Drive McKenzie Highway (Hwy 242), Oregon

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The McKenzie Highway is also known as Oregon Route 242 (OR 242) and Forest Highway (FH) 22. The highway travels through Lane, Linn, and Deschutes counties; beginning at the junction with OR 126 near the town of McKenzie Bridge and ending at the junction with US Highway 20 and OR 126 at the City of Sisters. The McKenzie Highway is part of the McKenzie Pass - Santiam Pass National Scenic Byway. Through part of the project area, OR 242 travels between two federal wilderness areas, and there are many historic, recreational, and scenic features and sites along the route. The boundaries of the Mt. Washington Wilderness and Three Sisters Wilderness are 66 feet from the highway centerline. The highway route was originally built with private funds in the 1870's as a wagon toll road. The section between the towns of Blue River in Lane County and Sisters in Deschutes County (which includes the project area) became a Forest Road in 1919 (Oregon State Highway Commission, 1920). The road was relocated and widened in 1920, graded and surfaced between 1920 and 1924, and became a Oregon State Highway in 1925. Hwy 242 typically closed November to July.

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