When Samuel Lancaster and Samuel Hill first broke ground on the Columbia River Highway in 1913, they could have easily designed and constructed the roadway at water level, but instead aimed their sights much, much higher. Lancaster – an engineer and landscape architect – utilized the latest cliff-face highway-building techniques, in a bold attempt to give drivers the very best views of Oregon’s breathtaking Columbia River Gorge.

“On starting the surveys, our first business was to find the beauty spots, or those points where the most beautiful things along the line might be seen in the best advantage, and locate the road in such a way as to reach them,” Lancaster wrote.

Hill – a lawyer and entrepreneur – began promoting what he branded “The King of Roads”, the first scenic highway in America, to tourists around the world. Completed in 1922, the meandering, 73-mile roadway between Troutdale and The Dalles quickly became a victim of its own success. The huge number of sightseers hoping to take the slow, scenic route clashed with commuters racing through as quickly as possible, causing congestion, conflict, and deteriorating road conditions.

Adapting for more active modes of transportation