Harbor Drive

Harbor Drive is a short roadway in Portland, Oregon, functioning mainly as a ramp to/from Interstate 5. It was once much longer, running along the western edge of the Willamette River in the downtown area. Most of the road was replaced with Tom McCall Waterfront Park in the 1970s. Signed as U.S. Route 99W, it had been the major route through the city and its removal is often cited as the first instance of freeway removal in the USA and as a milestone in urban planning.

Harbor Drive opened in stages in 1942–43, with a formal dedication on November 20, 1942, and completion of the last work in 1943. Seventy-nine buildings and houses were demolished, mostly along Front Avenue, to make room for Harbor Drive. Although the project was criticized for the removal of some historic buildings and for the fact that the new roadway would impede the public's access to the waterfront, most civic organizations supported it, and a majority of the public also indicated its support by approving in 1940 a $1.25 million bond measure (65,000 to 35,000 votes) to help fund the project, which included acquisition by the city of all property between Front Avenue and the river along the stretch from Glisan to Columbia streets.

The roadway was the original route of US 99W (locally called "Highway 99W") into downtown Portland from the south. The highway came from Barbur Boulevard and ran through the downtown area via a couplet on 4th and 6th avenues. US 99W then crossed the Willamette River on the Broadway Bridge towards Interstate Avenue, where it headed north to the Interstate Bridge and the city of Vancouver, Washington.

In 1950, a controlled-access highway, though crude by modern standards, opened and was at least partly known as Harbor Drive. It started with an interchange with Barbur Boulevard, joined the Willamette shore near an interchange with Clay and Market streets, and then ran along the shore to the Steel Bridge. US 99W then crossed the Steel Bridge, and turned north on a controlled-access extension to Interstate Avenue, until it resumed its old routing at an interchange with the Broadway Bridge. It was the first freeway to be completed in Portland, and the only north–south freeway for over a decade.

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