State
Highway 52 begins at the Oregon/Idaho state line
at the terminus of Oregon Route 52
where the highway crosses the Snake
River near Payette.The
highway heads eastward through the city of Payette, then
following the Payette
River.The highway meets SH-72 at its junction east of
New
Plymouth.Then heads eastward to the city of Emmett where it turns north at its junction with SH-16 then continuing east up Black
Canyon to its terminus at Horseshoe Bend.
History
This route
has been in existence since 1929 originally as part of State Highway 16 which originally
terminated in Horseshoe
Bend.State Highway 52 was created in 1938, when
the northern section of SH-16
from Emmett to Horseshoe
Bend was rerouted westward to New
Plymouth.SH-16 was eventually truncated at Emmett in 1955, and SH-52 was then extended westward along
the former SH-16 heading toward New Plymouth, and ending up in Payette and the
state line.