Although not generally referred as such, the portion of I-5 south of Portland near Tigard to Salem was named the Robert Hugh Baldock Freeway after a former Oregon highway engineer. Early proposals by engineers put the southern section of I-5 further east through Klamath Falls and the flatter Klamath Basin, but the Siskiyou Pass route was favored by local politicians. Most of the highway in the Pacific Northwest was incorporated into U.S. Route 99 (US 99), created as part of a national highway system in 1926. The Oregon section was divided between Junction City and Portland into US 99W and US 99E, with the latter taking the original route of the Pacific Highway.