Hell's Intersection
12th & Sandy & Burnside & ...
Route 2 / US 30
1924 Columbia River Highway Route Through Portland
...Burnside to 39th Avenue, then turned south to Stark Street. According to Drinkhall's notes, Stark Street (Baseline Road) was the route to reach the Columbia River Highway.
Clarence E. Mershon. The Columbia River Highway: From the Sea to the Wheat Fields of Eastern Oregon. Portland: Guardian Peaks Enterprises. 2006. 1st Edition. (51)
1926 Columbia River Highway Route Through Portland
A change in the original route occurred at the intersection of Burnside and N.E. Sandy Boulevard. The highway followed Sandy Boulevard northeastward to what is now Parkrose, then continued east on Sandy Road to reach Troutdale. From Troutdale, the highway followed the east bank of the Sandy River to reach the Stark Street Bridge (the original start of the Columbia River Highway.)
Clarence E. Mershon. The Columbia River Highway: From the Sea to the Wheat Fields of Eastern Oregon. Portland: Guardian Peaks Enterprises. 2006. 1st Edition. (51 - 52)
"The dreaded intersection of E. Burnside, Sandy and 12th was already a formidable nemesis in 1939."
Burnside and SandyFound on http://www.cafeunknown.com/2010_04_01_archive.htmlOrigin Uncertain
"...a proposal called the Fowler Plan recommended a grade-separated intersection at Burnside, 12th and Sandy. While this idea was never fulfilled, the issue of traffic congestion at this intersection has been studied several times over the intervening decades."
PBOT: Burnside Street Historyhttp://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/295412
Video (By Others...)
The clip below contains strong language... but it is very funny!
For more info on the vintage clip below: The Wizard of Oz Moment
"The intersection of Burnside, 12th and Sandy in 1939. Six seconds pass, then without warning, The Wizard of Oz moment! Pre-World War II Portland changes from black and white to color! Note Portland’s electric buses (trolley coaches) in both 1937 (green) and 1939 (cream and red) paint schemes. Clean, quiet and green!"