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100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
Endpoints of
Mileage: in 1989 AASHTO listed a figure of 80 miles for US 199. That closely matches our own 2020 measurement, which yielded 79.6 miles. Want historic mileages? Our handy reference book includes the mileages that were published in all 13 of AASHO/AASHTO's historic route logs (spanning the years 1927 to 1989).
US 199 was among the inaugural 1926 routes, and it has connected the same cities ever since. US 199 is one of only four US routes whose implied "parent" route (in this case US 99) has been completely decommissioned:
c. 1927, Rand McNally
Grants Pass
The north terminus of US 199 shifted a bit when I-5 was built; the map below shows the location of its original endpoint:
Originally US 199 ended at the intersection at lower left, known as "Redwood Junction". Following is an historic photo taken at that junction; this sign was probably posted on 6th Street, for the benefit of traffic on northbound US 99. North is to the right, so the photo was taken looking west. Just to the left is where 6th forks to either Rogue River Highway or Williams Highway, so US 199 traffic heading that direction would have quickly taken a right turn in order to follow Redwood Highway:
c. 1939, attribution unknown
After I-5 was built through Grants Pass in about 1965, the US 199 designation was extended north with hwy. 99, and then east to its terminus at interchange 55:
(At some point, US 99 was decommissioned and replaced with OR 99; and also 7th Street became a one-way partner with 6th Street to carry hwy. 99 traffic.) These photos were taken from southbound I-5 at the north beginning of US 199:
Wiley, 2001
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Drivers exiting there are given directional signage at the bottom of the offramp:
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Elbert, Jul. 2009
The assembly pointing right should say "US 199; To OR 99". Travelers turning right at that point will soon see the first southbound US 199 marker...
Elbert, Mar. 2005
...but if one were to go left at the bottom of the off-ramp, they would be at the north end of US 199, where the only options are to go north or south on I-5:
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Modern US 199 follows a relatively recent extension eastward from Redwood Junction, via a third bridge over the river, called Grants Pass Parkway. Traffic joins "old" US 199 (E Street) about a half-mile west of I-5, so the north terminus of US 199 did not change after the Parkway was built:
The northernmost marker was in error, showing "OR 199" instead of US 199:
Crescent City
c. 1945, USGS
The south end of US 199 has always been at its junction with US 101 in Crescent City. Of course, US 101 traffic did not initially use today's freeway. It originally came south via what is now designated County Road D3, which becomes Northcrest Drive in town. US 199 came in on Parkway Drive, which aligns with modern US 101 south of Washington Boulevard. So US 199 probably would have ended on today's US 101 at Northcrest Drive. This photo was looking north on US 101:
Elbert, Oct. 2006
Today US 101 continues straight ahead, and as the green sign in the distance attests, the modern junction with US 199 is three miles ahead. But originally US 101 went left there on Northcrest, and straight ahead was the south beginning of US 199.
By the mid-1940s, US 101 had been rerouted to its current alignment southward as far as today's junction with US 199. From that point, it continued south on what is now English Lane, and then followed Parkway southwest into town. So then US 199 ended on Parkway at English. Here, we are looking south on Parkway:
Elbert, Oct. 2006
Originally that was all US 199, and it ended at US 101 in town, about three miles ahead. But later US 101 was rerouted such that it came in from the right on English, and then continued ahead. So US 199 was truncated to end at that intersection. Today, to the right on English is not a through road -- it was vacated when the US 101 freeway was built:
Whenever that happened (maybe around 1965) was probably also when US 199 was rerouted to its current terminus. The photos below show the spot:
Elbert, Mar. 2005
It is unclear why only one of those panels was replaced, and it is unfortunate that old button copy is no longer with us:
Elbert, Jul. 2012
Anyway, from that exit there are no ramps that directly connect to northbound US 101; a right turn ahead puts travelers on a connector road. That same connector is used by southbound 101 traffic wanting northbound US 199 (which is why the sign says "TO US 199"):
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Ahead at the turn itself is a newer sign, followed by a confirming marker on the connector road, and finally a stop sign at mainline US 199:
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Elbert, Mar. 2005
It is not so complicated heading north on US 101, but here too more button copy has now bitten the dust:
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Elbert, Jul. 2012 (unchanged as of 2017)
The confirming marker on the offramp is shown close-up here...
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Elbert, Jul. 2012
This photo shows the first confirming marker on mainline US 199. The highway immediately enters the redwood forest visible in the background, and makes for a scenic drive through canyons and over passes all the way into Oregon:
Elbert, Mar. 2005
Research and/or image credits: Paul Dienhart; Chris Elbert; Dennis McClendon; Alex Nitzman; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Mike Wiley
Page originally created 2001;last updated Aug. 26, 2025.
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