When the US Interstate Highway System was introduced in the 1950s,
it sparked a cultural revolution.
Americans loved driving on these new freeways
and urban planners were just as eager to build them.
This trend continued well into the 60s.
But by the end of the decade,
these projects started to face a lot more scrutiny.
In the state of Oregon, Portland has by far the most turbulent history
of freeways that were proposed and then later canceled for various reasons.
45 miles to the south, the capital city of Salem barely had any of these projects to speak of.
But there's one canceled freeway from this era that's worth a brief mention.
When Interstate 5 was built through Salem in the mid 1950s,
it was routed around the city rather than through it.
While this avoided a widespread destruction of homes,
it also placed a greater burden on the street network.
Most drivers coming into downtown would either take Portland Road from the north,
or Mission Street from the south.
As a result, both of these roads were handling
far more traffic than they were ever designed for.
Drivers coming across the Willamette River from West Salem didn't have it any better.
The city only had two bridges: the Marion Street Bridge, and the Center Street Bridge.
Each of these could only carry two lanes of traffic,
creating another major bottleneck for commuters.
One potential solution came from the Interstate Highway System.
Most cities had to submit formal requests to build new interstates,
but Salem had a unique perk.
As the state capital, the city was pre-approved
to build a 3.3-mile freeway spur onto the national network.
This could help the city smooth out some of its traffic issues,
and better yet, the federal government would provide 90% of the funding.
By 1961, this future project was earmarked as Interstate 305.
Several variations of the route were proposed over the years,
but they generally called for the freeway to split off from I-5
on the north end of the city, near Chemawa Street.
It would run in the southwest direction through mostly undeveloped land.
Interchanges would be built at Cherry Avenue and Broadway Street,
and the freeway would end at Liberty and Commercial Streets.
This would use up the full 3.3 miles allotted to the project,
but Salem's engineers weren't satisfied.
They felt the freeway would be much more useful
if it could cross the river on a new third bridge near Pine Street.
From here it would run south along the west bank, until merging with Oregon Route 22.
This would extend the freeway's length to about five miles,
and would more than double its original estimated cost.
At the same time, there were talks of another proposed freeway at Mission Street.
This would potentially cross the river on a fourth bridge,
flying over Minto Island and connecting with Route 22 on the west side.
The freeway itself would run along Mission Street for about four miles out to I-5.
When considered together, these two projects would form a triangular loop around the city.
This would take significant pressure off the surface streets and the existing two bridges.
Many of Salem's residents were optimistic about these plans,
but it wasn't long before the Mission Street Freeway was enshrouded in controversy.
People started opposing the project once they realized it might destroy a portion of Bush's Pasture Park.
Between this and the fact that it never had any funding to begin with,
the project was eventually dismissed altogether.
I-305 had more widespread support among the community,
but it wasn't without its own criticism.
Some people argued that it was too far away from downtown to be useful for commuters.
What's more, the extension over the river hadn't been approved by the federal government.
Oregon's politicians lobbied in Washington D.C. for the extension,
but the request was denied multiple times.
It became clear that the Pine Street Bridge would never be built.
And without the bridge, many people felt there was no point in building the freeway at all.
The Statesman Journal strongly opposed the project, saying:
"There is little or no probability of a Willamette River bridge at Pine Street,
"which gave I-305 much of its original justification."
On the other hand, the Capitol Journal praised the freeway's thoughtful design, saying:
"I-305 will have minimal impact on the environment through which it passes.
"If the plans are followed, it should be a national showcase of how to build an urban freeway. "
In May of 1976, President Gerald Ford signed a bill
that allowed cities to take funding away from proposed interstates
and put it toward other roadway projects instead.
This was major news up in Portland,
where protests had recently killed off the proposed Mount Hood Freeway.
With this new legislature, the city could repurpose $200 million for other infrastructure projects.
Back in Salem, it was clear that this would be the best path forward for I-305 as well.
The project was soon cancelled, and $30 million would be repurposed
for street improvements that were desperately needed across the city.
There would even be enough money to build a four lane arterial road in place of I-305.
This would follow the same route as the freeway,
but it would be a more typical road with signal signalled intersections.
Construction on the new road begin in September of 1982,
and it was given the new name of the Salem Parkway.
A year later in August of 1983, the first two miles of the Salem Parkway opened a traffic.
It would still be another year before the interchange with I-5 was completed,
but the remainder of the route opened on October 3, 1984,
and travel times were quickly improved.
Over the years, I-305's funds helped the city make several other improvements
that it wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.
For example, a portion was used to widen the Marion Street Bridge from two lanes to four.
Together with the rebuilt Center Street Bridge, which was funded separately,
Salem's bridge capacity was doubled by 1985.
Discussions of new bridge projects continued for decades,
but despite widespread support, Salem has still never gotten its third bridge.
Although a freeway was never built at Mission Street, I-305's funding
allowed the road to be widened to a major artery in the late 80s.
And in 1989, it was given a new flyover interchange
to eliminate a major bottleneck at 12th and 13th streets.
Of course, the Salem Parkway will always be the most direct descendant of Interstate 305.
The canceled freeway is ultimately just an obscure footnote in Salem's history.
But in a way, its legacy still lives on today,
despite the fact that it never existed.