U.S. Route 30

U.S. Route 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the system of United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. It is the third longest U.S. route, after U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. The western end of the highway is at Astoria, Oregon; the eastern end is in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Despite long stretches of parallel and concurrent Interstate Highways, it has managed to avoid the decommissioning that has happened to other long haul routes such as U.S. Route 66.

Much of the historic Lincoln Highway, the first road across America (from New York City to San Francisco), became part of US 30; it is still known by that name in many areas.

Route description

Oregon

The west end of US 30 is at an intersection with U.S. Route 101 at the south end of the Astoria–Megler Bridge in downtown Astoria, Oregon, approximately 5 miles (8 km) from the Pacific Ocean. It heads east to Portland, where it uses a short section of freeway built for the canceled Interstate 505. From there it heads around the north side of downtown on Interstate 405 and Interstate 5 to reach Interstate 84. Most of the rest of the route is concurrent with I-84, with only about 70 miles (110 km), under 1/5 of its remaining length, off the freeway, mainly on old alignments.

U.S. Route 30 in Nebraska

In the U.S. state of Nebraska, U.S. Highway 30 is a highway which goes between the Wyoming border west of Bushnell to the Iowa border east of Blair. Much of the highway in Nebraska is a former route of the Lincoln Highway and has been given the designation of Lincoln Highway Scenic and Historic Byway by the state of Nebraska. From the Wyoming border to Grand Island, U.S. 30 has been replaced by Interstate 80 as a high-speed corridor and mostly serves local traffic. On this portion of the highway, U.S. 30 is continuously north of Interstate 80. East of Grand Island, U.S. 30 veers northeast away from I-80 and serves the cities of Columbus, Fremont and Blair. Much of the route lies on an alignment next to the South Platte and Platte Rivers.

Route description

U.S. Highway 30 enters Nebraska just east of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming. It shares the first mile in Nebraska with Business Loop 80. After passing through Bushnell, it enters Kimball, where it meets Nebraska Highway 71. It then continues east through Dix and Potter before meeting Nebraska Highway 19 west of Sidney. It then passes through Sidney concurrent with Business Loop 80. At the east end of Sidney, it meets U.S. Highway 385, and it remains concurrent with that highway through Lodgepole to Chappell. U.S. 30 then runs straight east towards Ogallala, briefly running concurrent with Nebraska Highway 27, intersecting U.S. Highway 138 north of Big Springs, and passing through Brule. After Brule, the highway is closely paralleled by the South Platte River to the south. East of Ogallala, U.S. 30 passes through Paxton before meeting Nebraska Highway 25 in Sutherland. After going through Hershey, it enters North Platte, where it meets U.S. Highway 83. It then crosses over the North Platte River above where the North and South Platte Rivers meet to form the Platte River.

U.S. Route 30 in Oregon

In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 30, a major east–west U.S. Highway, runs from its western terminus in Astoria to the Idaho border east of Ontario. West of Portland, US 30 generally follows the southern shore of the Columbia River; east of Portland the highway has largely been replaced with Interstate 84, though it is signed all the way across the state, and diverges from the I-84 mainline in several towns, as a de facto business route. (The state of Oregon does not sign Interstate business routes; instead it uses the designations US 30 and Oregon Route 99 (along the Interstate 5 corridor) for this purpose.)

Route description

Astoria to Portland

US 30 begins in Astoria, at an intersection with U.S. Route 101. US 101 southbound from the intersection goes down the length of the Oregon Coast, northbound US 101 crosses the Astoria-Megler Bridge into Washington state. US 30 proceeds east through the intersection, through downtown Astoria, and then along the southern bank of the Columbia.