Oregon Route 126

Oregon OR 126 (OR 126) is a 204.63-mile-long (329.32 km) state highway that connects coastal, western, and central parts of the U.S. state of Oregon. A short freeway section of OR 126 in Eugene and Springfield is concurrent with Interstate 105 (I-105).

The western terminus of OR 126 is in Florence at a junction with US 101, the main north–south route along the Oregon Coast. The junction is located north of downtown Florence near the municipal airport and the mouth of the Siuslaw River, which empties into the nearby Pacific Ocean. OR 126 travels east on the Florence-Eugene Highway No. 62 (see Oregon highways and routes), which follows the Siuslaw River and the Coos Bay Rail Line out of Florence and into the Siuslaw National Forest and the foothills of the Coast Range. The highway turns north along a bend in the river to reach Mapleton, where it intersects OR 36 and leaves the river and railroad for Knowles Creek. OR 126 continues east along the creek to the Ralph A. Petersen Tunnel, a 1,450-foot (440 m) long tunnel that opened in 1957.

From the tunnel, the highway descends from the mountains along Turner Creek to briefly rejoin the Siuslaw River and the Coos Bay Rail Line. OR 126 and the railroad split from the river to follow Wildcat Creek northeast to Cougar Pass, which marks the boundary between the Siuslaw and Willamette river basins. The highway descends into the Willamette Valley and passes through the town of Veneta and along the south shore of the Fern Ridge Reservoir. It also joins a section of the Coos Bay Rail Line as it approaches Eugene.

In the western outskirts of Eugene, OR 126 intersects OR 569, which forms a northern bypass of Eugene. The highway follows Amazon Creek on West 11th Avenue towards downtown Eugene, turning north onto Garfield Street for five blocks. It then becomes concurrent with OR 99, which travels through downtown Eugene on a pair of one-way streets: West 7th Avenue for eastbound traffic and West 6th Avenue for westbound traffic. At a junction with Washington and Jefferson streets, OR 126 turns north onto a freeway, which is designated as Interstate 105 (I-105).

In January 2016, the Oregon Legislature passed SB 5, designating OR 126 between Florence and Eugene as "William Tebeau Memorial Highway," named after a pioneering ODOT engineer.

At the junction with Washington and Jefferson streets in downtown Eugene lies the western terminus of Eugene-Springfield Highway No. 227, an east-west freeway through the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area. OR 126 is routed along this freeway for its entire length, and I-105 is routed along the first 3.5 miles (5.6 km) until the interchange with I-5.

The bridge and viaduct carrying the first 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of I-105 are sometimes known as the Washington-Jefferson Street Bridge. After crossing the Willamette River, passing two exits, and entering Springfield, I-105 ends at an interchange with I-5, and OR 126 continues east then turning south, with the freeway terminating at Main Street (OR 126 Business) in the Thurston neighborhood of the city's east end.

In December 2011 the section of highway from the Washington-Jefferson Street Bridge to Springfield was renamed Officer Chris Kilcullen Memorial Highway to commemorate the fallen Eugene Police Department officer who was fatally wounded while conducting a traffic stop on the highway in April 2011.