28 section between Prineville and Eugene was then designated U.S. Route 126. In 1957 the long-awaited direct route between Eugene and the coast, known as "Route F", was completed. It was primarily funded by the Lane County government with assistance from the federal government, with the goal of bypassing the longer Stagecoach Road. It was proposed as early as the 1930s. The Knowles Creek tunnel was opened to traffic on June 4, 1957, and was later renamed for Ralph A. Petersen, a Lane County commissioner who had lobbied for the highway's construction. The state of Oregon formally named the new route the Eugene-Mapleton Highway, but did not assign it a route number until 1964, when it became OR 126. Highway authorities agreed to the duplication as a temporary one, as US 126 would soon disappear under the ongoing elimination of three-digit U.S. Routes lying entirely within one state. A freeway bypass of OR 126 in Downtown Eugene, named the Q Street Freeway, was planned in the late 1950s and incorporated into the Interstate Highway System as I-105. Initial plans called for its route to follow Q Street from Coburg Road in Eugene (near the Delta Highway) to Mil Street in northern Springfield, with further extensions at both ends. The freeway would reach Downtown Eugene by following the Washington and Jefferson Street Bridge over the Willamette River, which had already been planned by the city government. An eastern extension to Highway 126 near Springfield was also planned by the state government, but Lane County officials requested a longer route to avoid more of Springfield. The completed Eugene section of I-105 was dedicated by Governor Tom McCall on October 25, 1967, along with improvements to US 126 in Springfield. In 1972, the American Association of State Highway Officials dropped US 126 from its highway system. The state of Oregon promptly redesignated the Prineville-Eugene section of the former U.S. Route, and the Mapleton-Florence section of OR 36, as OR 126. Prior routes The routes of OR 126 and its predecessors have changed numerous times over the years. The original route of US 28 from Florence to Eugene ran through Junction City, and overlapped US 99 (now OR 99) from there south to Eugene. The route between Junction City and Brickerville is now OR 36; the original route of US 28 west of Brickerville is no longer on the state highway system. In 1972,