crater Lake is a nearly 600 meter deep mountain lake, located in a caldera (remains of a volcano). State Route 62 along Crater Lake already had a tourist interest in the 1920s.
With the growth of the Medford area in the Rogue River valley, State Route 62 had to be upgraded here. In 1986, the Rogue Valley Mall, a large indoor shopping center, opened at the junction of I-5 and State Route 62. The road became one of the most important access roads in the region. The connection to I-5 was reconstructed in the second half of the 1990s.
Rogue Valley Expressway
State Route 62 between Medford and White City became a corridor of retail and business, with increasing traffic lights and accidents. To improve this, a 7 km 2×2 lane expressway with grade separations has been constructed between Medford and White City. This road was constructed between 2017 and 2019, which was opened to traffic on 1 May 2019. Construction cost $120 million. The road is also known as the Rogue Valley Expressway.
Traffic intensities
47,000 vehicles drive daily at the junction with I-5, after which the intensities drop from 30,000 vehicles in Medford to 20,000 vehicles at White City and 10,000 vehicles at Eagle Point. Thereafter, intensities through the Rogue River Valley gradually drop from 6,000 to barely 1,000 vehicles per day. Only 350 to 500 vehicles per day travel along Crater Lake, rising to 1,100 vehicles at the terminus in Chiloquin.
St Johns Bridge
| St Johns Bridge | |
| Spans | Willamette River |
| Lanes | 1×4 |
| Total length | 630 meters |
| Main span | 368 meters |
| Bridge deck height | 62 meters |
| Opening | 13-06-1931 |
| Traffic intensity | ~ 25,000 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
The St. Johns Bridge is a suspension bridge in the United States, located in Portland, Oregon.
Characteristics
The St. Johns Bridge spans the Willamette River in northern Portland. It is the northernmost bridge over this river and the only suspension bridge in the Portland area. The bridge has a total length of 630 meters and a main span of 368 meters. The bridge pylons are 124 meters high. The free passage under the bridge deck is 62 meters. Over the bridge is the Bypass Route of US 30 in Oregon with 1×4 lanes without a median reservation. The bridge is not of major passing importance and is toll-free.
History
The construction of the bridge was planned in the late 1920s. A cantilever bridge was originally planned, but a suspension bridge turned out to be cheaper. Constructed between 1929 and 1931, the bridge was the largest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi River at the time, as the San Francisco bridges were built just a few years later. The bridge was inaugurated on June 13, 1931. When opened, the bridge had the largest free passage in the country and was the longest suspension bridge west of Detroit (where the Ambassador Bridge stands). The bridge was renovated between 2003 and 2005.
Traffic intensities
About 25,000 vehicles use the bridge every day. The bridge is therefore not overloaded, unlike the bridges around downtown Portland.
