Portland Major Streets and Roadways
The streets of Portland are mostly laid out in a grid fashion; however the wealth William Sargent Ladd, the mayor of Portland introduced the radial street patter, a dramatic break in the street pattern of the city of Portland. The grid based city layout of Portland is among the best in United States. The merging of the grid and radial streets of Portland causes a little confusion in people who are new to Portland. The important thing to remember is that the radial street pattern was used only in the eastern side of Portland which was earlier occupied by estates. The planned streets are the first such city in the western United States.
The city streets are divided into four quadrants: the North, North-East, South-East, North-West and South-West. The streets leading from east to west are given names along with the North-East, South-East, North-West and South-West. The Burnside St divides the city into North and South parts.
The streets running from North to South are given avenue names and numbers along the SE, NE, SW and NW designations depending on the quadrant. The river passing through the city divides it into the east and west sections.
Some of the majors streets of Portland are the NW 23rd Avenue, NE Alberta Street, N. Mississippi Avenue, SE Hawthrone, NE Broadway, Alberta Street Art, Fore Street, etc. These streets are hot spots for shopping, dining, and other entertainment needs of visitors and the permanent residents of Portland.
Major Freeways, Highways, and Streets
- I-5 - Traverses city from N to city center to SW
- I-84 - Branches E from city center
- I-205 - Circles around E side of city from N to S
- I-405 - Cuts from city center to I-5